MEND-The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta

May 8, 2008 at 6:29 pm (Indigenous People, Peace, War Crimes)
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The oppressive and repressive activities of the oil companies and the Nigerian State [sic] impact women first and foremost. During military occupation of communities, the women suffer psychologically, emotionally, and physically. They are raped and maimed. They suffer as their sons get arrested and killed…and feel it most when their brothers, husbands and lovers are tortured maimed and killed. The military and armed police have brutalized and sacked whole communities, assaulting and beating indiscriminately. The objective is to humiliate, intimidate, and eliminate all those who resist oil exploitation activities.

~Emem J Okan

On November 10, 1995, a small group of ten human rights activists including Ken Saro-Wiwa was led to a prison yard to face punishment for their crimes. Ken Saro Wiwa was executed by hanging. The Nigerian military wanted to make an example of individuals who might consider further protest of the destruction of their land, the poisoning of their air and water, and the theft of their natural resources, namely oil.

In September of 1999, a group of journalists with the Essential Action and Global Exchange spent ten days in the Niger Delta meeting with community leaders, residents, and state and local officials. According to the report that subsequently followed released on January 5, 2000, “There is a long and terrible record of environmental destruction and human rights violations in the oil-producing regions of Nigeria. The gross level of environmental degradation caused by oil exploration and extraction in the Niger Delta has gone unchecked for the past 30 years.” However, in spite of the atrocities committed by the Nigerian government, Shell, and other multi-national companies, the murder of Wiwa, environmental degradation, and civil unrest caused by oil exploration and drilling went unnoticed by Western audiences. Stories of celebrity drama continue to hold the attention of the American people, even as they pay close to three-dollars and fifty cents for one gallon of gas.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, has claimed responsibility for several bombings that have taken place in recent weeks that have forced oil conglomerates to shut down operations and have removed close to 164,000 barrels of oil a day from world markets. According to a recent article in the Tehran Times, “The latest wave of attacks and an eight-day strike by senior oil workers at U.S. energy giant Exxon Mobil which ended on Thursday, had slashed Nigeria’s output by 50 percent, helping to push oil prices to new records.”

In an electronic communication released this week, the group stated, “The MEND command is seriously considering a temporary ceasefire appeal by Senator Barack Obama. Obama is someone we respect and hold in high esteem,”

In sharp contrast and in spite of the pleas of organizations and authors like Emem J, Okan, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam International, Amnesty International, and the Council of Ijaw Associations Abroad, the administration of Bill Clinton continued to allow the use of private military contractors in the Niger Delta. Regardless of the fact that the use of private military personal has become the focus of recent US attention, Mother Jones Magazine points out, “The use of private military companies, which gained considerable momentum under President Clinton, has escalated under the Bush administration.” Part of this escalation took place in the Niger Delta where companies like Shell and Chevron hired private military for ‘security’.

To further the power of multi-national corporations and military contractors, Clinton joined with these companies to overturn laws that allow states to use “selective purchasing” power. According to Corp Watch, “Selective-purchasing laws are designed to force companies to choose between continuing to do business with repressive foreign governments and bidding on often-lucrative state or local government contracts.”

Most recently in a press release dated February 2008, the Clinton campaign has said about military contractors in Iraq, “From this war’s very beginning, this administration has permitted thousands of heavily-armed military contractors to march through Iraq without any law or court to rein them in or hold them accountable… We need to stop filling the coffers of contractors in Iraq, and make sure that armed personnel in Iraq are fully accountable to the U.S. government and follow the chain of command,” However, prior to Clinton’s most recent statement and in spite of sitting on Armed Services Committee no legislation has been presented by Clinton. When questioned about this contradiction, Clinton claimed she did not know about this problem, “Maybe I should have known about it; I did not know about it.” This in spite of well-documented human rights abuses around the world by the very contractors who contribute regularly to her campaign.

Juxtaposed with Clinton rhetoric is bill S.674: Transparency and Accountability in Military and Security Act of 2007, submitted by Barack Obama in February of 07. According to the Obama campaign website, the bill would “require accountability and enhanced congressional oversight for personnel performing private security functions under Federal contracts, and for other purposes. The act would clarify the legal status of contractors, subjecting them to the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) to ensure that all contractors working in war zones – regardless of contracting agency would be held accountable under U.S. law. Passed in 2000, MEJA says that contractors for the armed forces can be prosecuted under US law for crimes committed overseas.”

