Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has been pursuing the Ogoni autonomy since 1990 on the basis of the Ogoni Bill of Rights by Ken Saro-Wiwa , who was hanged by the military government under Sani Abacha on November 10, 1995 with eight fellow soldiers .

In the 1950s, the oil company Royal Dutch Shell in Nigeria started oil production against their will in the habitat of the Ogoni ethnic group . The resulting massive pollution ripped the Ogoni of their livelihoods, resulting in thousands of deaths. The Ogoni writer Ken Saro-Wiwa wrote the book Flammen der Hölle about it , in which he wanted to make the atrocities of the oil company public and founded the MOSOP.

The goals of the MOSOP were a. the political and cultural autonomy for the Ogoni, the rehabilitation of the areas damaged by the oil production, as well as the participation of the population in the income from the oil production. These goals should be achieved without the use of any violence. To this end, MOSOP launched several demonstrations , some of which were very successful. For example, the oil company Shell temporarily ceased its activities in the Ogoni area after MOSOP called for a demonstration in January 1993, in which more than half of the Ogoni population - around 300,000 people - took part. Due to such actions, however, the Ogoni area was militarily occupied by the government in the same year.

After 1993, the organization was chaired by the writer, civil rights activist and winner of the alternative Nobel Prize, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was hanged in November 1995 by the military government under Sani Abacha, along with eight fellow campaigners. His execution attracted international attention, as there were no numerous appeals and protests from human rights organizations , heads of state and government of other countries, the silent diplomacy of Shell and international organizations such as the EU , the UN or the Organization of African States (OAU) to pardon the Nigerian government the Ogoni could move. He last wrote from prison: “Living I am a symbol of resistance. Dead I am becoming a martyr and thus even more dangerous. ”In response, Nigeria was expelled from the Commonwealth of Nations with immediate effect .

In September 1993 there were serious clashes with the Andoni ethnic group , in which an estimated 1,000 Ogoni were killed and more than 30,000 had to flee their homeland. MOSOP blames the government and the oil companies that are said to have induced and financed the Andoni for this.

Since 2006 Mr. Ledum Mitee has been President of MOSOP. In June 2009, Shell finally agreed to pay compensation of around $ 15.5 million to the bereaved relatives of the hanged man.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Shell and the nine hanged Nigerians , FAZ.net, June 9, 2009