Bal Harbour, FL
Despite increasing international criticism and isolation, the renegade regime of General Sani Abacha continues on a course of widespread violation of the most basic rights of Nigerian citizens. Violence and illegal arrests continue, much of which has been targeted against the countryts trade unions and their leaders. Among those under detention is Brother Frank Kokori, general secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), arrested July 4, 1994, who remains in prison without charge. Milton Dabibi, general secretary of the Nigerian oil and gas workerst union PENGASSAN, was arrested last month and is also being held without charge.
The AFL-CIO, in solidarity with Nigeriats independent trade unions, believes that more effective and forceful measures are urgently needed to force the Abacha regime to stop the violence and torture, restore civil liberties including an end to arbitrary arrests, and immediately release all political prisoners.
Specifically, the AFL-CIO joins others in calling for a complete embargo of Nigerian exports, sanctions on those organizations and nations that refuse to honor the embargo, and an embargo on shipment of equipment and replacement parts to Nigeria. In addition, foreign bank accounts of Nigeriats ruling generals must be frozen and their stolen millions preserved for the Nigerian people. Ninety percent of Nigeriats foreign revenue comes from oil exports with nearly fifty percent of this oil exported to the United States. For our part, the AFL-CIO will continue to do everything in its power to support Nigeriats besieged independent trade unions and to pressure U.S. oil companies to admit their culpability by ceasing their support of the Nigerian military regime which violently abuses human and worker rights to degrade the environment and make massive profits from the blood of its citizens.