www.srimedia.com Posted by on Mar 18, 2003, 10:39pm

A Shell platform in the Niger Delta The clashes between navy troops and ethnic Ijaw militants near Nigeria's southern oil town of Warri in the Niger Delta resulted in the death of five civilians on Sunday.

Activists of the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC) group said that the civilians died when troops raided an Ijaw town called Okerenkoko, on Thursday. The soldiers had accused community members of planning to disrupt the operations of Royal Dutch Shell. The Ijaw claim their fishing communities have been polluted by the oil industry. They also have a long-standing grievance over lack of compensation from Shell and the US oil company Chevron Texaco.

Nigerian navy spokesman, Shinebi Hungiapuko, confirmed there had been clashes between troops and armed militants. He said the situation was still under control but did not give further details.

Royal Dutch Shell has has an enormous amount of criticism for its operations in the Niger Delta
Africa's largest oil producer Shell, which produces about half of Nigeria's output of two million barrels a day, has key facilities in the area.

On Sunday the oil company said that it had begun evacuating "non-essential" staff from the affected areas in compliance with its safety regulations. According to local officials, the company has also shut down two oil facilities with a combined output of 55,000 barrels per day as a precautionary measure. On aggregate, total output form the country has fallen by 30,000 barrels a day.

Shell also said three policemen escorting a company barge on the Esravos River were taken hostage on Friday and were yet to be freed.

The latest unrest has its roots in a violent dispute which broke out in Warri in February between the Urhobo and Itshekiri communities over the delineation of electoral wards ahead of April-May general elections. The Ijaw community later sided with the Urhobo, alleging that the way the boundaries of the wards were drawn up favoured the Itshekiri.

A Shell platform and refinery in the Niger Delta In a petition to President Olusegun, Obasanjo Bello Oboko, president of FNDIC said "Our fear is that the whole political processes in Warri is being militarised. Security operatives have been secured to perpetuate unlawfully delineated electoral wards."

Tension in the Warri area has added to apprehension that the coming elections, the first since the 1999 vote that ended more than 15 years of military rule, may be marred by violence. Rival supporters of different political parties have clashed in various parts of the country, while several cases of political assassinations have been recorded nationwide.

The threat of war between the United States and Iraq and the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela has already sent world oil prices spiralling, and traders are nervously eyeing the unstable situation in Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer.

A judicial committee set up by Nigeria's parliament last month called on Shell to pay $1.5 billion in compensation to the Ijaw.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Monday, March 17, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Venezuelan Foreign Minister (MRE) Roy Chaderton Matos has confirmed that he has passed a list of coup plotters’ names to ministers of friendly countries assembled in Bogota (Colombia) for a regional security meeting.

Chaderton Matos, however, denies as "absolutely false" a report circulating in the US State Department that he had listed foreign security agencies (a.k.a. the CIA) as parties to a plot to assassinate President Hugo Chavez Frias.

“Apart from Ministers of friendly nations, human rights groups and international bodies also received the document which highlighted the names of plot suspects.”

Chaderton Matos says he's against any extremes and condemns domestic “silver bullet” opposition theorists that frequently appear in print & broadcast media to push their extreme views.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Monday, March 17, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) National Assembly deputy Pedro Castillo is accusing Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) of freighting Iranian assault rifles on civilian flights, alleging that the weapons arrived at Caracas (Simon Bolivar) international airport as spare auto parts.

Castillo, who has been following the destination of Croatian small-arms brought into Venezuela late last year, has asked Vargas State prosecutor Edgar Davila to inspect a warehouse where the cargo is currently being stored and to take the corresponding measures.

“Since the law specifically prohibits raids on Customs & Excise yards, it must be an internal probe. When Croatian pistols were seized on November 27, 2002, the Police Detective Branch (CICPC) did nothing until January 7 by which time 260 guns were stolen.”

According to Castillo, the cargo came in on KLM flight 775 to be delivered to a Ray Medina ... however, he admits that he's not certain about the cargo’s final destination, which could have been Georgetown, Guyana.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Monday, March 17, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Member of the December-January national stoppage triumvirate, former Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) executive, Juan Fernandez has called on the opposition to resist and concentrate on getting rid of President Hugo Chavez Frias.

24-hour TV news outlet Globovision has been building up Fernandez’ image with messages from his hideout in an effort to regain political clout that slipped away from the loony opposition after the failed stoppage.

Federation of Chambers of Industry & Commerce (Fedecamaras) president Carlos Fernandez is under house arrest and Venezuelan Confederation of Trade Unions (CTV) president, Carlos Ortega is holed-up at the Costa Rican Embassy.

PDVSA Fernandez calls on people to return to the streets to protest because “there isn’t a government that can resist.” Calling the government “totalitarian and undemocratic,” Fernandez ... who the opposition media is attempting to convert into some kind of 'Creole' Scarlet Pimpernel ... says he's being politically persecuted in a Venezuela "devoid of liberty."

www.vheadline.com Posted: Monday, March 17, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Veteran political analyst and historian, Domingo Alberto Rangel writes that despite mobilizing money, arms and troops on a level never seen before, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has little to show for his 7 months in power.

While Rangel accepts the argument that Uribe hasn’t had much time, he's careful to note that Uribe has failed to come up with anything tangible, and instead has reverted to looking for scapegoats in Venezuela and Brazil.

Uribe claims that Colombian guerrillas harassed by the Colombian army have sought refuge across the border. “It’s logical that a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) or National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN) combatants from Arauca should seek refuge in neighboring Apure State, or one in Vaupes would cross over into Brazil ... but what about the Choco guerrilla fighters on the border with Panama or Putumayo next to Ecuador? They aren’t going to walk across Colombia into Venezuela or Brazil.”

Rangel contends Colombian guerrillas have been in and out of Venezuela since the times of Perez Jimenez (1953-1958). The Venezuelan army is sedentary … "the military will only leave garrisons if it feels the whip or is struck a bolt of lightning … we have a sedentary army and a well-trained and implanted guerrilla force … it’s like trying to swat a fly with a knitting needle. “

The presence of guerrillas in Venezuela or in Brazil "for a couple of hours," Rangel contends, is not the problem ... “if Uribe was finishing off the guerrillas, as he claims, a few here or in Brazil would be of little consequence … guerrilla columns are important because they have not suffered any serious setback."