|
SURVIVAL ADVERT CONDEMNS
TORTURE OF BUSHMEN
5 November 2007
Survival has placed a full-page advert in the UK's Independent newspaper today,
condemning the torture of Bushmen evicted from their land in the Kalahari in
Botswana and appealing to the British public to support them.
The ad shows pictures of ten of the men arrested and beaten, tortured or
assaulted in Kaudwane resettlement camp in September, and asks, 'What does it
take to let these people live in peace?'
The ad reads, 'Last year, the Bushmen of Botswana won an historic victory.
Expelled from their ancient homeland, the Bushmen took the government to court
- and won. Botswana's High Court ruled that the Bushmen have the right to
return to their land, and to hunt and gather there. That's all they've ever
wanted.'
The ad highlights the fact that since the court victory, the government has
arrested more than 50 Bushmen for hunting to feed their families, banned them
from using their water borehole, and backed plans for a massive diamond mine
worth $2.2 billion on the Bushmen's land.
Survival's director Stephen Corry said today, 'The Botswana government has had
nearly a year to implement the court's ruling. It's now clear it has no
intention of doing so, so the Bushmen's campaign has been reignited. Hundreds
of thousands of people have already voiced their support for the Bushmen. Now,
tortured and persecuted, they need this support more than ever.'
SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
|