He was prepared to die for his ideals. What are you prepared to do for yours.

"I expect it. The men we are dealing with are mindless stone age dictators addicted to blood... responsible for the African nightmare, afraid as they are of ideas and men of ideas."

Two years ago yesterday a military coup gave General Sani Abacha supreme power in Nigeria.

Almost at once, Amnesty International began hearing reports of widespread and cruel human rights violations as Abacha's forces moved to crush, stifle or intimidate his political opponents. Showing savage contempt for the law, the government took away the power of courts to defend basic human rights. In Nigeria now the political, economic and human rights crisis is rapidly worsening.

Cursed by riches.

When he first came into conflict with these ruthless politicians, Ken Saro-Wiwa was already one of Africa's best known writers. Ken had taken up the cause of his people, the Ogoni, who live in the Niger delta, a region cursed by riches.

Ken campaigned against the multi-national oil giants who, drawn by Ogoniland's rich oil deposits, tore down the rainforests and turned the landscape into a stinking mess. Ken told the world how half a million Ogonis today suffer from levels of air, soil and water pollution that would be intolerable in any country where governments and oil companies were accountable.

Ken Saro-Wiwa and his friends sought justice for the Ogoni people. That search led him to prison, where he was initially held for eight months without trial and tortured. It brought him face to face with the most difficult discovery a human being can make: finding out whether he is prepared to place his ideals before his own safety, maybe even before his life.

The spirit never dies.

Ken knew the generals would try to silence him. He knew he was in danger. And though he loved life as much as the next person, he did not allow this to stop him going on with his work.

What can he have hoped to achieve by making this brave stand? Perhaps his last words on the gallows give us the answer: "Lord take my soul, but the struggle continues."

Ken looked to us.

We have lost Ken Saro- Wiwa and his friends, but for their deaths to make any sense, we must make sure that their struggle for justice continues.

It is too late for them, but hundreds of other prisoners still wait in Nigerian jails without charge or hope of a fair trial. Among them is the man who probably won the 1993 Presidential Election. We can't be sure, since the government didn't allow the result to be announced, but had him arrested.

They have held him in prison without charge since June 1994. He is a sick man, whose health was worsened by a policeman injuring him while violently snatching away a book he was reading. The Nigerian government have even imprisoned his doctor.

It is easy to forget these prisoners. Ken's fame ensured him a place on the front pages of every newspaper.

Celebrities queued up to campaign on his behalf. The media have been full of details about his case and the tragedy of the Ogoni.

But who will bear witness for the forgotten casualties of Nigeria's human rights nightmare.

Bloodstained Trade.

Ken wanted the oil giants to understand that lives are more important than profits.

He demanded of politicians and industrialists that they clean up their own acts and stop turning a blind eye to human rights abuse.

But as we have tragically seen, governments and big corporations do have the will to act, but often leave it to the eleventh hour, and then do too little.

In Wellington last week, Commonwealth leaders expressed outrage at the killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa.

Tough questions.

We are glad that John Major called the hangings an act of 'judicial murder'. We applaud the British government for beginning to take action against Nigeria. But we are also puzzled.

Amnesty has issued report after report about the horrors in Nigeria. yet Mr. Major's' government did nothing.

And it's not just Nigeria.

If Mr. Major is genuinely concerned about human rights. why does his government continue to sell arms to countries with appalling human rights records?

Why sell Hawk military jets to Indonesia where security forces continue to murder their own people?

There must be very good reasons. What are they, John?

Perhaps Britain. Australia and other Commonwealth countries will make it clear why they do not take action against killing, torture and 'disappearance' in Indonesian-occupied East Timor?

If you believe in justice and freedom, if you think that torture has no part in a civilised society, if you think that killing people is not a legitimate way to pursue political aims. then demand that governments honour their highfalutin' declarations about human rights.

The world stood by and watched Ken die.

Don't you stand by. Stand up for your ideals.

To join Amnesty International, write to: Amnesty International United Kingdom Section, FREEPOST, London EC1B 1HE or phone 0345 611 116.