Moscow activists express solidarity with the evicted Nigerian inhabitants
Activists of the Moscow City Council with the support of the Left Front held a picket at the Embassy of Nigeria
Today, on December 4, Mossovet and Left Front activists held a picket by the Nigeria embassy. They stood with posters saying “Nigerian inhabitants, we are with you!” and “No to lawless evictions!” After a while, a delegation of three activists entered the building to give the ambassador a letter on behalf of Mossovet.
Today, on December 4, Mossovet and Left Front activists held a picket by the Nigeria embassy. They stood with posters saying “Nigerian inhabitants, we are with you!” and “No to lawless evictions!” After a while, a delegation of three activists entered the building to give the ambassador a letter on behalf of Mossovet. In this letter, Moscow activists express “a great concern over the ongoing forced evictions and murders of defenseless inhabitants of Port Harcourt by the government of Rivers State, Nigeria” and “protest against the lack of action from the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the current situation”.
The Minister of the immigration department Felix O. Idigbe invited the delegation in his office. It was revealed during the conversation that the embassy officials were not informed about the tragedy in Nigeria where nine people died in the military operation aimed at demolishing housing built by the residents themselves. The minister agreed to hand the letter to the ambassador of Nigeria and to the federal government. Mossovet activists explained that their picket was part of an international campaign of solidarity with the Nigerian inhabitants launched by the International Alliance of Inhabitants among other organizations.
It seems curious that at first, embassy officials could not understand what was going on and why some Moscovites were picketing the embassy, taking the action for an attack organized by Nashi or another pro-government group. They were relieved to learn that the picketers were representing grassroots initiatives, all the more when activists explained that, although Moscow authorities did not (yet?) shoot at inhabitants, there were some attempts of forced evictions in the capital and elsewhere. That was one of the tendencies Mossovet was fighting and that was why they showed solidarity with the Nigerian inhabitants.