Ken Saro-Wiwa

When Ken Saro-Wiwa insists a U.S. boycott of Nigerian oil imports may be the only way to end the repression of Nigeria’s military dictatorship (“Today’s Nigeria is Doubly Enslaved,” Commentary, July 12), we ought to pay close attention. Few cases better illustrate that repression than that of Saro-Wiwa himself, who composed the piece in his prison cell in a military camp in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

One of Nigeria’s most distinguished authors, Saro-Wiwa has written dozens of books and scripted the most popular television series in Nigerian history. He also, in 1990, helped found the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), a nonviolent, grass-roots organization protesting the environmental and economic devastation of 30 years of international oil exploration in the Niger River Delta. The movement has garnered tremendous popular support and international attention--a challenge Nigeria’s military regime has met with increasing ferocity.

For his peaceful advocacy, Saro-Wiwa was arrested five times between 1992 and 1994. Following the May 21, 1994, murder of four Ogoni elders, security forces broke into his home, beat him mercilessly and again dragged him to detention. He was held incommunicado for weeks and without formal charges for months. Today he sits on trial for his life before a government-appointed tribunal whose decision cannot be appealed, on charges that he incited the murders.

Human rights organizations around the world have questioned the allegations against Ken Saro-Wiwa, the independence of the tribunal created to try his case, and the fairness of the proceedings. PEN Center USA West has named him an honorary member, and is campaigning for his immediate and unconditional release. LARRY SIEMS Director, Freedom to Write Program PEN Center USA West, Los Angeles