Feb 23, 2009

In Memory of Ken Saro-Wiwa


Honoring the life of a renowned environmental activist and champion of peaceful resistance.

 

This past Saturday, 21 February 2009, marked the fourteen year anniversary of the death of the renowned environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.  Saro-Wiwa was the President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) from its foundation in 1990 to his death in 1995, and served as the Vice Chair of the UNPO Presidency from 1993 until his death.

A man of letters, Saro-Wiwa was able to disseminate the message of peace for the Ogoni through the power of words, not violence.  Appeals through his published works, some of them written at the age of only seventeen, called a people together to push for representation and the preservation of their homeland.  

Angered by what he saw happening to his home and his fellow Ogoni, Saro-Wiwa took action.  Through pamphlets, poetry, and protest, he reached out to people on every level.  He inspired those around him to meet the dire issues facing Nigeria head on and drew international attention to the struggles of the peoples of the Niger Delta.  Unfortunately, outspokenness in Nigeria often comes with the wish of some to silence—too often by all means necessary.

In November 1994, then President Abacha called for a Civil Disturbances Special Tribunal (CDST) under a special Presidential Decree.  Though the tribunal was not military in nature and was technically legal under Presidential Decree, independent and international witnesses claim the various circumstances surrounding the trials to have strayed from the laws outlined in the Nigerian Constitution and the norms of international human rights law.

Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni, despite having little room to defend themselves, were found guilty and sentenced to death—a sentence barred from appeal under the ad hoc tribunal. The “Ogoni Nine” were hung in Port Hancourt on 21 February 1995 amongst international and local outcry.  The legitimacy of the trial and following execution continues to occupy discussions in international human rights law in international forums as high up as the United Nations.

Continued Hope

Ken Saro-Wiwa’s ambition for peace in the Ogoni region has continued to inspire people around the world.  Together with UNPO, international human rights organizations from Human Rights Watch to Earth Rights Watch continue to look to Saro-Wiwa’s life as a mark of how powerful the pen is above the sword.

We take this time to honor the life of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Ogoni eight who were sentenced alongside him, and all the other Ogoni who have given their lives fighting for peace in the Niger Delta.

Continuing in the aim to increase awareness of the struggle for justice and the defense of human rights, UNPO plans on releasing a Ken Saro-Wiwa dossier later this year chronicling the life of this inspirational activist and the Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum trial. The trial which is set to commence on 27 April 2009, will hopefully serve as a triumph for human rights litigation against irresponsible corporations and bring a much longed for sense of justice served after decades of struggle.