Rights groups send wishlist to incoming head

Three human rights groups want incoming Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo to repeal repressive military decrees, release of the bodies of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni activists hanged in 1995, and begin a transparent process to draft a new constitution. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and two Nigerian groups, the Civil Liberties Organization and the Constitutional Rights Project, called for these and other steps in a joint letter to Obasanjo in which they suggested priorities for his government, HRW reported on Thursday. "After decades of military rule, Nigeria faces huge challenges to restore respect for human rights and the rule of law," said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of HRW's Africa Division. "But there are certain first steps that President Obasanjo can take to show that he is moving in the right direction." HRW has also released a new report titled "Crackdown in the Niger Delta," on the situation in the Niger Delta. In the 25-page report, it draws attention to the crisis among Nigeria's oil-producing communities where, it says, serious human rights violations have continued, despite the relaxation of repression elsewhere in Nigeria since the death of former head of state General Sani Abacha in June 1998. Among the incidents highlighted is an attack on two remote communities in January 1999 for which, HRW said, the Nigerian army used a helicopter and boats contracted to Chevron Nigeria. The report is an update to "The Price of Oil", a 200-page Human Rights Watch report on corporate responsibility in the oil-producing communities in Nigeria released in February 1999. The report also examines the military response to initially peaceful demonstrations against oil production in the Niger Delta in late December and early January, concluding that more than 100 people, mostly unarmed, were killed by soldiers. [The report and letter are available on the Human Rights Watch website at .]