|
Ancient
Tribe Battles to Keep Kalahari Their Own
(19.12.2005) (Rapaport...Associated
Press, KAUDWANE) For more than 20,000 years, clans of
hunter-gathers have survived in central Botswana's stark, desert
plains. Now, a handful are left, locked in a bitter dispute over
their right to remain in what has been declared a wildlife reserve.
Footprints
May Be Key to Protecting Rare Rhinos
(12.12.2005) Imagine a database with
digital files on every imperiled animal on the planet. That's what two rhino
researchers have in mind, and they say it starts with a single footprint.
'Nobel'
prize for a noble people
(11.12.2005) In the Swedish
Parliament on Friday an international jury presented a Right Livelihood Award
(known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize") to Roy Sesana, a Kalahari
bushman who has been leading his people's fight for the right to stay in the
reserve that is their ancestral homeland.
Living
up to diamonds?
(09 December 2005) ‘The diamond,” says De Beers chairperson
Nicky Oppenheimer, “is a fantastic control of error.” At
Montessori schools, he explains, children are given a cognitive
development exercise that involves trying to fit tubes of varying
sizes into a series of holes.
BUSHMAN
'ALTERNATIVE NOBEL' LAUREATE: WITHOUT OUR LAND WE ARE DYING
(8 December 2005) Kalahari Bushman Roy Sesana will receive the
'Alternative Nobel Prize' on 9 December, and will tell the world,
''My people love their land, and without it we are dying.'
Canada's
'alternative Nobel' winners call for water rights, global justice
(07.12.2005) STOCKHOLM,
Sweden (CP) - Two Canadian recipients of this year's Right
Livelihood Awards, also known as the "alternative
Nobels," on Tuesday said privatization of fresh water
resources represents a threat to human rights.
Diamond
drilling in the southerly Bushman areas - from which the Bushmen
get nothing !!!
(December 7, 2005) African
Copper Plc : Further Diamond Drill Results From the Dukwe Project
- LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - (CCN
Matthews - Dec. 7, 2005) - African Copper Plc (TSX:ACU) (AIM:ACU)
(BSE:African Copper) - Diamond drilling over 600 metres of strike
extent at Mapanipani North is complete with a resource estimate
expected at the end of January. Drilling of the central Mapanipani
and the southerly...
BOTSWANA:
Access to education may be limited by new fees policy
JOHANNESBURG, 5 December (IRIN) - A move to reintroduce school fees in
Botswana is causing controversy, with politicians and education experts
warning that it may be a step backwards.
PRESS
CONFERENCE WITH RECIPIENTS OF RIGHT LIVELIHOOD AWARDS IN
STOCKHOLM ON WEDNESDAY (05.12.2005) Among
the recipients of this year's Right Livelihood Awards (often
referred to as the 'Alternative Nobel Prizes') are coming to
Stockholm among the other winners this week ...
Activist
Honoured
(04.12.2005) Director
of Tenaganita, Irene Fernandez, wins Swedish award and is honoured
by her friends, writes MEERA MURUGESAN - “HUMAN
rights is not a dirty word,” says Irene Fernandez. It is in fact
something that gives a person his or her dignity stresses the
director of Tenaganita.
FPWW
Prepares To Mediate CKGR Relocation
(28.11.2005) President Festus Mogae has
invited First People World Wide (FPWW) to facilitate negotiations between the
government and Basarwa over the relocation from Central Kalahari Game Reserve
(CKGR).
Bitter
dispute over bushmen lands
(24 November 2005) Molatwe
Mokalake, an old man probably in his 70s, is still seething with
anger three weeks after he was forced out of his home village,
Molapo.
SMILE,
WOMAN OF AFRICA, SMILE!
A. N. Kithaka - This week holds two important events for African women. The
25th of November marks the start of the 16 Days of Gender Activism
Against Violence, an international campaign meant to raise awareness
about gender violence, strengthen the work of local organisations and
demonstrate the solidarity of women around the world. Incorporating the
International Day Against Violence Against Women (November 25th) and
International Human Rights Day (December 10), the goal of the campaign is
to link violence against women to the fact that it is a human rights
violation. November 25 is also especially important for African women,
as it is the day that the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa
comes into force.
South
African Bushmen Decry Relocation
by Jason Beaubien - Weekend
Edition - Sunday, November 13, 2005 · The
government of Botswana is relocating the last few dozen San Bushmen out of the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve. For more than 20,000 years, the San have lived
in the region as hunter-gathers. The government says the Bushmen are no longer
true hunter-gathers and shouldn't live in a wildlife reserve.
