22 June 2004
BOTSWANA PRESIDENT PERSONALLY GIVES BLANKETS TO
BUSHMEN AND TELLS THEM NOT TO GO HOME
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In a surprising move, last week the president of
Botswana personally visited New Xade, one of the
government sites where the 'Bushmen' were taken
after being expelled from their ancestral land.
Although it was only 3 weeks before the Bushmen
take his government to court for the right to
return to their land, President Festus Mogae was
accompanied by Sidney Pilane, the lawyer acting
for the government in the case.
Pre-judging the court's ruling, the president
told the San Bushmen that they should not try to
return to their land and also distributed
handouts of food, clothing and blankets.
He told the Bushmen: 'I am your father and I have come to
check up on my children.'
Stephen Corry, director of Survival, which is
very well-known in Botswana for its support of
the Bushmen, said today, 'To pretend that this
visit is not a blatant attempt to influence the
court case, and the British MPs' trip,* is just
na�ve.
In other countries, a visit from the head
of state - and defendant - so close to the court
hearing would not be allowed.
The irony is that the president's handouts actually reinforce the
state of dependency the Bushmen have been reduced
to. These hunter-gatherers are no longer allowed
to hunt and have been turned by the government
into beggars and prostitutes.
So the president's actions are in fact entirely in keeping with his
prevailing attitude, that the Bushmen are to be
stripped of their ability to lead lives outside
of government control. To call this 'development'
is just a mockery. It's an appalling 21st century
echo of how indigenous peoples in North America
were once robbed of their lands in exchange for a
few blankets.'
A Bushman who must remain anonymous said of the visit, 'This is just bribery.'
* A group of British MPs is due to visit New Xade
at the end of June 2004. They are: Nigel Jones, Dianne
Abbott, Tony Banks, Ashok Kumar, Alan Meale,
Roger Godsiff, Jane Griffiths, Andrew Hunter,
John Horam, Paul Keetch.
UK: New motion in Parliament on Bushmen
A second Early Day Motion has been tabled in the UK�s House of Commons supporting the Bushmen�s right to return to their homeland. 24 MPs have already signed; if you live in the UK, please urge your MP to sign too. The motion (EDM no. 1168) can be read at http://edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=1168. To locate your MP you can use the following website: http://www.locata.co.uk/commons/
BOTSWANA: Bushman hunters arrested
Three Bushmen from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana have been arrested and charged with �unlawful hunting�. The three were hunting near the resettlement centre of New Xade, where they have been forced to live since the government evicted them from their reserve in 2002. The arrests are the latest in a rising tide of persecution of Gana and Gwi Bushman hunters. The Bushmen were banned from hunting and gathering in the reserve after the evictions, and since then those hunting around the resettlement centres have faced harassment, arrest and heavy fines or imprisonment. �I feel angry because I am a hunter and I�m not allowed to hunt. I have children but I don�t know how to feed them,� says one man. In the resettlement centres, the Bushmen are dependent on government rations.
For more information contact Miriam Ross on (+44)
(0)20 7687 8734 or email
[email protected]
Survival International is a worldwide organisation supporting tribal
peoples. It stands for their right to decide their own future and
helps them protect their lives, lands and human rights.
Survival International
6 Charterhouse Buildings
London EC1M 7ET
UK
Tel: (+44) (0)20 7687 8700
Fax: (+44) (0)20 7687 8701
General enquiries: [email protected]
http://www.survival-international.org
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