Botswana: San Rights Groups Split
A split has emerged among groups campaigning against relocation of the San Bushmen from Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).
The Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA), an umbrella group of rights NGOs, issued a statement from their head office in Windhoek, Namibia, earlier this month, saying that the London-based NGO, Survival International (SI), did not have a mandate to speak on behalf of all the San.
SI has run a vociferous campaign alleging that San rights in the CKGR have been trampled in order to make way for diamond explorations in the reserve - charges that both the government and its mining partner, De Beers, have denied.
Diamonds remain central to Botswana's economic health, accounting for 70 percent of foreign currency earnings.
The Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA), an umbrella group of rights NGOs, issued a statement from their head office in Windhoek, Namibia, earlier this month, saying that the London-based NGO, Survival International (SI), did not have a mandate to speak on behalf of all the San.
SI has run a vociferous campaign alleging that San rights in the CKGR have been trampled in order to make way for diamond explorations in the reserve - charges that both the government and its mining partner, De Beers, have denied.
Diamonds remain central to Botswana's economic health, accounting for 70 percent of foreign currency earnings.
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27 Juillet 2005 à 12:24 dans
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