A Culture of Denial
April 29th, 2009 | Published in blog | 1 Comment
by Ben Amunwa, ShellGuilty
Recent coverage of the Shell trial in the Financial Times and the Observer, and the launch of ShellGuilty.com has escalated the number of people following this landmark human rights case. The high level of public interest must be concerning for Shell, who continue to deny responsibility for the murder of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues, despite a caseload of evidence to the contrary.
The recent headlines got a response from Richard D. North, a journalist who, amongst other things, makes a living out of attacking environmental activists in the press. His letter to the FT (April 13, 2009) attempts to cast doubt on the non-violent character of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). North claims, yet again, that “there had been violence from activists and authorities alike,” and pins the Delta’s current crisis on “ethnic and regional struggles.”
North’s claims are problematic on several levels. When he admits that he was “invited by Shell to visit Nigeria,” he is only telling half the truth. In 1996, Shell paid for him and other journalists to fly over to Nigeria, take free helicopter rides and tour hand-picked communities. For Shell, paying journalists is a reliable way to stage-manage the press into deceiving the public. In a similar way, Shell employs consultants in Nigeria to dismiss the devastating impacts of gas flaring and oil spills on the Niger Delta. The main problem with these ‘independent journalists’ and ‘experts’ is their evidence, which is often rejected as highly flawed. (Ebeku, K.S.A, 2006, p. 147)
MOSOP had plenty of support from Ogoni youth outraged by the destruction of their land and livelihoods by oil companies such as Shell. The overwhelming majority of MOSOP activists were committed to non-violence, even as the Nigerian military stormed their villages, shot and killed unarmed civilians and raped innocent women. Shell called upon the Nigeria state to unleash these violent raids on the Ogoni. It is therefore highly disturbing to hear North imply that the brutal military crackdowns were a response to ‘violent’ activists. But on this point, and many others, North and Shell are on the same page. Shell went further at the time, praising the Nigerian military soldiers for their ‘restraint.’
Today, multinationals like Shell continue to abuse human rights and the environment in the Nigeria by illegally flaring gas. Such criminal irresponsibility is at the heart of the current crisis. Gas flaring inflames oil-related protests, and the suffering and outrage is felt across ethnic and regional divides. The Ogoni movement led by Ken Saro-Wiwa used nonviolent direct action to demand that Shell end such practices. By ignoring them, and colluding to suppress the movement, Shell pushed the youth of the Niger Delta down the desperate path of militancy.
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:12 pm (#)
What a sleazebag company, just like their rival Cheveron that had on its board of directors when a lot of violence was directed against protestors none other then Condelezza Rice. She learned early on the leasons she brought with her to the White House that “human life is just a speed bump in the road to Oil Riches”. Hey she and Shell practiced on murdering 100’s of Africans in Condelezza’s quest for oil that several hundred thousand innocent Iraqi women and children were just a bigger speed bump on the way to even greater oil riches. She and the other Bush “Handler’s” were even thinking of ussing Atomic Bombs on the Iranian people just to get at their oil. They knew another conventional war Americans would not stand for regardless how much WMD spin they had Fox News repeat like a mantra daily. So Condi & Dick & George figured “shame to let them Towel Heads keep all that oil, so if we cant do it any other way lets nuke them”. Gee and now the stupid Americans are buying the BS thats on TV about how green the petroleum industry is —–brought to you by the Petroleum Industry Institute. Or the other commercial running “Do you own an oil company? Well if you own a mutual fund, or your retirement plan you are a oil company owner”. So most stupid Americans are thinking “wow I own shares in some oil company so the Exxon Valdez was a good thing it spilling all that oil in those pristine waters of Alaska” I wonder what kind of spin Shell will come up with for the American consumers? Sure we killed off some Nigerian malcontents, but otherwise what would you tell your daughter about not getting her to Ballet practice because these terrorists kept gas out of your car. Shell protecting you from engine gunk and environmental activists.