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| Nigeria charges more than 100 Biafra independence activists with treason | Nigeria charges more than 100 Biafra independence activists with treason |
| (4 months later) | |
| More than 100 Nigerians have been charged with treason after a protest march calling for an independent state of Biafra. | More than 100 Nigerians have been charged with treason after a protest march calling for an independent state of Biafra. |
| Supporters of the Biafran Zionist Movement were arrested after an independence rally in the regional capital, Enugu. The protesters included many elderly war veterans from the bloody 1967 conflict in which Biafra tried to break away from the newly independent Nigeria. | Supporters of the Biafran Zionist Movement were arrested after an independence rally in the regional capital, Enugu. The protesters included many elderly war veterans from the bloody 1967 conflict in which Biafra tried to break away from the newly independent Nigeria. |
| Supporters of the movement say there are growing calls for the region – dominated by the Igbo ethnic group – to break away from Nigeria. | Supporters of the movement say there are growing calls for the region – dominated by the Igbo ethnic group – to break away from Nigeria. |
| "We don't want to be part of Nigeria because Nigeria is not working as a nation. These arrests just confirm the reasons why we want self-determination – this is a state where they can arrest us even though we have not committed any offence," said Chilos Godsent, from the Imo Mass Movement, which has called for the prosecution of former Nigerian heads of state for their role in the Biafra war. | "We don't want to be part of Nigeria because Nigeria is not working as a nation. These arrests just confirm the reasons why we want self-determination – this is a state where they can arrest us even though we have not committed any offence," said Chilos Godsent, from the Imo Mass Movement, which has called for the prosecution of former Nigerian heads of state for their role in the Biafra war. |
| "The policy and leadership of this country has done everything to exterminate and dehumanise the Biafran people. It is only through an independent nation that our capacity can truly be developed. Within that context we feel like we have the right to self-determination." | "The policy and leadership of this country has done everything to exterminate and dehumanise the Biafran people. It is only through an independent nation that our capacity can truly be developed. Within that context we feel like we have the right to self-determination." |
| "The Nigerian leadership is corrupt – this is not the ethics of the Biafran people," Godsent added. "We are gathering support from our people – we know that if we held a referendum today, 98% of the people in Biafra would support independence. This is a struggle that has lasted over 40 years." | "The Nigerian leadership is corrupt – this is not the ethics of the Biafran people," Godsent added. "We are gathering support from our people – we know that if we held a referendum today, 98% of the people in Biafra would support independence. This is a struggle that has lasted over 40 years." |
| The protesters are evidence of a hardcore of separatists in the region, who still campaign for independence 40 years after the end of the Biafran conflict. The war, which began in 1967, was the bloodiest event in Nigeria's post-colonial history, and began when the oil-rich south-eastern region – dominated by the Igbo ethnic group – seceded as the Republic of Biafra. | The protesters are evidence of a hardcore of separatists in the region, who still campaign for independence 40 years after the end of the Biafran conflict. The war, which began in 1967, was the bloodiest event in Nigeria's post-colonial history, and began when the oil-rich south-eastern region – dominated by the Igbo ethnic group – seceded as the Republic of Biafra. |
| Blockades and flighting between Biafran forces and the Nigerian army led to the deaths of more than one million people, mostly from hunger and disease. The Biafran government surrendered in 1970, ending hopes of an independent republic, but separatist sentiments have remained alive among some in the region. | Blockades and flighting between Biafran forces and the Nigerian army led to the deaths of more than one million people, mostly from hunger and disease. The Biafran government surrendered in 1970, ending hopes of an independent republic, but separatist sentiments have remained alive among some in the region. |
| There has been increasing international interest in the movement recently. Last month renowned Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe wrote in the Guardian that persecution of Igbos still persists in Nigeria, as the legacy of the conflict continues to haunt the nation. His recently published memoirs have aroused renewed debate about the conflict. | There has been increasing international interest in the movement recently. Last month renowned Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe wrote in the Guardian that persecution of Igbos still persists in Nigeria, as the legacy of the conflict continues to haunt the nation. His recently published memoirs have aroused renewed debate about the conflict. |
| The award-winning novel Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is set to bring the events of the Biafra war to a global audience: a film based on the book, which chronicles the lives of a family who live through the war, is set for release in 2013. | The award-winning novel Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is set to bring the events of the Biafra war to a global audience: a film based on the book, which chronicles the lives of a family who live through the war, is set for release in 2013. |
| "Across the board in Nigeria there is a deepening sense of disaffection with the idea of Nigeria, [it] has really failed to become a meaningful political community. And so what you see is a reflection of that sense of profound disappointment," said Nigerian writer Okey Ndibe in a radio interview. | "Across the board in Nigeria there is a deepening sense of disaffection with the idea of Nigeria, [it] has really failed to become a meaningful political community. And so what you see is a reflection of that sense of profound disappointment," said Nigerian writer Okey Ndibe in a radio interview. |
| "The issues of injustice that caused that war have not been addressed… Violence has become the ruling ethic in Nigeria. Violence is produced by the state, and now you have Boko Haram and other extremists and fundamentalists groups in the country," Ndibe said. "I expect that there will be more of this kind of protest in the Igbo-speaking areas that we know as Biafra, but also in the other parts of Nigeria." | "The issues of injustice that caused that war have not been addressed… Violence has become the ruling ethic in Nigeria. Violence is produced by the state, and now you have Boko Haram and other extremists and fundamentalists groups in the country," Ndibe said. "I expect that there will be more of this kind of protest in the Igbo-speaking areas that we know as Biafra, but also in the other parts of Nigeria." |
| A #Biafra hashtag began trending on Twitter after the arrests, with one commentator writing, "#Biafra arrests wont stop the sun from rising. Nigeria needs to go back to honesty, peace, justice, equity, fair play, without this its a matter of time". | A #Biafra hashtag began trending on Twitter after the arrests, with one commentator writing, "#Biafra arrests wont stop the sun from rising. Nigeria needs to go back to honesty, peace, justice, equity, fair play, without this its a matter of time". |
| Another wrote: "In my opinion, I blame Chinua Achebe for toothless veterans and loyalists of Biafra charged with treason". | Another wrote: "In my opinion, I blame Chinua Achebe for toothless veterans and loyalists of Biafra charged with treason". |
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