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| Bushman elder, CKGR, Botswana 2004
© 2004 Stephen Corry/Survival |
Clashes have erupted between Gana and Gwi Bushmen desperate to stay inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and wildlife officers and police trying to force them out.
At least one Bushman, Matsipane Mosetlhenyane, is known to have sought
medical help outside the reserve after a clash with armed wildlife
officers. The officers had tried to force their way into
Mosetlhenyane's home.
Police yesterday confiscated radio equipment belonging to the Bushmen's
organisation First People of the Kalahari (FPK). The organisation had
been using the equipment to communicate with Bushmen inside the
reserve. With the reserve now sealed off and police and wildlife
officers in the Bushman communities, little news can get out about what
is happening inside.
The Bushmen's court case against the Botswana government was yesterday
adjourned until February 2006 to allow the Bushmen to seek funds to
allow them to continue. The case is already the longest and most costly
in Botswana's history, despite being brought by the country's poorest
inhabitants.
Photos and footage available. For more information contact Miriam Ross on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or email mr@survival-international.org
