LETTER : Shell has the power to save the Ogoni people

From Mr Moris Farhi and

Ms Eva Tucker

Sir: The caption accompanying the photograph of a protester being restrained outside the annual meeting of Shell (19 May) describing Ken Saro-Wiwa as a Nigerian human rights activist held for murder needs amplification in order to avoid misconceptions about him.

He is a well-known writer and founder of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People. In 1994, he was one of the recipients of the Right Livelihood award and, in 1995, of a San Francisco Goldman Environmental Foundation Award.

The anniversary of his arrest is 22 May. He was in prison for almost a year before being brought to trial before a military tribunal on a charge of incitement to murder, although he has always publicly advocated non- violent means of protest. His trial has had to be interrupted on account of his ill health, due largely to the harsh conditions of his imprisonment.

His case has caused worldwide concern and it is felt that Shell International Petroleum could bring its considerable influence to bear more directly and effectively on the Nigerian government where abuses of human rights and the environment are concerned.

Yours faithfully,

MORIS FARHI

Chairman

EVA TUCKER

Writers in Prison Committee

International PEN

London, SW3

20 May