"I repeat that we all stand before history. I and my colleagues are not the only ones on trial. Shell's day will surely come for there is no doubt in my mind that the ecological war that the company has waged in the delta will be called to question and the crimes of that war be duly punished."
Ken Saro-Wiwa at his trial.

11.30 am Port Harcourt Prison, south-east Nigeria. Ken Saro-Wiwa, Dr.Barinen Kiobel, John Kpuinen, Baribor Bera, Saturday Dobee, Felix Nuate, Nordu Eawoh, Paul Levurah and Daniel Gbokoo are hung.

Last Friday in a two fingers gesture to the world, the Nigerian military regime put to death nine people who paid the ultimate price for campaigning for the most basic of human rights: the right for clean air, land and water for the Ogoni people of the Nigeria delta.

It took five bungled attempts to hang Ken Saro Wiwa. His final words "What country is this? What are you doing to me?" should be shoved down the throats of the Commonwealth governments who only offered gentle persuasion' to the Nigerian dictatorship not to carry out the death penalty and Shell Oil, who expressed its "deep regret" but in the next breathe, indicated it would press ahead with fresh investments in Nigeria. This said the Nigerian government vindicates the executions.'

"The Ogoni land is one of the most polluted places on the planet with gas fires burning 24 hours a day, fountains of oil pouring into villagers fields, contaminated water, leaking pipelines, pools of sulphur and drainage problems... The land is so devastated environmentally that fishermen and farmers cannot sustain their lives." In 1989 in despair at the continuing destruction of their land Ken Saro-Wiwa, well-known author and play-wright, established the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), demanding autonomy for their region and a fair share of oil wealth.

Shell are the biggest oil firm in the country currently producing 900,000 barrels a day in Nigeria, half the country's output. In a country where 80 per cent of the government's revenue comes from oil, it is Shell's contribution that helps to prop up the military regime.
In January 1993, 300,000 Ogoni staged a peaceful protest to coincide with the start of the world year of indigenous people. As the protests escalated Shell had to pull out of Ogoni land. A leaked memo stated that operations were still impossible "unless ruthless military operations are undertaken for smooth economic activities to commence." Later that year military force was used in a series of brutal attacks which left 750 Ogoni dead and 30,000 homeless. In May 94 Saro-Wiwa was imprisoned by the military police on fabricated charges of murder - he spent 63 of these days in chains. Two weeks all nine were sentenced to death.

"Shell had ample opportunity to demonstrate concern over the 17 months of my fathers incarceration and trial. They chose to maintain their cosy relationship with the military dictatorship to secure oil profits rather than condemn, the brutal and unjust arrest and later sentencing on non-violent environmental campaigners." Indeed minutes released between the Nigerian High Commissioner and four senior oil executives at the Shell Centre in London showed no attempt to intervene on the activists behalf. The sole topic was how to handle the bad publicity. When Ken Saro-Wiwa was indited for murder, Shell said the verdict was not its concern...

"The flames of Shell are flames of Hell,
We bask below their light
Nought for us to serve the blight
Of cursed neglect and cursed Shell."
Ogoni song.

The deaths have outraged the whole world. People are being urged to boycott Shell but "Shells Nigeria actions are indicative of the nature of multinational companies. Through the exploitation of oil, the Ogoni's chief livelihood, their land, is being poisoned. Soon they will have no choice but to become players in the economic system from which Shell derives it dominance. ."

Shell's gross income for 1990 was 132 billion - more than Tanzania, Ethiopia, Napal, Bangladesh, Zaire, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya and Pakistan combined! 500 million people, 10% of the worlds population, live in these countries.

PEOPLE NOT PROFITS
The whole issue brings into question the way our world is run and controlled by huge multinational companies: unaccountable and uncaring, continually over-riding the wishes of people and the planet in their ruthless quest for profits.
Boycott Shell - but then what? Oil companies the world over are devastating the environment and displacing people. It must go further than a simple boycott. It must be about challenging the way the world is being destroyed for greed by a few.
So where to do we begin? Get yourself informed, get yourself active. Fight back - as well as working towards sustainable lifestyles.