BOTSWANA: INTERNATIONAL NGOS CONDEMN BUSHMAN EVICTIONS
(10 November 2005) Five non-governmental organisations have issued strong statements
condemning the eviction of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen from the Central
Kalahari Game Reserve. The statements, from Botswana, Namibia, South
Africa, Germany, Switzerland and France, reflect increasing international outrage at the shootings, beatings, eviction and arrests
of recent weeks.
Row
over Bushmen 'genocide'
(6 November 2005) A London-based organisation which accuses the
Botswana government of ethnic cleansing against the Kalahari
Bushmen has come under fierce criticism for allegedly distorting
the true picture.
ORION
- Magazine November/December 2005
MARK DOWIE - "Conservation Refugees" - When protecting nature means
kicking people out ...
NGO
alleges blood diamonds and genocide
(03.11.2005) JOHANNESBURG (Mineweb.com)
-- Heaven help indigenous people and emerging economies when the chattering
classes get the bit between their teeth. In England this past weekend the
Sunday Telegraph, a “serious” Sunday newspaper, carried an article planted
by the NGO Survival International, essentially claiming that the government of
Botswana had embarked on what amounted to genocide by forced removals from the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve of Khoi San people, specifically the Bosawra or
people colloquially stereotyped as bushmen.
Diversity
vital to our knowledge
(01.11.2005) By Diona Fay Howard - "Hello
class, welcome to intellectual heritage 51. Can anyone tell me what
intellectual heritage means?" says a Temple professor at the beginning of
each semester. A bold student ready to earn an A for the course eagerly
answers, "It means the legacy of great thinkers and ideas in this
world."
Bushmen
forced out of desert after living off land for thousands of years
(29.10.2005) The death throes of an ancient way of life are being
played out in the Kalahari sands where Botswana has resumed its policy of
removing the San Bushmen from their last redoubts.
Treason
suspects lose jurisdiction challenge
(26. Oct. 2005) ELEVEN of the 12 men facing charges in the second Caprivi high
treason trial yesterday failed with their challenge against the High Court's
jurisdiction to try them.
Botswana
to Relocate San Bushmen from Kalahari
(October 21, 2005) Day
to Day, October 21, 2005 · In
Southern Africa, the government of Botswana is moving some of the
last San Bushmen out of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
Botswana officials call it progress, but Bushmen argue that the
move threatens their culture.
COHRE
letter 21. Oct. 2005 ( PDF
)
Dear Mr. President, Re: Forced Eviction in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve -
With reference to the reply of C.S. Maribe, from the Public Relations Office
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Botswana
[see Annex A], to our letter of 13 September 2005 regarding the forced
eviction of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR),
we wish to state the following ...
Bushmen's
Quiver Tree Threatened by Climate Change
(October 19, 2005) JOHANNESBURG - A famed desert tree used for
generations by Africa's bushmen to make quivers for their arrows
is threatened by global warming, a conference heard on Tuesday.
The
Plight of the Gana and Gwi tribes of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
(18. Oct. 2005) RETENG would like to join the multitude of citizens of the
World to congratulate Roy Sesana and the First People of the Kalahari for the
prestigious Right to Livelihood Award, which he so well deserved.
Roy
is has made
Botswana
proud and we wish him more good things to come. He is a dedicated Human Rights
Advocate, a staunch believer in human dignity.
THROWN
OUT FOR WEARING A T-SHIRT: OXFORD UNION DOES A WALTER WOLFGANG
(17 October 2005) Twenty-five protestors from Survival International were
bundled out of the Oxford Union by burly security guards on Friday for 'wearing
offensive t-shirts' and 'asking offensive questions.' All were members of the
Union or their guests.
Reality:
Request to move and move or die !
The governance and UNnecessary spindoctors at work: BOTSWANA: Govt denies
claims of ethnic cleansing - JOHANNESBURG, 10 October (IRIN) - The government
of Botswana says accusations that Bushmen are being evicted at gunpoint from
the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) are "absolute rubbish".
MASS
FORCED REMOVAL OF KALAHARI BUSHMAN
(October 10 2005) Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) remains
alarmedly concerned about allegations of systematic persecution of Gana and
Gwi Bushman (i.e. San) peoples of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in
Botswana.
Lawyers
gear to argue 2nd treason trial challenge
(October 7, 2005) THE last testimony on eleven Caprivi high
treason suspects' claims that they were abducted from Botswana to
be arrested and prosecuted in Namibia was heard in the High Court
in Windhoek yesterday.
