Conflict in Niger Delta: Security, Civil Society and Violence

Year 2018, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 137 - 157, 31.01.2018

Ahmet Göksel Uluer

https://doi.org/10.30626/tesamakademi.392985

Cited By: 1

Abstract

The Niger Delta has been a region of conflict from the
middle of the 1960s. Gained independence in 1960, the state experienced the
long-running Nigerian-Biafra war, which had crucial outputs at the age of
seven. The region which is the source of oil and economical heart of the
country with this feature, was also hosting a polarization based on ethnicity.
As a result, it became a center of regional and national economic and
ethnopolitical conflict. The civil war experience was the first step in the
cycle of civil society, activism, violence and security activities that gave
rise to the demands of the people of the region which are still valid today:
claiming more rights, more income, democracy and independence. In this paper,
causes of conflict and historical process of Niger Delta, where hosts many
actors such as civil society, armed organizations, ethnic and religious groups,
government and multinational companies, are examined. Changes ranging from
warfare to amnesty, from peaceful actions to use of weapons; the steps taken on
conflict and conflict resolution and varying stances of actors by time are
analyzed in the framework of regional and global conjuncture. 

Keywords

Nigeria, Niger Delta, Conflict, Terrorism, Amnesty, Civil Society

NİJER DELTASI’NDA ÇATIŞMA: GÜVENLİK, SİVİL TOPLUM VE ŞİDDET

Abstract

Nijer Deltası 1960'ların ortalarından itibaren
çatışmaların yaşandığı bir bölge oldu. 1960'da bağımsızlığına kavuşan Nijerya,
henüz yedinci yaşında iken çok ciddi boyutlara ulaşan ve uzun süren Nijerya-Biafra
savaşını tecrübe etti. Petrolün kaynak bölgesi ve bu özelliğiyle ülkenin
ekonomik kalbi olan bölge, etnisiteye dayalı bir kutuplaşmaya da ev sahipliği
yapmaktaydı. Bu haliyle bölgesel ve ulusal anlamda ekonomik ve etnopolitik bir
çatışmanın odağı haline geldi. İç savaş deneyimi, bölge halklarının günümüze
dek süren hak, daha fazla gelir, demokrasi, bağımsızlık gibi taleplerini
doğuran bir sivil toplum, aktivizm, şiddet ve güvenlik faaliyetleri döngüsünün
ilk adımı oldu. Bu çalışmada sivil toplum, silahlı örgütler, etnik ve dinsel
gruplar, devlet, çok uluslu şirketler gibi pek çok aktörün bulunduğu Nijer
Deltası'nda çatışmayı doğuran nedenler ve çatışmanın tarihsel süreci ele
alınmaktadır. Savaştan affa, barışçıl eylemlerden silah kullanımına uzanan
değişimler, çatışma ve çözümüne dair atılan adımlar ile aktörlerin zamanla
değişen tutumları, bölgesel ve küresel konjonktür çerçevesinde incelenmektedir. 

Keywords

Nijerya, Nijer Deltası, Çatışma, Terörizm, Af, Sivil Toplum

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