UPDATE:Russia Parliament grants amnesty to Arctic 30: READ MORE
Early November marked the 18th anniversary of the tragic murder of outspoken writer and environmental activistKen Saro-Wiwaand eight colleagues by the Nigerian government. Saro-Wiwa and the others had waged a long campaign to stop multinational oil company Royal Dutch Shell from drilling in the lands of the Ogoni people in the Niger delta.
Nigerian military harassed and intimidated members of the Ogoni community for years because they opposed Shells drilling program. Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues defended their communities and local environment from a notoriously toxic industry. In November 1995, a special court established by the military government illegally detained and tried them on spurious charges. Convicted without due process, they were executed 10 days later, despite enormous international outcry.
Sadly, this is not an isolated occurrence. Arecent reportby human rights organization Global Witness documents themurders of more than 700 environmental and Indigenous-rights activists over the past decade more than one killing a week, on average. They reviewed databases, academic studies and news reports, and consulted with the United Nations and other international agencies. They found citizens are often harassed, intimidated, beaten up, sexually assaulted and sometimes killed for opposing endangered wildlife poaching, illegal logging, dams and activities of foreign mining companies including some Canadian firms.
I experienced this reality in 1988 when we interviewed rubber tapper Chico Mendes about his battle to save the Amazon rainforest in Brazil forThe Nature of Things.He was assassinated two weeks later.The following year, Kaiapo Chief Paiakan asked me to help stop a dam proposed for Altamira, Brazil. My wife, Tara, and I helped raise $70,000 for a demonstration, and the World Bank was persuaded to withdraw its project loan.Paiakan was then subjected to death threats. We brought him and his family to Vancouver until the danger subsided.
Many instances of persecution and killing have occurred in countries with atrocious human rights records, such as Sri Lanka, Guatemala and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Yet surprisingly, most attacks on environmentalists have been in countries such as Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines, with democratically elected governments, independent judiciaries and other institutions intended to protect their citizens rights to voice concerns about the environment without facing harassment, intimidation and violence. These countries have also signed international agreements to protect human rights, like theUN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
As the recent incarceration of 28 Greenpeace activists and two freelance journalists by Russian authorities clearly demonstrates, human rights are vulnerable at a time when governments aggressively promote the interests of corporationsover a healthy environment, and are willing to use heavy-handed tactics to ensure people who disagree dont stand in the way.
In this latest case, Russian special operations forces arrested the Greenpeace International activists, including two Canadians, Alexandre Paul and Paul Ruzycki, for attempting to hang a banner off the side of an oil rig in Arctic waters. They were peacefully protesting Russian company Gazproms plans to drill for oil in one of the most ecologically sensitive regions of the planet, and raising awareness of the consequences of climate change.
For speaking out in defence of the Arctic, they were imprisoned for two monthsunder difficult conditions and all but one were only recently released on bail. They now face the possibility of long, harsh jail sentences if found guilty on trumped-up charges of piracy and hooliganism.
Russian security services abseiling from a helicopter onto the deck of the Arctic Sunrise and seizing the ship
Although leaders of the Netherlands, Brazil, and Germany called for release of their nationals and other members of theArctic 30, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird have so far been silent. You cansign lettersasking Baird to bring the Canadians home andask Russian embassiesto urge their government to drop the charges.
Too often, governments are quick to use excessive force and even pervert the course of justice to keep oil and gas flowing, forests logged, wild rivers dammed and minerals extracted. As the Global Witness study reveals, citizens are often killed, too especially if theyre poor and Indigenous.
We must remember the sacrifices of Ken Saro-Wiwa, Chico Mendes and hundreds of other advocates and defend peoples rights to peacefully speak out for the environment, without fear of intimidation, arrest and violence