The potential for the United States to regain the respect and admiration of the world is within our grasp. As some elder statesmen have pointed out, as long as the United States continues to build relationships with foreign nations whose records on the democratic process are abysmal, we will continue to pay the price. A price paid at the gas pump and in innocent blood.

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Voices From Gaza

January 28, 2008 at 6:30 am (Combatants for Peace, Democracy Now, Gaza, Genocide, Indigenous People, Peace, War Crimes)
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The dream they had dreamt of being free and separate people, with their own right to self –determination in their own national state in southern Africa was the ideal to which I myself had clung until I finally concluded, after a long process of deep introspection, that, if pursued, it would bring disaster to all the peoples of our country, including my own.

 

~F.W. DeClerk

 

Ideas of nationalism and racism have long been ingrained in the very essence of humanity. History has shown us the horrors created when one ethnic or religious group claims themselves to be in some way superior or more righteous than another. Across the globe, indigenous people fight for basic necessities, equality, and the right to freedom. As this historical story repeats itself and unfolds, the voices that speak for justice are the strongest, yet they are rarely heard.

This horrific story of oppression and violent resistance is repeating itself now in Gaza where day to day control of Gazan borders belongs to the Israeli government (Human Rights Watch 2008). Control of these borders has left Gazan residents impoverished as the ability to export and import goods and services has been severely limited. These limitations have led to 80% of Gazan residents dependent on aid from the United Nations, 79% of the population living in poverty, and to the collapse of 90% of Gazan businesses, simply furthering hardships for civilians. Human Rights Watch has condemned the Israeli Government citing numerous violations of the Geneva Conventions and calls Israel’s actions collective punishment. In combination with this condemnation, Human Rights Watch has warned militants that the relentless rocket attacks raining down on Israeli civilians are in clear violation of international law. However, in sharp contrast to 10 Israeli injuries, over 40 Palestinian deaths have been reported in the past few days alone.

As these populations live in fear of retribution and continued violence, the situation is deteriorating. One Gaza resident recently wrote, “As anyone living under military occupation at any time I am awaiting my death, any time maybe the helicopter can bomb any place, I don’t know it…” and yet in spite of this fear, he goes on to recognize that living side by side with those he is at war with is the answer, “The best thing is for there [sic] to be one multinational state…and to let the people live in peace, far from all things political [sic]…believe me, Palestinians and Israelis want to live in peace.”  And as the situation in Gaza becomes more unstable, so does civil strife. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans crossed the Egyptian border last week in an attempt to restock essential food and fuel supplies constituting almost half of the entire population of Gaza.

Regardless of the continued violence there are many who speak for reconciliation and peace; however, these voices continue to be marginalized by mainstream media and those who seek to profit from war. In a recent interview with Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman, members of the group Combatants for Peace described in detail their reason for seeking reconciliation through non-violence. As former fighters for both the Israeli military and the militant faction of Fatah, members of this group have come to understand how their continued violence against each other has only resulted in more violence with both sides losing life and freedom. In an open letter written by Yonatan Shapira, he, along with other Israeli soldiers, expressed their refusal to participate in what they considered to be war crimes. The expression of this sentiment has joined forces with the non-violent Palestinian movement creating a viable option for peaceful resolution.

Sadly, these voices, which represent the majority of Israeli’s and Palestinians who wish to live in peace are continually stifled. Yonatan Shapipra states, “I don’t think you have to be a military expert or have a Ph.D. in political science and to be one of these fancy scholars in Washington institutions to know that the results of this scientific experiment that we have in Gaza, for example, locking millions of people-million and a half people without food, electricity, medicine-no one can go out, no one can go in…It’s obvious that you’re going to have people resist. And I grew up, you know, learning the history of my people and how they resisted in Warsaw Ghetto, where they didn’t have any choice…I’m against what Hamas is doing…people are getting killed…all of us in our group are against that. But what can you expect from people when you treat them like that, in such a brutal occupation, such a brutal situation. What do you want them to do?”

Apparently the answer to the question of how the Palestinians living in Gaza should respond to occupation will remain elusive, especially as long as the word terrorist is equated to Palestinian, and violence is seen as the only solution. Sadly, as noted by F.W. DeClerk this can only lead to the destruction of both.

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Al Gore and the Noble Peace Prize

October 17, 2007 at 5:56 pm (Genocide, Indigenous People, Iraq War, Peace)
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The Nobel Foundation, in existence now for more than one hundred years, was established when Alfred Nobel requested the foundation’s creation in his last will and testament. Nobel, after receiving criticism for his invention of dynamite, determined that he preferred his legacy to contribute to rather than detract from humanity. After lengthy discussion and argument as to the intent of his will, the Nobel Foundation was established years after his death.

