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| Bushman elder, CKGR, Botswana 2004
© 2004 Stephen Corry/Survival |
A West Papuan delegation to the UN Commission on Human Rights has made a plea
in solidarity with the Gana and Gwi Bushmen and their neighbours the
Bakgalagadi, who have been evicted from their homes in the Central Kalahari Game
Reserve by the government of Botswana.
The delegate from West Papua, Nicodemus Yomaki, stated before the Commission
that, the government of Botswana has violated the most fundamental
rights of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen and Bakgalagadi, namely the right to
collective ownership of their territory and the right to lead the life of their
choosing.' He compared these human rights violations to the oppression
of West Papuans by the Indonesian government.
The delegation was in Geneva to protest the atrocities and brutal repression
being carried out on the indigenous West Papuan people by the Indonesian
government. It called on the Human Rights Commission to investigate after a
recent Yale Law School report concluded that there are serious indications that
Indonesian activities there may constitute genocide.
To read the United Nations press release click here
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