DISPOSSESSING
AFRICA'S WEALTH
(Patrick Bond - Oct. 2005) Exactly how much wealth does Africa
lose every year? Third World repayments of $340 billion each
year flow northwards to service a $2.2 trillion debt, more
than five times the G8's development aid budget, notes
Patrick Bond. In addition Africa’s citizens experience
depletion of assets like forests and mineral resources, and suffer
the impact of pollution as a result of mining. In this context,
Bond argues that those who claim international integration
can enrich Africa are wrong.
JAKOB
VON UEXKULL NAMED "2005 EUROPEAN HERO" BY TIME MAGAZINE
(6 October 2005) On September 29 he announced this year's winners of the Right
Livelihood Award (better known as "Alternative Nobel Prize") in
Stockholm. Now he himself has been honoured: In its current special issue,
TIME Magazine names Jakob von Uexkull one of 37 "2005 European Heroes".
‘Alternative
Nobel’ goes to international HR activists
(September 30, 2005) STOCKHOLM: The Right
Livelihood prize, dubbed the "alternative" Nobel Peace Prize, was
awarded on Thursday to activists from Canada, Malaysia, and Botswana for their
work to promote fair trade and the rights of migrant workers and indigenous
peoples.
De Beers revenue surges 14% on US, China and India sales
(September 30, 2005) Johannesburg - De Beers, the world's biggest diamond company, said
revenue from the first seven of 10 annual sales surged 14 percent to the
highest in a decade as consumers in the US, India and China bought more
jewellery.
Campaigners
win recognition
(Stockholm: AP
- 30/09/2005) Activists
from Canada and Malaysia, a Mexican artist and a group
representing Kalahari Bushmen were yesterday named the winners of
the Right Livelihood Awards, known as the "alternative
Nobels" for promoting justice, fair trade and cultural
renewal.
And
the Alternative Nobel Prize Goes To...
WASHINGTON, Sep 29 (IPS) - Social activists
from Mexico, Malaysia, Botswana and Canada have won the 2005
"Right Livelihood Award", an honour meant to celebrate
groups and individuals who show outstanding vision and work on
behalf of the natural world and its people.
Alternative
Nobel Prize for imprisoned leader of the San in Botswana is
"a resounding slap in the face" for discriminating
policies concerning indigenous peoples Alternative Nobel
Prize for imprisoned leader of the San in Botswana - Göttingen,
29. September 2005 - As "a resounding slap in the face
for the government of Botswana and its discriminating policies
concerning indigenous peoples” the Society for Threatened
Peoples (GfbV) declared the announced bestowal of the Alternative
Nobel Prize on the most outstanding representative of the
indigenous people of the San, Roy Sesana, this Thursday in
Stockholm.
2005 RIGHT LIVELIHOOD AWARDS HONOUR PIONEERS FOR JUSTICE, FAIR TRADE AND CULTURAL RENEWAL
(29. Sept. 2005) Alternative Nobel Prize honours bushwo/men
- The organization First People of the Kalahari, and its founder Roy Sesana (Botswana) - … for resolute resistance against eviction from their ancestral lands, and for upholding the right to their traditional way of life.
Why
Lift Arms Against Unarmed Citizens?
(September 29, 2005) The President of the Republic of Botswana has indicated
that the Basarwa inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) are free to
hunt "provided they used traditional hunting weapons, such as bows and
arrows". When asked, the residents I met in the CKGR in December 2004
stated that they were unaware of this policy.
Release
of imprisoned indigenous people from the Kalahari demanded
Botswana’s government conducts war against bush people - Göttingen,
28. September 2005 - The Society for Threatened Peoples
(GfbV) called urgently on the government of Botswana to end their
"war against the bush people” in the Kalahari and to
release immediately the 21 leading representatives of the
indigenous people who were arrested last weekend.
Protest of Botswana's Bushmen kicks up
dust
Financial Times - (September 28, 2005) An escalating land-rights conflict in Botswana threatens to tarnish thereputation of one of Africa's best-governed countries.
Call
for help: Gana Bushmen of Kalahari
(27 Sep 2005) This
message came to me from a group of dedicated advocates for the Gana
bushmen of Botswana who have faced terrible trials since forced off
their land by the diamond mines in 2002. I cannot offer more
information on this issue beyond Kim's email blast below but thought
it may be of interest to a number of ONet advocates....
Botswana
bushmen leaders in court
(27 September 2005) At least 20 bushmen
have appeared in court in Botswana after being arrested in violent
clashes over the weekend.
Govt,
Basarwa in Public War
(September 27, 2005) With the case in which
Basarwa want the court to confirm their land rights in the Central Kalahari
Game Reserve having adjourned, the parties to the dispute are engaged in a
public relations war.
