Dokument #1332894
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
Although protests against Shell took place
in the Ogoni region in 1993 and 1994, no specific mention of a
demonstration on 21 March 1994, involving the National Union of
Ogoni Students (NUOS), at Local Government Headquarters, could be
found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
There are, however, reports of a protest in
April 1993 in the village of Biara against the bulldozing of
farmland by Wilbros Company (HRW July 1995, 10; Catma Films 23 May
1994; AI 19 May 1993). The justices in the Ogoni 9 trial that
involved Ken Saro-Wiwa referred to "what may be termed WILBROS
riots of April, 1993" in the Gokana area (Ogoni 9 31 Oct. 1995).
HRW reported that the Wilbros Company began bulldozing crops on 28
April 1993 (July 1995, 10) resulting in a "mass" demonstration on
30 April (ibid.; AI 19 May 1993). Security forces were called in
and fired on the demonstrators resulting in one death and eleven
people injured (ibid.; HRW July 1995, 10). A Mrs. Karaklolo Korbara
was one of those shot and her injury resulted in her arm being
amputated (Catma Films 23 May 1994; Wiwa Oct. 1997). Amnesty
International reported on 19 May 1993 that:
Security forces then detained six people and took them to the Second Amphibious Brigade camp. Among the six, three apparently escaped while two who were injured during the shooting, were transferred to a hospital in Port Harcourt. One of the six, a 32-year-old man, is reported to be still detained, without charge or trial, and apparently unlwafully, at Bori military camp.
During a 23 December 1998 telephone
interview, the author of Ogoni: The Struggle Continues
written for the World Council of Churches, and now the Executive
Director of International Possibilities Unlimited, said that there
was "just one incident to the best of my knowledge" involving the
Ogoni community reacting to the Wilbros Company bulldozing farmland
and this incident occurred in 1993. In a 23 December 1998 telephone
interview, the Human Rights Coordinator of the Africa Fund
supported this supposition that there was only one incident
involving the Wilbros Company and Ogoni demonstrators and that it
occurred in 1993. He said that he was aware that a demonstrator was
killed and that the woman whose land was bulldozed had to have her
arm amputated after being shot by security forces. He said that the
incident had been well-documented and that it was mentioned in the
documentary film The Drilling Fields, which depicted the
Ogoni people's complaints of environmental degradation and
government repression. However, he said that it was possible that
another incident could have occurred since Wilbros Company was a
contractor of Shell and it was during this time that the Ogoni
people were escalating their protests at Shell's presence in the
area.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is
not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any
particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the
list of additional sources consulted in researching this
Information Request.
References
The Africa Fund, New York. 23 December
1998. Telephone interview with the Human Rights Coordinator.
Amnesty International (AI). 19 May 1993.
Urgent Action: Nigeria: Possible Extrajudicial Execution/Legal
Concern. (AI Index: AFR 44/04/93). London: Amnesty
International.
Catma Films. [23 May 1994]. "The
Drilling Fields." Script of documentary film. [Internet] www.oneworld.org [Accessed 24 dec. 1998]
Human Rights Watch (HRW)/Africa. July
1995. Nigeria: The Ogoni Crisis: A Case-Study of Military
Repression in Southeastern Nigeria. New York: Human Rights
Watch/Africa.
International Possibilities Unlimited.
23 December 1998. Telephone interview with the Executive
Director.
The Ogoni 9 Judgment. 31 October 1995.
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Transcript of Decision.
[Internet] www.derechos.org
[Accessed 22 dec. 1998]
Wiwa, Diana. October 1997. The Role
of Women in the Struggle for Environmental Justice in Ogoni.
Leicaster, UK: Federation of Ogoni Women's Organisations (FOWA).
[Internet] www.oneworld.org
[Accessed 22 Dec. 1998]
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential. [London].
1993-1994.
Africa Events [London].
1993-1994.
Africa Research Bulletin: Political,
Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. 1993-1994.
Africa South of the Sahara
1996. 1995.
Angel, William D. 1990. Youth
Movements of the World.
The Europa World Year Book
1993-1994. 1993-1994.
Freedom in the World: The Annual
Survey of Political Rights & Civil Liberties 1992-95.
1993-1995.
Keesing's Record of World
Events [Cambridge]. 1991 -1994.
Political Handbook of the World
1994-1998. 1994-1998.
Resource Centre. Nigeria: Amnesty
International country file. 1991-1994.
West Africa [London]. November
1992 - January 1993, May - June 1993, May-July 1994.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases,
LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, REFWORLD, World News Connection (WNC).