ATLANTA—“No to Shell!” chanted 60 people in front of the CNN building here November 12. The action drew protesters from seven states. It was part of a conference here sponsored by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). It marked the 10-year anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and others in Nigeria hanged for their role in the Ogoni people’s fight for autonomy, mineral rights, and environmental controls on the imperialist oil barons polluting their land and destroying their crops. A military tribunal-style frame-up trial ironically found the Ogoni militants guilty of the murder of four other activists.

Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, has 500,000 inhabitants. Oil accounts for 80 percent of Nigeria’s export earnings. The delta is the main oil-producing area, dominated by Shell, the Dutch-owned oil company with British and U.S. ties. MOSOP charges Shell with disregarding the impact of its exploration on the Ogoni.

“Ten years ago, on Nov. 10, 1995, the Ogoni lost not only a central leader but so many others killed in the struggle,” Rev. Apollos Bulo, one of the organizers, told the MOSOP conference of some 80 people. Participants, from veteran fighters to young workers and students, vowed to continue their struggle for dignity and control of their land and its resources.

—BRIAN TAYLOR  
 
 
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