Botswana arrests Kalahari Bushmen protestors
(26 Sep 2005) GABORONE, (Reuters) - Botswana said on Monday it had arrested more
than 20 people in weekend violence at the Central Kalahari Game Reserve where
the government's policy of relocating San Bushmen has sparked protests.
First
People Of The Kalahari / Roy Sesana (2005)
"... for resolute resistance
against eviction from their ancestral lands, and for upholding the
right to their traditional way of life." - Biography:
Roy Sesana is also known as
Tobee Tcori - his Bushman name. He is a leader of the Gana, Gwi
and Bakgalagadi 'Bushmen'. As such, he is one of their most
eloquent spokespeople. He was born in a Bushman community, Molapo,
in Botswana, at least 50 years ago - he doesn't know his precise
age. He spent a few years as a labourer in South Africa before
returning to the central Kalahari in 1971, to train as a
traditional healer....
I
stand for the rights of the First People of the Kalahari
(29 June - 23 September 2005) I am Roy Sesana. I
speak //Gana and I currently live in Molapo. I stand for the rights of the
First People of the Kalahari. Lately these people have been removed from the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve and put into settlements and in these
settlements they have undergone oppression, deprivation and their culture is
lost.
BOTSWANA:
BUSHMAN RECEIVES DEATH THREATS. - GOVERNMENT STARVING BUSHMEN FROM THEIR HOMES
(23.09.2005) The Bushmen of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana are being
starved from their homes by Botswana wildlife officers, reports a Bushman
today.
The
Abathwa (San/Bushmen) celebrated their own NEW YEAR
(23. Sept. 2005) The Abathwa (San/Bushmen) celebrated their own NEW YEAR,
while the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly, closed.
New
Land Mapping System to Give People Greater Say
(September 23, 2005) Kenya will soon have an electronic land adjudication
system if the Government adopts recommendations by an international conference.
PRESS
RELEASE ON THE
CENTRAL KALAHARI
GAME RESERVE (CKGR) 2005
(22.09.2005) DITSHWANELO – The Botswana
Centre for Human Rights, would like to express its concern at the current
situation for the residents of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). We
have received reports of violence which give cause for alarm.
BOTSWANA GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS INTIMIDATE AND HARASS
AMERICAN VISITORS TO CENTRAL KALAHARI GAME RESERVE, STEP UP VIOLENCE AGAINST BUSHMEN INSIDE THE RESERVE
Last week (14th of September), a party of American
tourists on safari in Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve -
currently the scene of a dispute between government, who want all San Bushmen residents to
leave, and the San themselves, who are protesting the forced eviction
- were followed, questioned, intimidated and harassed by Wildlife Department
officials and others.
SURVIVAL ORGANISES LONDON FASHION WEEK PROTEST AGAINST DE BEERS
(20 September 2005) Survival International has organised a protest against De Beers to
coincide with London Fashion Week at the De Beers party today, Tuesday 20 September 7pm - 9pm (De Beers, 45-50 Old Bond Street,
London W1).
Spindoctors
at work through midweek sun
(18.09.2005) The public is
hereby informed that a small number of people, instigated and incited
by Roy Sesana and Jumanda Gakelebone, held a demonstration at New Xade
on Saturday 24th September 2005 with intent to force their way into
the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).
BOTSWANA:
VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN BUSHMEN'S RESERVE
(16.09.2005) Clashes have erupted between Gana and Gwi Bushmen desperate to stay inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and wildlife officers and police trying to force them out.
Namibia Remains 'The Most Unequal Country' in World
The Namibian (September 15, 2005) NAMIBIA has again claimed the top spot for the country with the greatest income disparity in the world.
UN
Finds Botswana's Human Development Lacking
(September 13, 2005) Botswana is lagging behind in human development in a
world in which inequalities are a barrier to growth, a UN report on human
development says.
SAN
PERSECUTION CONTINUES IN BOTSWANA
(September 13 2005) Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR)
condemns the Government of Botswana (GoB) for systematically waging a
campaign of terror against especially the Gana and Gwi San (i.e.
Bushman) indigenous minority groups in that country.
COHRE
letter 13 September 2005 ( PDF
)
Dear Mr. President, The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)
is an independent, international human rights non-governmental
organisation mandated to protect and promote housing rights throughout
the world. COHRE has Consultative Status with the United Nations as
well as similar status with various inter-governmental organisations
around the world, including the African Commission on Human and People’s
Rights ...
BOTSWANA: BUSHMEN'S
LAST STAND AS ARMED POLICE RAID RESERVE
(12.09.2005) Gana and Gwi Bushmen
who have returned to their land were today ordered to leave within
ten days. Armed police and wildlife scouts are camped in the
Bushmen's reserve, and are threatening to shoot them dead.
