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| Bushman elder, CKGR, Botswana 2004
© 2004 Stephen Corry/Survival |
Gana and Gwi Bushmen
who have returned to their land were today ordered to leave within ten
days. Armed police and wildlife scouts are camped in the Bushmen's
reserve, and are threatening to shoot them dead.
The local District Commissioner went to the communities inside the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) today to deliver the government's
ultimatum.
All but thirty of the Bushmen in the reserve were evicted in 2002.
Others have since returned despite government opposition, so that there
are now 200-250 people living on their land. Hundreds more in the
resettlement camps are desperate to return.
The government's move comes in defiance of the ongoing court case which
is supposed to rule on whether the Bushmen have the right to live in
the reserve. News of the gun threats will embarrass Botswana's
President Festus Mogae and Foreign Minister Mompati Merafhe as they
leave for the UN in New York, where Mr Mogae is expected to address the
Assembly.
Survival's director Stephen Corry said today, The Botswana government
doesn't care about its own courts or the rule of law, and least of all
about its indigenous peoples. All minorities there must now feel under
threat.'
We will ensure the international community doesn't forget the Bushmen
and what they are suffering. The outside world won't turn a blind eye
to their destruction – which is now tantamount to genocide. Tourists to
Botswana and those who buy diamonds from De Beers are now complicit in
this, the greatest of crimes.'
Photos and footage available. For more information contact Miriam Ross on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or email mr@survival-international.org