 

The Nobel Peace Prize, as determined by Nobel’s own words, should be granted, “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”. Al Gore hardly fits this requirement; however, this argument will not analyze or critique his behavior for the jets he fuels on his journeys throughout the world, nor the distribution of a film that discussed his life more than the issue it purports to tackle (Global Warming), it will examine some of the events that unfolded during his Vice-Presidency under Bill Clinton. In fact, according to Edward S. Herman the office of Bill Clinton was responsible for some of the most horrific war crimes and abuses of international law, such as the Geneva Conventions and The Hague in the history of the United States. The Bush Administration has simply furthered the abuses of power that Clinton et al reigned down upon poor nations.

The list of abuses includes the carrying out of wars of aggression, the use of poison gases and other inhumane weapons, deliberately killing and starving civilian populations, and the use of force beyond military necessity. None of which Al Gore ever used his power to deter or extinguish. As stated by the International Criminal Court, any crime against peace is namely, planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the forgoing…War Crimes and Crimes against humanity. Considering the long list of civilians enslaved, oppressed, starved, and violently murdered during the Clinton Administration, Mr. Gore surly should stand trial as an accomplice along side Clinton.

The list of crimes against humanity committed by the US under Clinton and Gore is gruesome indeed. Included are the genocide in East Timor, the illegal and unwarranted bombings of Sudan, Iraq, and Afghanistan, coupled with aid to Turkey and Columbia, where the civilian casualties from counterinsurgency warfare and death squad operations…exceeded the pre-NATO bombing deaths in Kosovo by a large factor. None of this, of course, includes the brutal sanctions imposed on Iraq, which, had it not been for the power the US wields on the UN Security Council, would have been prosecuted as war crimes under international law.

According to UNICEF, in 1999, years into the Clinton/Gore administration, sanctions in Iraq were killing close to 5,000 children under the age of 5 monthly far beyond normal death rates. Several reports from the United States Defense Agency show that contrary to the Geneva Convention, the US government intentionally used sanctions against Iraq to degrade the countries water supply after the Gulf War. The United States knew the cost that civilian Iraqis, mostly children, would pay, and it went ahead anyway. (Jeff Lindemyer, November 2001). Other DIA documents (dated January, 1991, February, 1991, and March 1991) showed that not only was the Clinton/Gore Administration knowledgeable about how the sanctions would impact civilians, they monitored the situation closely. A charismatic statesman, Clinton repeatedly cited abuses of the “Oil for Food Program” by Iraqi leaders as the cause of civilian casualties and suffering, of course avoiding the fact that the devastation of sanctions was being felt by Iraqi’s as early as 1991 and the “Oil for Food Program” did not start until December of 1996. As the “Oil for Food Program” got underway, the US continued charges levied at the Saddam regime, with no basis in fact. According to the US State Department, Holds on inappropriate contracts help prevent the diversion of oil-for food goods to further Saddam’s personal interests. However, Jeff Lindemyer shows that requests for urgent assistance were repeatedly delayed to the point that Secretary-General Kofi-Annan along with Benon Sevon wrote numerous letters decrying the excessive holds placed on items ordered under the program, not by the Saddam regime, but by the UN Security Council.

Remarkable to the Clinton/Gore Administration was its ongoing relationship with President Suharto, the person responsible for genocide in Indonesia, East Timor, and West Papua. Clinton brokered weapons deals and trade agreements, which enslaved an entire people for companies such as Reebok and Nike, while US bought weapons were used to exterminate any people who resisted. Against the will of the Administration and the corporate controlled media, it was the actions of a few brave journalists who brought this tragedy to light. American journalist Amy Goodman was severely beaten by US supplied weapons when she captured the murder of innocent civilians in East Timor. Upon her return to the United States, she worked tirelessly to bring attention to the matter through US media outlets who finally after intense international coverage could no longer ignore the story, however, the coverage the genocide did receive was minimal and no mention was made of US involvement.

Some other notable war crimes and immoralities committed by the Clinton/Gore Administration include the use of DynaCorp, a private “security firm” that at the time Clinton and Gore were lobbying Congress heavily for their use in South America was in the midst of an investigation for participation in a child sex-slave ring. Regardless of this knowledge Clinton/Gore continued to offer DynaCorp military contracts and relied on the firm heavily to carry out illegal military operations. The people of the Delta Niger suffered and continue to suffer horrific environmental degradation, mass murder, and torture at the hands of the US backed government, which Clinton/Gore did not hesitate weaponizing and training at the time of these known abuses.

