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SOS Bushmen

Kalahari bushmen being squeezed off land

Botswana's San bushmen, fighting a high court challenge to the 2002 eviction from their traditional lands, are finding the fight harder and harder.

About 240 applicants have been fighting a court case since early July to have their removal from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve declared illegal. The reserve occupies 10 per cent of Botswana's area and is larger than Denmark. It is also rich in diamond deposits.
 (Suite)

Botswana: Alleged Crackdown On Bushmen Denied

The government of Botswana has denied allegations that it is launching a 'massive crackdown' on the Bushmen of the central Kalahari.

Government spokesman Jeff Ramsay dismissed claims by rights group Survival International (SI) that the administration was attempting to blockade the ancestral lands of the Bushmen.

SI claimed in a statement that, despite the resumption of a three-year court case against the government for evicting Bushmen from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), the authorities were planning to put guards around the CKGR to "stop Bushmen going in".
 (Suite)

Botswana cracking down on Bushmen: report

Botswana has launched a crackdown on the San Bushmen of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, stationing guards around the park and preventing lawyers from entering the reserve, rights advocate Survival International said Monday.

The organisation, which is fighting for the rights of the San Bushmen community in the southern African country, said the new measures came despite the resumption of a court case against the government of Botswana President Festus Mogae.
 (Suite)

Botswana: Govt Wants to Brief UN Special Rapporteur On Bushmen

The government of Botswana says it has "no problem" with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous People visiting the country for a briefing on the San Bushmen, who are contesting their relocation from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).

The San Bushmen were relocated to the New Xade and Kaudwane settlements outside the reserve after the government drew up controversial plans to set aside the CKGR for wildlife and tourism development. San rights groups have claimed the Bushmen were forcibly removed from their ancestral land to make way for diamond explorations in the CKGR.
 (Suite)

United Nations enters Bushmen debate; A United Nations official has addressed the escalating war of words between De Beers and non-governmental organization (NGO) Survival International (SI) over the fate of the San Bushmen in Botswana

A United Nations official has addressed the escalating war of words between De Beers and non-governmental organization (NGO) Survival International (SI) over the fate of the San Bushmen in Botswana.

Rodolfo Stavenhagen, U.N. rapporteur for indigenous peoples, was dismissive of SI's campaign against De Beers, reports Reuters, and has called on the Botswana government and the San Bushmen to negotiate.
 (Suite)

U.N. urges Botswana talks with Kalahari Bushmen

A United Nations official called on Monday for talks between Botswana's government and San Bushmen moved off their Kalahari lands, but took a swipe at a campaign by a UK pressure group against diamond giant De Beers.

Diamond mining Botswana has relocated hundreds of San Bushmen from their traditional hunting grounds in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve saying they must leave the reserve to benefit from education, water and health services.
 (Suite)

Botswana: Diamonds And Reputation Could Be Hit By Bushmen Eviction Boycott

Diamond giant De Beers' strategy of going for increased consumer awareness may take a hit because of the mounting campaign in favour of the Khoisan Bushmen evicted from Botswana's central Kalahari reserve.

The boycott campaign being conducted by rights organizations in the US and Europe has been given a fillip by the expulsion of a critical academic. In addition Botswana's President Festus Mogae has been shooting himself in the foot with well-publicised and racially obnoxious statements about the Bushmen.

The case has already damaged Botswana's prized reputation as the sole democratic and economic success story in Africa outside of South Africa and analysts say this may be the main fallout of the case, beyond increasing the generalized negative view of diamonds inherited from the 'conflict diamonds' publicity.
 (Suite)