Sir, The unfolding disclosures about the relationship between the Nigerian government of General Abacha, and Shell Corporation are profoundly disturbing.
I know that large multinational companies have bad very close relations with African leaders in the past. Tiny Rowlands's Lonhro Corporation and the Zambian government of Kenneth Kuanda are a case in point.
However, there is something utterly shocking about the extent to which Shell Corporation have acquiesced, and supported the totalitarian methods of the Nigerian government leadership in their suppression of the people of the Ogoni region, and the flagrant abuse of human rights prevalent there.
Most people are fortunate when oil is found on their lands. The Ogoni people have been on the receiving end of every conceivable permutation of bad fortune since Shell Corporation began extracting oil from the Ogoni lands.
The nature of the relationship between Shell and the Nigerian government was recently exposed by Owens Wiwa, the brother of executed Nigerian activist, Ken Saro Wiwa, when he addressed the Development and Co operation Committee of the European Parliament recently.
The committees was given copies of a letter from a senior Shell management figure in Nigeria, which raises more disturbing questions about Shell's knowledge of, and support for, the Nigerian government's brutal activities.
The first document shown to the committee was a letter to the Governor of the River State in Nigeria, from a general manager of Shell in Nigeria, stating that Shell work in a particular area had been stopped due to community intervention. The letter concluded with a euphemistic request for "the usual assistance"
in order to bring an end to the disruption of Shell's commercial activities.
It is the second document that gives an indication of what is meant by "the usual assistance". The document is a secret government memo from the chairman of the River States Internal Security to the military administrator of the River States.
In the memo it is pointed outs that "Shell operations are still impossible unless ruthless military. operations are undertaken". The document also reveals that there is "pressure from oil companies for prompt regular inputs".
The document recommends "wasting operations during MOSOP and other gatherings, making constant military presence justifiable". Among the documents final recommendations is the chilling statement that there is a need for "ruthless operations and high level authority for the task force effectiveness".
These documents clearly outline the planned and methodical brutality of the Nigerian regime, that led up to the monstrous execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and his fellow supporters. The relentless pursuit of economic development at the expense of upholding basic human rights is further evidence that Shell Corporation colluded with the Nigerian government to support arms on its behalf and clearly emphasises the need to ensure that the European Union has the courage to introduce an oil embargo against Nigeria. - Yours, etc.,
European Parliament Office, Jean Monnet Centre
Molesworth Street, Dublin 2