Protesters condemn Shell

Protesters condemn Shell

During Sydney-wide protests against the Shell oil company on November 10, environmentalists in the Lane Cove River Valley joined Friends of the Earth to picket the Shell service station on Epping Road, in John Howard's electorate. The protest commemorated the execution of nine Ogoni activists, including poet and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, two years ago by the Nigerian military. Twenty others who condemned the activities of Shell in the densely populated Niger delta are imprisoned without trial.
"Ogoniland has become amongst the most polluted regions on Earth", said Iby Abodida (pictured on right), an Australian resident originally from Nigeria. "The farming and fishing people have had their rivers, land and air poisoned by Shell. Any protest is met with incredible violence by the Shell-backed regime."
Locals also protested against proposals for two Shell service centres of unprecedented size on the M2 tollway at North Ryde near the Lane Cove River and Lane Cove National Park.

Photo by Jon Vonwiller.

From GLW issue 298