42 lines
2.2 KiB
Plaintext
42 lines
2.2 KiB
Plaintext
NIGERIA'S CRIMES TO CONTINUE
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The people suffer as Shell goes for the 'business as usual' policy
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According to judicial sources in Port Harcourt a further 19 Ogonis have been
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charged with complicity in the killings which resulted in the murder of nine
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Ogonis a fortnight ago. If convicted when they appear in January before the
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same tribunal which arrived at the previous sentence they also will probably
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be murdered by the Nigerian state. The regional military administrator in
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Ogoniland, Colonel Dauda Musa Komo, also confirmed that many more people are
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expected to be tried and murdered by the Nigerian regime.
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Major Obi Abel Umahi - who effectively rules Ogoniland - aims is to
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eradicate the memory of those nine who have already been murdered. Public
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expression of grief is not allowed. Umahi says: 'Unnecessary sentiment and
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emotionalism has been built into this. People who are not well informed are
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vulnerable to all this propaganda. It will not do them good to dwell on it'.
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Anyone wearing black is beaten up for making a political statement and if
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people are found in possession of documents - for example newspapers - which
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mention the names of the nine who have already been murdered they are
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whipped. Priests have been warned that their sermons are being monitored and
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that it is an offence to mention the names of those who have been murdered.
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Teachers have received similar warnings.
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The regime feels it has successfully crushed the people in the area: 'To the
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best of our knowledge there's no Mosop here,' says Umahi, 'They do not
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operate any more because people blame them for their problems'.
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The Ogonis say otherwise. One person living in the area said, 'We Ogoni are
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not happy... They arrest us, beat us, harass us. We cannot say we are for
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Mosop anymore or the police attack us'. Apart from the police the Ogoni also
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blame other parties: 'Shell is still rich. But what of us?' They say
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speaking of the company whose pipelines cover the area. The wealth of the
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area seeps out via these pipelines on a daily basis. The people receive
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nothing in return.
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Based on information from The Guardian 25/11/95
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FREEDOM PRESS
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http://www.lglobal.com/TAO/Freedom
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