Appeal for liberation of hostages in Nigeria, for human rights for Nigerians

[Alessandro Marescotti <a.marescotti at peacelink.it>]

  Call for the liberation of the engineers who were kidnapped in Nigeria
  and for the recognition of the rights of Nigerians to life, health and
  freedom



  FREE THE HOSTAGES,


  FREE THE NIGERIANS FROM POLLUTION




On 7 December 2006 Francesco Arena, Roberto Draghi, Cosma Russo and the
Lebanese Imad Saliba, ENI engineers who were working on the extraction
of natural gas in the area of the River Niger delta were kidnapped. MEND
(Movement for the Emancipation of the Nigerian Delta) claimed
responsibility for the kidnapping.



At a month’s distance from the kidnapping, we are appealing to the
Italian government so that it acts concretely and in an effective manner
for the liberation of the hostages. It is now clear that MEND is not
asking for money in order to release the hostages. MEND is a political
movement that is asking for political recognition of its motivations.



MEND was formed as a response to the brutal and violent exploitation of
the natural resources of Nigeria by the multinational companies. For a
very long time, the populations of the Niger delta – the area of Nigeria
in which oil and natural gas are extracted from – have been subject to
severe repression. Because of the drillings that had been made without
any respect for the environment, the land has been polluted, as well as
bringing about the contamination of the air and water. Immense gas fires
devastate and pollute the environment. Agriculture has been compromised,
the water aquifers have been poisoned, the people are becoming sick and
dying from cancer due to the fumes that they constantly are inhaling.



Underway in the Niger delta is an ecological catastrophe. MEND is a
movement that is comprised mostly of Christians who, after having tried
in vain to make their pleas be known by pacific means, have decided to
make the multinational companies responsible for this catastrophe leave.
Oil and gas have never brought profit to the people of Nigeria. It is
only a small group of elites in government who has become wealthy over
the heads of the majority of the population who instead has been
persecuted, impoverished and polluted.



Must we bring to mind that on 10 November 1995 Ken Saro Wiwa was hanged,
together with other environmental activists in Nigeria? Ken Saro Wiwa
was a poet, a playwright, a human rights activist, and for this he was
also a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.



He lead a pacific, non-violent rebellion against the multinationals for
the populations of the Niger delta (the Ogoni). The Ogoni were asking
for the cleaning of the oil overspills and toxic residue as well as
compensation for the damages that they had to bear. As a reaction to
this plea, the Nigerian government destroyed, from 1993 onwards, 20 of
the cities that were inhabited by the Ognoni, killing 1,800 people and
creating 50,000 homeless people. Since then, the repression of the
Nigerian government – which has put itself at the service of the gas and
oil multinationals – has been terrible.



While an international boycott against Shell was launched, something
happened that touches us closer to home. In fact, ENI, thanks to its
good relationship with the Nigerian government, concluded with a
substantial contract for the supply of liquid natural gas, destined to
feed the Italian regassifiers.



All of this is immoral.



We must denounce this and it is our fervent wish that all of this
information reaches the public. It would permit them to better
understand the problems that the Italian engineers who are working in
the Niger delta are facing. Only in this way can we be able to explain
the resentment of the local populations towards us as well as the risks
that the Italian workers are running, when they are sent without a
safety net to Nigeria, risking their own lives in an absolutely
inhospitable context.



Only by understanding this rage that the local populations feel can we
make steps towards liberating the engineers who had been kidnapped in
Nigeria.



We do not accept the violent methods of MEND, but we recognise that MEND
has many good reasons to protest.



We must remove our economic violence – sustained by the repressive
violence of the Nigerian government that our government supports – to
which the guerrillas respond with the violence of arms.



We believe that only through serious dialogue are we able to begin to
recognise, understand and remove the causes of the rebellion, in that
way obtaining the liberation of the kidnapped workers.



For this reason, we call for a just solution to the controversy that
will bring about an environmental cleaning financed by the multinational
companies, compensation to the local populations for the damages that
they are subject to, as well as a policy that consents the poorest
people to benefit from the exploitation of their resources and the
release of those who have been unjustly arrested.



We commit ourselves so that the families of the kidnapped workers can
have their loved ones at home as soon as possible. At the same time, we
are committed so that the populations of Nigeria do not have to be
polluted, repressed and killed in the name of gas and oil.



We ask – to anyone who shares this appeal with us – to sign it and let
it reach the Italian government.



On the politics of the Minister of Foreign “Affairs”, the politics of
human rights must prevail. Such universal rights must always precede the
logic of business affairs and profits.



In the name of these principles, we ask for the liberation of the
kidnapped engineers.





Padre Alex Zanotelli - Missionary

Giuseppe De Marzo - Association A Sud

Alessandro Marescotti - PeaceLink, Internet network for peace

To sign this appeal, please write to:
volontari at peacelink.it

We bring to note these articles, closely related to the problems that
are indicated in the appeal

Blood on the regassifiers (in Italian) on PeaceLink
http://italy.peacelink.org/ecologia/articles/art_18392.html


Nigeria: A country kidnapped by the multinationals (in Italian)
(A Sud - Ecologia e cooperazione ONLUS)
http://www.asud.net/doceboCms/index.php?mn=news&pi=2_29&id=30





Rome, 8 January 2007



Translated by Mary Rizzo, member of Tlaxcala (http://www.tlaxcala.es>) 
network of translators for diversity linguistica. This translation is on 
Copyleft, it may be freely reproduced, citing the source.