July 15, 2026
STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY
The Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative-MEDI stands in strong solidarity with the Talaingod 13 and the Indigenous Peoples’ Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) on this Global Day of Action.
Two years have passed since the unjust conviction of thirteen individuals; Lumad teachers, advocates, lay people, and longtime activists, whose only “crime” was defending the fundamental right of Lumad children to education. We join the Defend Talaingod 13 Network in condemning these trumped-up charges and the dangerous precedent they set: the criminalization of advocacy and solidarity work for Indigenous Peoples everywhere.
At MEDI, we understand intimately that the defense of land, life, and culture is inseparable from the defense of Indigenous education. When states silence teachers and criminalize advocates, they do not merely target individuals; they attack the future of entire communities. The conviction of the Talaingod 13 is not an isolated injustice; it is a warning to all who stand with Indigenous Peoples against displacement, exploitation, and erasure.
Our conviction in this struggle is rooted in the legacy of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the Nigerian writer, environmental activist, and leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). In the early 1990s, Saro-Wiwa led a peaceful campaign against the environmental devastation of Ogoniland by multinational oil corporations and the complicity of the Nigerian state. For his courage in demanding justice for his people, he was arrested on fabricated charges, subjected to a sham trial by a military tribunal, and executed by hanging on November 10, 1995 alongside eight other Ogoni leaders collectively known as the Ogoni Nine. His murder was not merely an act of state violence; it was a deliberate attempt to silence Indigenous resistance and protect corporate interests. Yet Saro-Wiwa’s legacy endured. It became a rallying cry for environmental justice movements across the African continent and beyond, proving that the struggle for Indigenous land rights and the defense of those who speak truth to power are inseparable causes.
It is upon this foundation, the belief that environmental justice cannot exist without the protection of Indigenous defenders, and that the silencing of one is an attack on all, that MEDI was built. The Talaingod 13, like the Ogoni Nine, stand accused not for any wrongdoing, but for refusing to abandon their people. Their conviction is a continuation of the same pattern: the use of judicial persecution to suppress Indigenous self-determination and shield powerful interests from accountability.
We call for:
We encourage our networks, partners, and allies to join this day of action, through statements, direct actions, and visible expressions of solidarity. The struggle of the Lumad is our struggle. The defense of their teachers is the defense of our shared future. And the memory of Ken Saro-Wiwa demands that we never remain silent when defenders of the land and people are put on trial.
Free the Talaingod 13! Defend Indigenous Rights! Defend Indigenous Education! Justice for All Persecuted Environmental Defenders!
In solidarity,
Comrade Celestine AkpoBari PhD.
Team Lead
The Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative-MEDI