Chevron Nigeria Ltd is to stand trial later this year in the United States for the alleged murder of villagers in the Niger Delta region in two separate incidents in 1998 and 1999. According to the Nigerian Daily, THISDAY NEWS, “the lawsuit was brought against Chevron eight years ago in San Francisco Federal Court by nine Nigerian plaintiffs for alleged wrongful deaths, torture, and other abuses in the two incidents in 1998 and 1999. According to the paper, “the United States (US) District Court Judge in San Francisco, Susan Illston, ruled that Chevron was directly involved in the alleged attacks by acting in consonance with Nigerian government security forces, paving the way for a trial which the company had made spirited attempts to avoid for eight years. Furthermore, the paper reported that, “Judge Illston “found evidence that CNL [Chevron Nigeria Limited] personnel were directly involved in the attacks; CNL transported the GSF [Nigerian government security forces], CNL paid the GSF; and CNL knew that GSF were prone to use excessive force.”
It would be a great testament of hope and “ubuntu” if this case finally gives birth to the justice that the people of the Niger Delta region in Nigeria have longed for, for years. If Chevron is found guilty- which I do not doubt they are-this case may redefine the international operations of multinational corporations, especially in many areas where the abundance of natural resources has become a curse for the local people. That this case has taken eight years to come to court is a sad testament of how corporate greed and inhumanity has permeated many facets of our societies resulting in environmental vandalism and human rights abuses that are supported by local government officials who are willing to look the other way for a chunk of change. If this case gives birth, even to just a grain of justice for the Niger Delta, I am confident that it will unleash a new wave of lawsuits seeking to redress the injustices perpetrated by corporations against people blessed with natural resources. Though it may be premature to celebrate given that the case has not yet been won, I am excited about the symbolism of Chevron finally being put on trial after eights years. And to that I shall lift my glass of palm wine. http://africanviewpoint.blogspot.com/
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Darfur force to be all-African- a new chapter in our history?
News that Africa will provide all of the 26,000 peacekeepers to be sent to Sudan's Darfur region mark a historic chapter in African politics. According to the BBC, “AU chairman Alpha Oumar Konare said enough African troops had been promised for no outside help to be needed.” While the UN had expected to call on Asian troops from Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, the announcement that the AU and Sudan have received sufficient commitments from African countries that they will not have to resort to non-African forces comes a surprise given the lack of specifics on where these troops will come from. Of the 26,000 troops required for this mission, there are only 7,000 of the existing AU force. Senegal has pledged 1,000 while Malawi has pledged 800. Other countries that have pledged include Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Critics argue that Africa lacks enough trained troops for an effective force, while others contend that Sudan's government, which has long opposed the involvement of non-African soldiers, will manipulate AU troops - as they had been doing with the 7,000 AU troops already in Darfur.
--------------Though the idea of the All African Force is very encouraging especially if we are ever going to realize the vision of a United Africa, I wonder whether this initiative was borne out of the fundamental need for having African solutions for African problems, or simply conceived as a way to keep Western oversight and Westerners out of Sudan. If this was conceived as a way to simply keep the West, this whole endeavor will not only be a sad chapter for the victims in Darfur, but will also be a pile of excrement on the already tainted image of the African Union. For one, the African Union already suffers a credibility problem because of the nature of its membership and its lack of a collective voice condemning some of its member states who continue to violate all known human rights provisions. Though some critics are out against an All African Force because of their vast ideology of superiority and the belief that Africans cannot do anything successfully without outside help, it is difficult to fully support this idea of an All African Force given that given that the number of forces required does not seem to be in place. Instead, all we have are commitments, which we know to not have brought about anything concrete in the past.
That the AU and Sudanese government should bring about and protect peace in Darfur must not be an exercise that rises from an inferiority complex and the need to prove to the World that we are a sovereign people who can police ourselves. Instead, the mandate to protect the people of Darfur should be fulfilled because it is the right thing to do. There is no need to prove anything to anybody, but to do what is right for our people. It would be a great shame for us to continue talking sovereignty while our brothers and sisters continue to die in Darfur. Matter of fact, the very notion that 200,000 black Africans are believed to have died at the hands of the Sudan's Arab dominated government, and the pro-government Janjaweed militias while more than two million have been left homeless in Darfur since fighting broke out in 2003, is a sad testimony to both the heartlessness of the perpetrators and the weakness of our African Union, Countries, and leaders.
Why do we fail to resolve our own problems without having to answer to the UN and its owners? Can't we hold each other accountable, not out of the need to be parted on the back by foreigners in the form of aid, but because doing so is the African and right thing to do?
Holding each other accountable, not just castigating each other publicly to show off-would be a good step toward a united Africa. And these are the things we must be doing before we get carried away with the humongous task of creating the United States of Africa when we cannot agree on settling disputes amongst ourselves. The mandate of bringing and enforcing Peace in Darfur should be done, not for the donors, but for the African children alive today and those yet to be born.
Critics argue that Africa lacks enough trained troops for an effective force, while others contend that Sudan's government, which has long opposed the involvement of non-African soldiers, will manipulate AU troops - as they had been doing with the 7,000 AU troops already in Darfur.
--------------Though the idea of the All African Force is very encouraging especially if we are ever going to realize the vision of a United Africa, I wonder whether this initiative was borne out of the fundamental need for having African solutions for African problems, or simply conceived as a way to keep Western oversight and Westerners out of Sudan. If this was conceived as a way to simply keep the West, this whole endeavor will not only be a sad chapter for the victims in Darfur, but will also be a pile of excrement on the already tainted image of the African Union. For one, the African Union already suffers a credibility problem because of the nature of its membership and its lack of a collective voice condemning some of its member states who continue to violate all known human rights provisions. Though some critics are out against an All African Force because of their vast ideology of superiority and the belief that Africans cannot do anything successfully without outside help, it is difficult to fully support this idea of an All African Force given that given that the number of forces required does not seem to be in place. Instead, all we have are commitments, which we know to not have brought about anything concrete in the past.
That the AU and Sudanese government should bring about and protect peace in Darfur must not be an exercise that rises from an inferiority complex and the need to prove to the World that we are a sovereign people who can police ourselves. Instead, the mandate to protect the people of Darfur should be fulfilled because it is the right thing to do. There is no need to prove anything to anybody, but to do what is right for our people. It would be a great shame for us to continue talking sovereignty while our brothers and sisters continue to die in Darfur. Matter of fact, the very notion that 200,000 black Africans are believed to have died at the hands of the Sudan's Arab dominated government, and the pro-government Janjaweed militias while more than two million have been left homeless in Darfur since fighting broke out in 2003, is a sad testimony to both the heartlessness of the perpetrators and the weakness of our African Union, Countries, and leaders.
Why do we fail to resolve our own problems without having to answer to the UN and its owners? Can't we hold each other accountable, not out of the need to be parted on the back by foreigners in the form of aid, but because doing so is the African and right thing to do?
Holding each other accountable, not just castigating each other publicly to show off-would be a good step toward a united Africa. And these are the things we must be doing before we get carried away with the humongous task of creating the United States of Africa when we cannot agree on settling disputes amongst ourselves. The mandate of bringing and enforcing Peace in Darfur should be done, not for the donors, but for the African children alive today and those yet to be born.
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