The Free Market's Marked Men, From The Niger Delta To The Amazon

Ken Saro-Wiwa and Alberto Pizango never met, but they are united by a passion for the preservation of their people and their land, and by the fervor with which they have been targeted by their respective governments. Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian government Nov. 10, 1995. Pizango this week was charged by the Peruvian government with sedition and rebellion, and narrowly eluded capture, taking refuge in the Nicaraguan embassy in Lima. Nicaragua has just granted him political asylum. Two indigenous leaders -- one living, one dead -- Pizango and Saro-Wiwa demonstrate that effective grass-roots opposition to corporate power can take a personal toll. Saro-Wiwa's family and others just won a landmark settlement in U.S. federal court, ending a 13-year battle with Shell Oil. Pizango's ordeal is just beginning.

Peru and Nigeria are a world apart on the map, but host abundant natural resources for which the U.S. and other industrialized nations hunger.

The Niger Delta is one of the world's most productive oil fields. Shell Oil began extracting oil there in 1958. Before long, the indigenous peoples of the Niger Delta suffered from pollution, destruction of the mangrove forests and depletion of fish stocks that sustained them. Gas flares constantly lit up the sky, fouling the air and denying generations a glimpse of a dark night. The despoliation of traditional Ogoni land in the Niger Delta inspired Saro-Wiwa to lead an international, nonviolent campaign targeting Shell. For his commitment, Saro-Wiwa was arrested by the Nigerian dictatorship, subjected to a sham trial and hanged with eight other Ogoni activists. I visited the Niger Delta and Ogoniland in 1998, and met Ken's family. His father, Jim Wiwa, did not mince words: "Shell has a hand in the killing of my own son."

Family members sued Shell Oil, charging it with complicity in the executions. They were granted their day in U.S. court under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows people outside the U.S. to bring charges against an offender in U.S. courts when the charges amount to war crimes, genocide, torture or, as in the case of the Ogoni Nine, extrajudicial, summary execution. Despite Shell's efforts to have the case (Wiwa v. Shell) thrown out, it was set to be tried in a New York federal court two weeks ago. After several delays, Shell settled, agreeing to pay $15.5 million.

Saro-Wiwa's son, Ken Wiwa, said:

"We now have an opportunity to draw a line on the sad past and ... face the future with some hope that what we've done here will have helped to change the way in which businesses regard their operations abroad. ... We need to focus on the development needs of the people. ... We've created evidence, an example, that with enough commitment to nonviolence and dialogue, you can begin to build some kind of creative justice. And we hope that people will take their signals from that and push for similar examples of creative justice, where communities and all the stakeholders where oil production is are able to mutually benefit from oil production, rather than exploitation and degradation of the environment."

Peruvian indigenous populations have been protesting nonviolently since April, with road blockades a popular tactic. At issue is the so-called U.S./Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, which would override protections of indigenous land, granting access to foreign corporations for resource extraction.

This week, eyewitnesses allege that Peruvian special forces police carried out a massacre at one of the blockades. Pizango, the leader of the national indigenous organization the Peruvian Jungle Interethnic Development Association, accused the government of President Alan Garcia of ordering the attack:

"Our brothers are cornered. I want to put the responsibility on the government. We are going to put the responsibility on Alan Garcia's government for ordering this genocide. ... They've said that we indigenous peoples are against the system, but, no, we want development, but from our perspective, development that adheres to legal conventions. ... The government has not consulted us. Not only am I being persecuted, but I feel that my life is in danger, because I am defending the rights of the peoples, the legitimate rights that the indigenous people have."

Saro-Wiwa told me in 1994, just before he returned to Nigeria, "I'm a marked man." Pizango has challenged the powerful Peruvian government and the corporate interests it represents. Pizango is now marked, but still alive. Will the international community allow him, and the indigenous people he represents, to suffer the same fate as Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people?

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Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.
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Amy Goodman is the host of "Democracy Now!," a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 750 stations in North America. She is the co-author of "Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times," recently released in paperback.

copyright 2009 Amy Goodman
Distributed by King Features Syndicate

Comments

[Levi Novey - Huffpost Blogger]

As someone who lives in Peru (An American married to a Peruvian), I'd like to add a little context to the situation, granted, as a foreigner. It's not as black and white as it would seem. The recent violence that has occurred implicates both ill doing on the government and tribes' parts.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j0eN7Jwa5oc32VCV6AJQrdZNPUvA

Police officers died in the recent clash, and were reportedly being held hostage. The number of deaths for both police officers and indigenous protesters is still under dispute, as well as what happened.

Among Peruvians, there are a great deal of opinions about the battle, and the tribes' protest. Most people seem to be in the middle though: supportive of the tribes, frustrated with the government, yet sympathetic to the police officers who were killed. Everyone is deeply concerned about truly understanding what occurred at Bagua. In any case, the government is to blame for allowing tension to grow without caring to negotiate or create a real dialogue with the tribes before the violence.

For me personally, it's unclear why Pizango fled. If he had been arrested, it would have only facilitated more anger and protest that would have most likely led to his release, or even better, a more thorough discussion of how to move forward.

Thanks for writing about the issue, Amy. Indigenous peoples need our support, even if the recent event that has occurred in Peru is more complicated than we'd like it to be.

[Joseph A. Palermo - Huffpost Blogger]

Amy thank you for following this issue so well over the years -- you're the only journalist who has been on this injustice from the start.

[zaz33]

It's pretty obvious that Garcia is an "economic hit man" success, Step one for an "economic hit man" is the promise of great wealth. This is the capitalist's preferred method.

History repeats itself in Latin America and we can only hope countries in the region will at least take diplomatic action against Peru. We know the US won't.

[COPerez]

"Will the international community allow him, and the indigenous people he represents, to suffer the same fate as Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people?"

If history is anything to go by, Amy, I fear the answer is "YES."

When government - including ours - is basically owned by the corporations that commit these atrocities, what can be done? Individuals and groups will protest, but not until the vicim(s) are a graphic on a T-shirt or poster. And then it's too late.

[RexOzone]

Viva Evo! Viva Hugo!
Garcia sees the handwriting on the wall and is trying to scrub it out with indigenous blood. Meanwhile the corporatists wait like the vermin they are, to despoil even more of the sacred earth, encouraging the carnage. Stay strong Pizango and "Pocahontas". Now if Obama can diffuse the situation by renegotiating a responsible trade agreement there may be light at the end of this horrific tunnel.

[ScroogeandMarleyLLC]

The entire notion of some foreigner being able to sue for damages done in a foreign country by foreigners under a foreign is an absurd fraud. I hope Shell doesn't in reality pay a nickle.

[COPerez]

By naming Shell an accomplice - and the evidence appears to have been that they were, else why would they pay and settle? - that puts Americans right in the middle of this execution.

Read the article. Note the restrictions (quite restrictive and these crimes are not easy to prove). Connect the dots. Our education system has really failed us...

[RoloTomassi]

May you reap the wage deserved by all conservative nit.wits, that of FORCED EMPATHY.

[LMPE]

In Bolivia, Evo Morales led an indigenous movement against a corporate-backed government and eventually got elected president. He has since pursued an agenda to improve the status of Bolivia's indigenous population. I bet that not only could Alberto Pizango do the same in Peru, he could initiate a trial against the corporations that have been polluting his land.