SOS Bushmen

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.

In a way, it has become a media event and that is very unfortunate," he told reporters in South Africa. "The interests of the San people are not best served by a public debate between an NGO based in London and an international mining company."

The two sides have engaged in a flurry of media exchanges, most recently with De Beers calling on SI to halt its "deliberate deception" in an Aug. 1 release. The statement came in response to an SI release titled "De Beers Wrong About Bushmen Evictions."

SI claims the Bushmen have been evicted by the Botswana government from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve as a result of diamond prospecting in the area. De Beers has vehemently denied these claims. The Botswana government maintains that it has moved the Bushmen to provide them with better facilities, including education and health care.

"I feel personally that it is important to push negotiations in the interest of the San people and of all the people of Botswana," Stavenhagen told Reuters. "I hear from some of my sources that there are people certainly in government who are ready to engage."

De Beers charges that SI's campaign has put a wedge between both sides of the debate and created divisions within the San, halting negotiations. Court hearings on the evictions began last year, but have repeatedly been postponed due to legal delays and a lack of funds on the part of the San Bushmen. The next session is scheduled to begin Aug. 10, according to Reuters.