(London, May 2, 2003) - The United Kingdom government has failed to denounce incidents of violence and intimidation that occurred in several areas of Nigeria during the elections of April 12 and 19, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a press release this week welcoming the "relative calm in which the elections took place."
"In a situation where we have seen serious violence, with deaths and injuries, it is extraordinary for the British government to talk of ‘calm,'" said Steve Crawshaw, London Director of Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch criticized the U.K. press release for failing to reflect the climate that prevailed in several southern and southeastern states of Nigeria, where violence and intimidation by armed thugs sponsored by political parties prevented many voters from going to the polls. The press release also failed to take into account the widespread violence across Nigeria in the months leading up to the elections.
"The U.K. government, as one of Nigeria's most important Western partners, should urge the Nigerian government to put an end to the impunity, which has protected perpetrators of political violence," said Crawshaw. "This could help prevent further violence during the May 3 elections for state houses of assembly and local government elections provisionally scheduled for June."
