Filmmaker Sandy Cioffi, who just released her film Sweet Crude about the conflict in the Niger Delta comments on the violence that broke out late last week and continued through the weekend:
It is with great sadness that we share the news that Oporoza, the village where much of Sweet Crude was filmed, is under attack by the Joint Task Force of the Nigerian military. To learn more, please continue reading below.
As heavy as our hearts are, we find hope in the possibility that parties in a position of influence – the media, U.S. government officials, international diplomats – will finally understand the gravity of the Niger Delta crisis and take action quickly to help end the violence. (Please read the report filed on April 30th by the International Crisis Group: http://tiny.cc/ICGReport)
We ask that if you know such people, please tell them what’s happening and how critical it is to speak out and hold the Nigerian government accountable – right now. Please also forward this widely so that as many people as possible understand what’s going on – so that Oporoza is not just a faceless village in Africa, but the place where real people, many of them our friends, may be dying. And finally, please hold these men, women and kids in your thoughts and prayers.
With thanks from Sweet Crude movie
Sweet Crude will have its San Francisco Premiere on Thursday May 28 at the Victoria Theater.
www.sweetcrudemovie.com
More information
There are conflicting reports, but we do know from a friend who called from the bush, where village residents have fled, that the military has opened fire and there are casualties.
We received this text message from one of the film’s main characters:
“The situation is getting worse every minute. Their plan is to wipe Oporoza out of the surface of Earth tomorrow morning. Pls let the international community intervene before we witness a genocide.”
We have also heard that a specific target is the home of Tompolo, one of the top leaders of MEND. This is a very dangerous development.
It is uncertain whether President Yar’Adua ordered or acceded to this attack – perhaps to test the waters for a larger engagement – or whether the JTF is operating outside the Federal government. Both scenarios are of critical concern in their implications about the Nigerian government, the likelihood of escalation and the collapse of any peace initiatives. Particularly alarming is the decision to target Tompolo, a MEND leader who is said to have been active recently in talks with the Federal government and who is seen as a political leader of the movement. The Nigerian Vice President, who is from the Niger Delta, is out of the country.
We hope the U.S. government will address the situation immediately, ask directly for an explanation of the attack and the chain of command that authorized it, and call for a cease fire.
The situation has been reported by several international media outlets. Here’s an article from the Wall Street Journal: http://tiny.cc/WSJ
And if you haven’t seen it, there is a 15-minute video on our web site (sweetcrudemovie.com/videoGallery) that captures the beauty and tragedy of the Niger Delta. As the opening shot depicts the serene Oporoza jetty, imagine it today, surrounded by gunboats, soldiers, helicopters and a terrifying rain of bullets. This is the human cost of the dire Niger Delta situation. Please join us in calling for an end to the crisis.
For three years we have been asking “What if the world paid attention before it was too late?”. Tonight we are flattened to know that for some people in the Delta it is already too late. But now more than ever, our attention might avert a new unspeakable level of violence.
Read more about the militarization of the Niger Delta
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e talks and corporate accountability in the Niger Delta, make us—alongside our friends on the ground in Nigeria—natural partners in working toward a peaceful resolution to decades of injustice in the Niger Delta.