Conflict in Niger Delta: Security, Civil Society and Violence

Öz

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. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

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

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

Öz

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. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

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

Kaynakça

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