International head Office:
20 Dawson Road, By Forestry Junction,
Benin City, Nigeria, Africa.
Tel/Fax:+234 52 255619
attention Winters O.Negbenebor.
E-mail: environmentalrescue@yahoo.co.uk
OR envirc@usa.net
The people and environment of the Niger-Delta have since June 1956 witness no peace since the first oil well was struck in Oloibiri, Bayelsa state of Nigeria. The issue that borders the people of the region is whether it is an eternal curse to be blessed with crude oil by God. This indigenous resources has afflicted much suffering on the people, hence the need for a global action support from all people and organization that believe in the protection of human and environmental rights of local and the minority people. The dictatorship era of late General Sani Abacha and his allies across Nigeria, who master minded the plot and eventual murder of Ken Saro-wiwa, eight other Ogoni people and many other freedom fighters of the Niger-Delta in Nigeria is in no way comparable to the present regime of president Olusegun Obasenjo the present democratic president of Nigeria. His administration only in 1999,ordered the wiping out of Odi community in Bayelsa State from existence, because the community rose for their right to a decent environment, free from human rights violations and social economic injustice.
All over the Niger-Delta casses of oil spillage , human rights abuses and environmental degradation have taken a new dimension. We cannot stand and watch the evil ills afflicted on us by multinational oil corporations and their government collaborators. It is time to muster our common resistance based on solidarity for freedom. This struggle is of global concern. The Niger-Delta peoples rights is a global right. We use this forum of the People Global Action (PGA) holding from 23rd - 25th of March, 2001 in Milano, Italy to call on all organizations and individual that believe in our right to sustainable environment and respect for human right to join us in our struggle against environmental degradation and human right abuses in the Niger-Delta.
We invite you and your organization to join our NIGER-DELTA GLOBAL ACTION NETWORK (NIGANET), dedicated to the sharing of information on Niger-Delta issues and mustering of resource support to enhance campaigns and development actions of the region.
Join us. We need just your support to win this struggle and restore our right to a decent environment free of injustice, exploitation of our resources and destruction of our environment. The Niger-Delta People believe in your support to achieve victory. We need your SOLIDARITY FOR FREEDOM!.
ERI is currently working on different environmental and human rights issues through advocacy and campaign. We currently publish field reports : ERI WATCH . You can request for copies by sending your e-mail address to environmentalrescue@yahoo.co.uk ERI WATCH covers report on virtually all areas of the environment. We are also working on waste management issues where we share working relationship with government, local community and other NGOs. Especially in the area of training, research, advocacy, campaign and direct actions.
JUNE 5th, 1997:WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY: ERI in collaboration with her University of Calabar environmental Club in conjunction with other NGOs embarked on mass awareness rally on the protection of biodiversity in the area by the state government and protested against the improper management of the community waste and over exploitation of her vast forest resources and the subsequent approval of logging right or permit by the federal government to some foreign logging corporations without conducting EIA for the allocated forest area and adequate consultation with the local community people.
April 15th 2000: World Earth Day- ERI in collaboration with other local NGOs in Nigeria organized a peaceful public demonstration and workshop to address pressing environmental and human right abuses in the Niger-Delta area. With a call on all multinational oil firms to stop oil exploration in the region until they show improved concern to the people of the Niger-delta an their environment. The event took place in Benin City and Port Harcourt.
1997-2000: ERI embarked on aggressive waste management campaigns across the Niger-Delta region. The event witnessed the distribution of over 500,000 stickers, leaflets and posters to urban and rural communities. ERI pressured various local and state government concerned with waste management policies and their implementations and organized series of waste training workshops for corporate bodies and local government authorities charged with constitutional responsibility to manage waste in the country. And lots more.
For more information about our programs and activities contact us through our address stated above.
The philosophy behind Země především! - Earth First! Czech Republic is the use of non-heirarchical organisation and direct action to confort, stop and eventually reverse the forces responsibility for the destruction of the Mother Earth and its inhabitants.
Země především! is trying to be diffrent from other environmetal groups in Czech Republic (CZ) , we are not cohesive group or campaign rather a meeting place and network for those interested in these ideas.
There are no „members" of
Země především! (ZP!) , only Earth
Firster!ers. Most of us beleive in biocetrism, that life-the Earth-comes first. We believe in using all the tool box, ranging from grassroots organizing and involvement in the legal process to civil disobedience.
While there is broad diversity of people within Země především! - from animal rights vegans, Straight Edge Hard Core activists, Punks, University Students-careful followers of Gandhi, from ex-NGO activists and thoughtful philosopher-humanists to mankeywrenchers...There is agreement on one thing, -
the need for action!
Země především! - Earth First! Czech Republic was founded in 1997 in response to lethargic and compromising NGO comunity here in Czech Republic. We started 3 years ago with contacting activist and groups around Czech Republic who share similar believes with aim to form radical environmental network in CZ and we can say we are moving forward. There is lot of supporters of Země především! and other radical groups here in CZ-people who support ideas of Earth First! activly, who are involved in planning actions and campaigns etc. As one of the participants of first PGA conference in 1998 we also trying to be in touch we all different groups and campaigns all around the world.
Země především! was one of the main organisers of all streetparties in Prague (all together over 12 000 participants), we were involved in planning actions for anti IMF and World Bank meeting - September 26, in UWA support camapigns, anti -shopping days, June18th actions, ICC 1999, and other local actions and campaigns.
For last 2 years we are producing ZP! Action Updates - round-up of ecological and other direct action from Czech Republic and around world. The ZP! AU is written in czech, is produced to aid the sharing of news, information and ideas amoungst those interested in taking actions. At this time we are producing 500 issues every 2 months, with more than 70 pages.
After S26 actions and campaigns Země především! activists are plannig to get more activly involved in new czech anti-roads campaigns and actions. We are planning to increase productions of
ZP! AU to 700 issues every month. We are working with
Ulice lidem!- Czech Reclaim the Streets group on next Prague streetparty which will takeplace on 16th of June 2001. Also working on Climate changes issue. On interational level we are starting to work with ERI (see other sight of this leaflet) on Niger-Delta issues in Nigeria and anti -oil campaigns.
We will continue to work with PGA network.
For more information about our programs and activities contact us through our address stated on the last page of this leaflet
Země především! -
Earth First Czech Republic
P.O. Box 237, 160 41 Prague 6
Czech Republic
Email: zemepredevsim@volny.cz
www.ecn.cz/zemepredevsim