Niger Delta Solidarity Group

LAMENTATIONS FROM GBARAMATU BOMBINGS

Gbaramatu Report - Report by Enviornmental Rights Action on the Bombings

“They bombed everywhere and everything. They don't have feelings at all. I was lucky to have my
children and husband alive. My neighbour lost his pregnant wife in the incidence. She was my friend too.” - Evelyn Emmanuel On May 14, 2009 at about noon, Gbaramatu Kingdom,Delta State, was in a festive mood. There had been an influx of guests into the community from far and near. They all came to witness the presentation of the Staff of Office to the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, His Royal Majesty Ogie the third. The palace located in Oporoza was filled with well- wishers as the day also marked the King's one year anniversary. Suddenly, three low flying helicopters were seen approaching the Kindgom. The community people initially thought they were flying dignitaries to the ceremony or that they were part of the glamour for the ceremony. They were wrong. Dead wrong!

The three choppers were actually gunships of the Joint  Military Task Force, on a mission to mow down the Gbaramatu Kingdom. Suddenly the gunships started bombing everywhere, the King's palace inclusive. The JTF, ostensibly on a mission of searching  for militants and rescuing hostages, embarked on massive military assault on Gbaramatu Kingdom made up of 163 communities, villages and hamlets. The military deployed its most sophisticated weaponry against the hapless residents of the community

Sokari Ekine

PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION AGAINST ATROCITIES IN NIGER DELTA

THE NIGER DELTA SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN IS ORGANISING A PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION IN LONDON AGAINST THE MASSACRES IN THE NIGER DELTA BY THE NIGERIAN ARMY The people of the Niger Delta under the umbrella of the Niger Delta Solidarity campaign will be holding a public demonstration in London to protest against the invasion and bombing of several Niger Delta communities by the Nigerian Military. These atrocious acts of brutality have led to an estimated death toll of over 1000 people and more than 20,0000 displaced people. Several towns and villages have been completely razed and many others are under occupation by the military. These military attacks are still continuing today. Come join us and raise your voice against these massacres that are being committed against the oppressed people of the Niger Delta. Date: Monday 1st June 2009 Venue: 10 Downing Street / Nigerian High commission Time: 12 Noon - 2pm (10 Downing Street) 2 – 3 pm (Nigerian High Commission, 9 Northumberland Avenue, London. WC2N 5BX.) We will be handing over a petition to the British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown. Inemo Samiama Coordinator Niger Delta Solidarity Campaign For more information, Please contact; Tel: 07944542320, Email: inemo@lineone.net http://punditz.typepad.com/niger_delta_solidarity_gr/

Photos from the Delta

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2009/01/03/purefoy.nigeria.gas.flare.cnn

Gas flaring in the Niger Delta causing acid rain, destruction of the rain forest, climate change, environmental pollution and unexplained illnesses among the people

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Photos and interview from the massacres in Warri South West

http://adakaboro.org/crises/65-gbaramtumassacre/107-oporozabombed1

Interview of a Niger Delta indigene that survived the ongoing Nigeria army rampage 

and massacres. 

 Photo of displaced women and children. Refugees in their own land because of Nigerian and foreign greed for the oil in their land. Where is the justice?

Roundup of Commentary on Shell trial & military massacre in Warri

Ken Saro Wiwa Jr writes in London Observer “Now at last it’s time for Shell to atone for my father’s death”

Ken Saro-Wiwa’s real “crime” was his audacity to sensitise local and global public opinion to the ecological and human rights abuses perpetrated by Shell and a ruthless military dictatorship against the Ogoni people. The success of his campaign had mobilised our community to say “No to Shell” and to demand compensation for years of oil spills that had polluted our farms, streams and water sources. My father called the world’s attention to the gas flares that had been pumping toxic fumes into the Earth’s atmosphere for up to 24 hours a day since oil was discovered on our lands in 1958. He accused Shell of double standards, of racism and asked why a company that was rightly proud of its efforts to preserve the environment in the west would deny the Ogoni the same. Continue Reading ./blockquote>

Patrick Bond and Khadija Sharife “Shell on trial while Nigerians are slaughtered”

But at a time of worsening state massacres of environmental justice activists in the Delta, a moment of reckoning nears. In New York’s Southern District Court this Wednesday before Judge Kimba Wood, Shell goes on trial for crimes against the Niger Delta people and environment, which could lead to substantive reparations payments.

The state’s most recent assault against the Delta left the villages of Opuye, Okerenkoro, Kurutie and Oporoza (site of the new documentary Sweet Crude - www.sweetcrudemovie.com ) burned to the ground in mid-May, with hundreds of Ijaw people - both armed activists (called ‘militants’) and civilians - feared dead. Journalists are banned from the area.

Nigerian Vanguard “WAR IN THE CREEKS : Chased from home,driven away from refugee camp *Horrifying tales of victims”

five days after the Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Niger-Delta started the bombardment of Ijaw communities and militant camps in the creeks of Gbaramatu kingdom, Warri South-West Local Government Area, an Ijaw youth from Oporoza community, Mike Itima and more than 20,000 thers are still trapped in the forests, where they ran into on Friday, May 15, to avoid airborne missiles from invading soldiers.

Hundreds of others, including women and children, who were brought to the emergency refugee camp, Imageset up by council at the Ogbe-Ijoh General Hospital, Ogbe-Ijoh on Sunday, May 17 were chased away by soldiers, who alleged the doctors were training wounded militants. By Tuesday, May 19 when Sunday Vanguard visited the hospital, it had been abandoned by the entire medical personnel for fear of intimidation by the JTF.

From the Daily Telegraph “Shell ‘played role in activist executions’”

AllAfrica - “Displaced out of aid workers reach”

Aid agencies are unable to access an area in the Niger Delta where more than 2,000 people are believed to be hiding in the bush after a military offensive against militants forced families to flee their homes. Security forces have cordoned off the area as their operation continues. “Our mandate is to provide relief to people in distress,” Yushau Shuaib, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesperson, said in a communiqué. “We have tried to get relief materials into the creeks for those trapped there, but the military say it [the aid effort] has to wait until the military operation is over.”