[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 149 (Thursday, November 10, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S12679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF KEN SARO-WIWA

  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I rise today in support of a resolution 
submitted by Mr. Leahy, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Feingold, and myself on the 
10th anniversary of Ken Saro-Wiwa's death. On November 10, 1995, a 
terrible injustice occurred when Mr. Saro-Wiwa and eight of his 
countrymen were hanged by Sani Abacha's regime in Nigeria. While we 
cannot undo that tragedy, we must never forget it.
  Mr. Saro-Wiwa led the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, 
dedicated to defending the rights of his fellow Ogoni in the Niger 
Delta through nonviolent means. Over the course of his life, he had 
dozens of opportunities to take a different path, to stop speaking out, 
to let someone else intervene. Instead, he risked everything, over and 
over again, to call the world's attention to suffering and injustice, 
to demand action. In May 1994, Abacha responded by imprisoning Mr. 
Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni men, the Ogoni Nine, and unjustly 
accusing them of murder.
  Ten years ago on this day, Mr. Saro-Wiwa is said to have told his 
executioners: ``Lord, take my soul, but the struggle continues.''
  Sadly, the struggle has indeed continued for the Ogoni people, whose 
standard of living is among the lowest in the world, and whose oil rich 
land remains severely polluted. The names of the Ogoni Nine have yet to 
be cleared, and they remain convicted of the crime for which they were 
unfairly tried and hanged.
  This resolution acknowledges not only the tremendous legacy left by 
Ken Saro-Wiwa, but also the battles that remain to be fought in the 
Niger Delta and beyond. I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort 
to honor his memory, his vision, and his struggle which continues 
today.

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