The Shell Oil Group has paid 15.5 million dollars to relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the writer and environmental activist executed in 1995. Saro-Wiwa, who in 1990 founded the movement for the survival of the Ogoni people (Mosop), was hanged along with eight other protesters by the Nigerian authorities. His surviving dependants had accused Shell before a New York court of aiding and abetting his killing. The plaintiffs said Shell had helped the military regime take Saro-Wiwa and the other activists prisoner and hang them. They accused the Dutch-British company of having equipped the Nigerian police with weapons and of having asked government troops to execute village residents who were protesting against a leaking pipeline. Shell has been extracting oil in Nigeria since 1958 and worked very closely with the Sani Abacha regime in the 1990s. Shell has now extracted itself from the case by paying several million dollars. Human-rights activists consider the energy giant's payment a confession of guilt. Shell, however, continues to deny any involvement in the case and calls its payment a "humanitarian gesture". The surviving dependants want five million dollars to go to a fund for social projects in the oil-producing area. Some money will be needed to cover legal costs. The Center of Constitutional Rights, however, which supported the complaint against Shell, doesn't believe that all problems have yet been solved with the payment. Rather, it feels that the compensation paid only concerns the relatives of the killed activist, and the problems between Shell and the Ogoni people still remain unsettled. (cir)

Elections in Latin America suggest an alarming trend towards the perversion of elections to suit narrow party interests, says an analysis by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). In Argentina, for example, the governing party, Frente Para la Victoria, has adopted a questionable strategy that draws upon the popularity of individual party members to advance party interests. The strategy hinges on the voluntary participation of “testimonial candidates”: popular local or regional government officials allow their names to be placed on ballots to lure votes, despite intending to abdicate if elected. Power would then pass to a loyal party member. The opposition is crying foul, but the practice has been deemed legal by Argentina’s electoral court. Furthermore, Bolivia’s new constitution allows more decisions to be taken through general referenda instead of relying on elected representatives. But critics allege that this greater reliance on direct democracy threatens to undercut meaningful debate and deepen rifts in Bolivian society. Finally, Human Rights Watch accuses the Venezuelan government of creating a voting environment that suppresses oppositional voices through “black listing”, as well as manipulating public opinion by restricting press freedom. (ws)

Peru's prime minister, Yehude Simon, announced his resignation following protests by the indigenous people, after more than 30 people lost their lives in clashes between protesters and the police. According to an Al Jazeera report, Simon said he was resigning because the government had not secured the support of the aboriginal population. President Alan García had previously issued two decrees designed to facilitate the exploitation of the primeval forest for oil drilling, tree felling and farming. These decrees were a prerequisite for implementing a free trade agreement with the USA. Indigenous leaders accused the government of taking decisions over their heads that affected more than 30,000 people in six provinces of the country. Because of enormous popular pressure, the Peruvian parliament has now suspended the laws. García had appointed Simon to be head of government only last October. All of the cabinet ministers in the ruling Apra party had previously resigned en masse, after their involvement in a corruption scandal in the award of oil contracts became known. In the meantime, Nicaragua has now granted political asylum to the strike leader Alberto Pizango, who was being pursued by the Peruvian authorities. (cir)

Former Congolese vice-president and opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba was formally committed to trial by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in June. The charges against him are for murder, rape, torture and pillaging. The prosecution alleges that these crimes were committed between October 2002 and March 2003, when Bemba was commander-in-chief of the rebel "Mouvement de Libération du Congo" (MLC). So far, he is denying all charges. Prior to the elections in 2006, Bemba was one of four vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. After the elections, he led the political opposition until he went into exile in March 2007 when government troops tried to disarm his private militia by force. 300 people were killed in the fighting. The Court has not yet set a date for starting his trial. In the meantime, Chile has become one of the last Latin American countries to formally recognise the ICC. The decision was approved by a vast majority in parliament. (cir)

In the past legislative period, the European Parliament (EP) significantly influenced the European agenda for global development. This is the conclusion of a briefing paper published by the German Development Institute (DIE/GDI). The EP is credited with "keeping Africa a major issue on the European agenda". It is also found to have strengthened development-oriented aspects in the debate on economic partnership agreements (EPAs) and given the countries concerned in Africa, the Caribean and Pacific (ACP) the opportunity to express misgivings. The “European Consensus on Development", which the Parliament approved in December 2005, is also considered an important step forward. The document provided the first-ever outline of the aims and principles of European development policy – although they are not yet binding on member countries. (cir)

Releasing Guantánamo prisoners classified as harmless is still fraught with difficulties. The US Congress has barred admission into the US for former Guantánamo inmates and reaffirmed its veto on closure of the Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp in the supplementary budget. The administration is now negotiating with individual countries to get them to accept former prisoners. The EU has said it's ready as a matter of principle to accept former inmates, though each EU Member State will be left to decide in individual cases whether it will take ex-prisoners and, if so, how many. The US has pledged to inform the EU about prisoners and to pay some of their subsistence expenses. Germany has so far declined, nonetheless, earning a reprimand from the Council of Europe. Italy, on the other hand, is ready to accept three released detainees, and according to Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain is prepared to take "a small number" of prisoners. The Pacific island state of Palau has accepted the largest number of prisoners. Seventeen Uyghurs, including nine rejected by Germany, have found refuge there. Palau has 20,000 inhabitants spread over 240 islands. Since it recognises Taiwan as a state, it doesn't have to worry about condemnation from China. Four other Uyghurs have now arrived in the Bermudas, part of the sovereign territory of the British crown. In total, some 230 prisoners, at least 50 of whom have already been classified by the US as harmless, are still being held at the camp in Cuba. (cir)

Violent clashes broke out in Iran between protestors and security forces after the presidential election on June 12. According to the official election results, incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got 62 % of the vote and his main competitor, Mir Hussein Massawi, 34 %. All three of Ahmadinejad’s opponents complained of irregularities and demanded a new election. Hundreds of thousands of their supporters took to the streets. Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested and at least 17 people died in clashes with security forces. Mussawi, the leader of the opposition, repeatedly called upon his supporters to remain peaceful. According to eyewitnesses, violence was initiated by the Basij, a paramilitary militia. The Guardian Council, a kind of constitutional court, declared the election free of any significant irregularities. Despite acknowledging that 50 cities recorded voter turnouts that outnumber eligible voters, the Council ruled out cancelling the disputed results and holding a new election. Western governments have expressed criticism of the Iranian government’s response. Until blocked by the government, internet services – such as Facebook or the text message provider Twitter – played a vital role in organising the protests. (cir)