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Dissidents urge sanctions against 'vicious' regime in Nigeria
BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) -- Led by Nobel Prize-winning writer Wole Soyinka, a group of Nigerian dissidents Friday urged the European Union to isolate and punish Nigeria's military regime.
Describing the Nigerian junta as "far more intense, far more vicious than apartheid in South Africa," Soyinka asked the EU to halt trade and political links with the west African nation. The delegation also condemned a Dutch plan to allow a Nigerian government minister to visit the Netherlands next month for an international conference
The Nigerian dissidents were in Brussels for talks with EU officials and members of the European Parliament. The 15-nation EU banned arms sales to Nigeria and imposed visa restrictions after the military regime hanged nine dissidents in 1995. Soyinka has said the EU sanctions were insufficient.
Soyinka, who lives in exile, was one of 15 opposition figures charged with treason by Nigerian authorities last week. The offense is punishable by death.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related story:
- Nigerian junta charges Nobel winner, dissidents with bombings - March 12, 1997
Related sites:
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- Wole Soyinka - Cultural Fixations and Unholy Writs
- Nigerian Human Rights Information
- Nigerian Information Resources Online
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