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First of All Who is MEND? MEND stands for the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. For Several Years they have
waged an Insurgency against several successive Nigerian Presidents.
WHAT IS THEIR MAIN COMPLAINT?
The Niger Delta is the Home of the Petroleum Industry in Nigeria. It is also one of the Poorest States in Nigeria and
the location of severe Environmental Damage as well. The Group has used Insurgency and Kidnapping of Foreign Oil Workers to
try and force discussions regarding the redress of issues that they have with the Government in Abuja.
Above you see some of the Platforms that are being used to Extract Oil in the Niger Delta.
There are a couple of other Points to be considered:
In the Eyes of some Counter Terrorism Experts MEND is a Terrorist Organization. And the US Policy of "We don't Negotiate
with Terrorists may be used here."
Secondly We Need to Know what the Status of the Leader of MEND Henry Okah is. He was Extradited from Angola to Nigeria
sometime after the Letter was sent to President Bush. There are rumors that He May have died in Nigerian Custody. MEND Is
asking to see if whether or not he is alive or not.
Some of the Proposals that MEND made include having Negotiations to determine how Oil Revenue can be distributed in the
region from Federal, State and Local Governments and a Disarmament by MEND.
Will President Bush act on this Proposal? Only He Knows this Answer.
The Confused Eagle will Continue to Monitor the Situation regarding the Status of Mr. Okah and will report when details
become available.
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