"The power wielded by these organisations is greater than that of many, if not all governments and makes a mockery of certain countries claims to democracy...multinationals are beholden neither to local communities nor to national electorates, but can dictate policy through their control of markets and the economic havoc they can cause by withdrawing support from a government. As such, they are the chief obstacle to the resolution of our environmental and social problems."
70% of all trade is now controlled by just 500 corporations.

On the Friday spontaneous actions at Newbury, Oxford, Cambridge and Brighton took place at Shell garages, along with a demonstration of 150 writers outside the Nigerian embassy. People were nicked outside the embassy after locking on to the railings. Giving the names of the nine Ogoni killed they were charged for trespassing on diplomatic territory and kept in the cells for 26 hours for their troubles.

Give Shell a bell

Corporate Watch will send you info on rotten companies and how best to go about researching them . Send SAE + another stamp to
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Alternatively write to Ethical Consumer,
16 Nicholas St. Manchester M1 0161 237 1630

Whose Common Future? Reclaiming the Commons: book by The Ecologist (Earthscan Publications). Essential if you want to understand the worlds accelerating environmental crisis brought about by nation building', economic growth' and development'.
"What communities need is not outside management', but control over their own resources and the scope to run their own affairs."
Order from your library!

NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST SHELL SATURDAY 18th NOVEMBER

The great traditions of British democracy were disgracefully flouted this week when a small group of nasty extremists protested outside the state opening of parliament - simply because the government is bringing a new racist law (the Asylum Bill) that will mean starvation and death for thousands of asylum seekers. Do these protesting yobs care nothing for great British traditions such as the state opening of parliament - and state racism? In a particularly disgraceful scene the miscreants threw paint over Brian Mawhinney, the chairman of the Conservative Party, forcing him to go into a TV discussion without his rather wet jacket. Just as well Labour Party deputy leader John Prescott was in the studio to join Mr Mawhinney in roundly condemning the "violence" of these cowardly paint-throwers. A government that refuses entry to families fleeing war and genocide is one thing, but an anti-racist demonstrator throwing coloured liquid at a fellow politician - that really does need condemning!

British families spend nearly as much on armaments each week as they do on food (about �40 - what do you mean you didn't get a rocket launcher from your local corner shop this week?) 1 in 10 jobs in this country are linked in some way to the 'defence' industry. Britain is said to be on the verge of bankruptcy and yet there is still plenty of cash swilling around so that John Major can play soldiers. Perhaps 'our' most controversial arms producer is British Aerospace (BAe), who in 1993 signed a contract with Indonesia's military government to sell them 24 Hawk aircraft.
"Four of my cousins were killed in Hawks attacks near Los Palos. They are perfect for moving in and out of the mountains. They have a terrible sound when they are coming in to bomb, like a voice wailing. We immediately go to the caves, into the deepest ones because their bombs are so powerful. They fly in low...and attack civilians. Most people in east Timor know about the British Hawks."
Indonesia invaded the neighbouring country of East Timor in 1975 and since then a third of the population (200,000) have been massacred. There is solid evidence to show that Hawks have been used in bombing raids on civilians. Four years ago this week the town of Dili was attacked and this Sunday (12th) there will be protests outside the Indonesian Embassy, Grosvenor Square, London.
There has been lots of action against British Aerospace over the years, and has in recent times been increasing in its frequency and intensity with occupations, die ins, lobbies and vigils. BAe's Annual General Meeting this year was a most jolly event as shareholders tried to lock themselves to Chairman Bob Bauman's microphone stand. BAe have wielded the stick with injunctions against protestors including Chris Cole who spent six months inside for the smashing of nose cones of the aircraft .
There can be few more disgraceful acts on this earth than profiting at the expense of the deaths of innocent men, women and children, and that is exactly what BAe are doing.
Let's make sure that in future it's us that give them a rocket!!

Stop The Hawk Deal, One World Centre, 6 Mount Street, Manchester
0161 834 0295 or 0171 561 1236 - they've published 'To Resist is to Win' - story of a civil disobedience action. �1 from above address.
Coalition for East Timor 0171 252 7937
Campaign Against The Arms Trade 0171 281 0297