Clearly, Mr. Gore, if he had any redeeming qualities at all, would apologize for his active role and participation in these war crimes and crimes against humanity, and return the Nobel in order to be awarded to someone more deserving.

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Narcissistic Holidays and the American Way

October 8, 2007 at 10:47 pm (Comubus Day, Genocide, Howard Zinn, Indigenous People, Paul Farmer)
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The essential feature of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts.

 

 

~DSM-IV-TR

 

One must wonder how it is that Americans celebrate a day like Columbus Day. Even worse, one wonders how Americans do not demand that it be stripped of its place in the American cluster of days to be celebrated. Only a country with a collective Narcissistic Personality Disorder would dare honor this day.  

 

 

Unlike the propaganda taught in American schools of how the natives welcomed us and offered their generosity in assisting us with the growth of corn, the reality of “American Discovery” is brutal, barbaric and just plain gross. Yet Americans seem to wonder about content to honor the likes of Christopher Columbus, the early colonizers, and the great aptitude they apparently had in the realm of survival. It is as if in the American collective conscious the millions of natives living here did not exist at all.

 

 

Many will argue that the people of today can not be held to account for the sins of their fathers, and to a certain extent there is some truth to this premise; however, Americans continue to honor this day and the acts of Christopher Columbus as if it they are actually something deserving of our praise. Even now, the state of natives living in America is bleak. As one example, Amnesty International recently released a report highlighting the sexual assault and rapes of natives living on reservations, where the perpetrator rapes with impunity and confidence, knowing no one will investigate the crime, no one, including Federal Authorities.

 

 

If historians are correct and the cumulative statistics of European conflict and conquest are assessed with any honesty, Columbus Day would need to change its name to something like Genocide Day. According to author and historian Mark Cocker, …eleven million indigenous Americans lost their lives in the eighty years following the Spanish invasion of Mexico. In the Andean empire of the Incas the figure was more than eight million. In Brazil the Portuguese conquest say Indian numbers dwindle from a pre-Columbian total of almost 2,500,000 to just 225,000. And to the north of Mexico it has now been widely accepted that Native Americans declined from an original population of more than 8,000,000 to 800,000 by the end of nineteenth century. For the whole of the Americas, some historians have put the total losses as high as one hundred million.

 

 

True to form, Americans tend to have a short attention span and certainly lack in their ability to empathize. The continued oppression of indigenous peoples around the globe is more than enough evidence to support such a charge. Paul Farmer, human rights activist, physician and author documents this continued oppression well in his most recent book Pathologies of Power-Health, Human Rights and the New War on the Poor, where he rightfully charges …structural violence, which influences the nature and distribution of extreme suffering as oppressions main cause. The most basic right, “the right to survive” continues to be trampled on by those in power. He argues: “Human rights violations are not accidents; they are not random in distribution or effect. Rights violations are, rather, symptoms of deeper pathologies of power and are linked intimately to the social conditions that so often determine who will suffer abuse and who will b shielded from harm.”

 

 

Of course we can not lay the blame for the suffering of all indigenous people both present and past solely on the shoulders of Columbus, but certainly we can discontinue our celebrations of his genocidal actions. Are the Arawak Indians who Columbus contemptuously kidnapped, enslaved, and subsequently wiped out not deserving of our remembrance? According to historian Howard Zinn …the Indians were taken as slave labor and on huge estates, known as encomiendas. They were worked at a ferocious pace, and died by the thousands. By the year 1515, there were perhaps fifty thousand Indians left. By 1550, there were five hundred. A report the year 1650 shows none of the original Arawaks or their descendants left on the island.

 

 

Indeed, only a country with no conscious at all could honor the man responsible for committing genocide, especially in the name of progress. It is this continued lack of empathy that has allowed the oppression and death of millions, simply for the sake of furthering our own agendas. Zinn continues: This learned sense of moral proportion, coming from the apparent objectivity of the scholar, is accepted more easily than when it comes from politicians at press conferences. It is therefore more deadly.

 

 

Certainly all indigenous peoples around the globe who struggle against America’s continued hegemony can testify as to how this deadly attitude and apathy has impacted their life, suffering, and death. Sadly, it will be up to the snoozing populace of Americans to wake each other to the atrocities being committed in their names – perhaps then, the indigenous people around the globe will finally have justice.

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