UK: LONDON: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS REACT TO DEATH OF SANI ABACHA скачать в хорошем качестве

UK: LONDON: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS REACT TO DEATH OF SANI ABACHA

(8 Jun 1998) English/Nat Human rights activists spoke of their hopes on Monday for Nigeria following the death of its dictator - General Sani Abacha. Abacha, who came to power in a 1993 coup, faced worldwide condemnation for his hard- line regime. The son of the playwright and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed by Abacha for his human rights protests, gave his reaction to the dictator's death. The harsh regime of the Nigerian dictator General Sani Abacha was criticised by many governments. But no act drew such public condemnation as the hanging of the environmentalist and playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other political activists. On Monday Ken Saro-Wiwa's son spoke about Abacha's death and his hopes for the future. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Nobody really knows, this is the exact kind of thing we've been saying for a long time, that Abacha really has no plans beyond himself and now we're seeing the reality of that, there is no successor, the country is in a state of unrest, so we've always said that a military regime like Abacha's is not the way forward for anyone who has a long term interest in Nigeria." SUPERCAPTION: Ken Wiwa, son of Ken Saro-Wiwa Wiwa said Abacha had the worst human rights record of a long line of dictators. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Abacha has been the worst in a long line of human rights abusers in Nigeria, the thinking has always been that every successive dictator is worse than the previous one, so one hopes that we don't get another dictator because he will have quite a record to better Abacha's appalling record." SUPER CAPTION: Ken Wiwa, son of Ken Saro-Wiwa Human rights groups, who have long condemned Nigeria's human rights record, spoke of a window of hope for the country. SOUNDBITE: (English) "This is a government, a military government which has seen enormous human rights violations in the last few years and Amnesty International hopes that a new government will end those human rights violations and will release the scores of political prisoners, prisoners of conscience, who've been in prison just for their non-violent political beliefs and have been held in appalling conditions throughout the country, even up to the day we're speaking there have been new arrests, so we hope that will all change." SUPERCAPTION: Sarah Pennington, Amnesty International spokesperson It was not immediately clear who would lead in the absence of Abacha, who wielded absolute power in Africa's most populous nation since 1993 and was secretive regarding any plans for succession. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...