CHALLENGES
OF DOMESTICATION: THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLE’S
RIGHTS ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA (Sept. 2005) Once 15 African
countries have ratified The Protocol To The African Charter On Human and
Peoples' Rights On The Rights of Women in Africa, its provisions will have to
be included in country-level legislation. This is the next challenge facing
the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights Campaign, says Sarah Mukasa, who
assesses some of the potential stumbling blocks inherent in the domestication
process. “It is imperative that strategies adopted for this campaign take
into account these factors and prepare for the resistances that will surely
come,” she warns.
Human
development report shocks South Africa
(8 September 2005) South Africa during the last
years has dropped 35 places to 120th on the UN's global Human Development
Index (HDI), mostly due to the AIDS pandemic. The main opposition however
holds the government responsible for increasing "the gulf between the
rich and poor" to levels far higher than during apartheid through failed
economic policies.
COURT
IN CHAOS - GOVERNMENT LAWYER 'ARRESTED' - BUSHMAN RESERVE SEALED
OFF (01.09.2005) Crack down on the Botswana overlord governance and their corporate
stirrup holders wherever you find them!
An
Eyewitness account
(31 August 2005) I was at the relocation sites of
New Xade and Kaudwane as well as settlements inside the Central Kalahari Game
Reserve. I have been buying crafts from the San and selling them in Canada.
BOTSWANA:
GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES CRACKDOWN ON BUSHMEN
(22 August 2005) The Botswana
government has launched a massive crackdown on the Bushmen of the
central Kalahari aimed at destroying their way of life. The move
comes despite the resumption of the Bushmen's three-year court
case against the government for evicting them from their ancestral
lands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
BOTSWANA : Evictions linked to diamond concessions
(19 Aug 2005) There was a dramatic increase in the number of diamond concessions granted on the Bushmen's land in the year that they were evicted, Botswana's high court heard this week. At the same time, the number of licences issued elsewhere in the country actually fell.
SOUTH AFRICA: NEW BUSHMAN PLAY TO BE STAGED NEXT WEEK
(10 August 2005) A new play telling the story of the eviction of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen
and their campaign to return to their land is being staged in South
Africa next week.
UN urges Botswana to negotiate with Bushmen
(August 09 2005) Pretoria, South Africa - A UN human rights expert said on Monday that Botswana's government should have negotiated with an ancient tribe of hunter-gatherers before moving to force them from a Kalahari game
reserve.
MINUTES
OF THE UNITED NATIONS COUNTRY TEAM MEETING
(8 August 2005) -
with
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS OF
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ...
UN urges Botswana talks with Kalahari Bushmen
(Aug 8, 2005) PRETORIA (Reuters) - 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.
BUSHMEN'S COURT CASE RESTARTS NEXT WEEK
(5 August 2005) The Gana and Gwi Bushmen's court case against the Botswana government
restarts on Monday 8 August after a seven-week adjournment. The case is
being fought over the Bushmen's right to live on their ancestral land in
the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and to hunt and gather freely.
News editor ordered to leave the country
Country/Topic: Botswana - Date: 03 August 2005 - Source: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
- (MISA/IFEX) - On 27 July 2005, Rodrick Mukumbira, news editor for "Ngami Times" newspaper in the north-west of Botswana, was instructed in writing by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs to surrender his work and residence permits to the relevant Immigration departments and leave the country within seven days.
BOTSWANA:
ACADEMIC DEPORTED 'FOR LINKS WITH SURVIVAL'
Update:
29.07.2005 -
Kenneth Good, professor of political science studies at the
University of Botswana for 15 years, has been ordered to leave
Botswana ...
BOTSWANA DENIES BUSHMAN TORTURE AND PROSECUTES VICTIMS
(28 July 2005) The Botswana government has denied the torture of seven Gana 'Bushmen'
by wildlife officials last month. Two of the Bushmen have now been charged by police with hunting without a licence.
Hereros wait in vain for reparations
IRIN - 21.07.2005 - For over 20 years descendants of the Herero, wearing traditional dress ironically modelled on German military uniforms of the early 20th century, have gathered in Botswana each July to pay homage to thousands of their people killed in neighbouring Namibia after an uprising against German settlers.
THE BUSHMEN OF THE CKGR SAY - SURVIVAL PLEASE CONTINUE TO HELP US
(19. July 2005) First People of the Kalahari, who represent the CKGR Bushmen, are
challenging the press release made by Axel Thoma at WIMSA in Namibia,
and also we are challenging the press release by De Beers that says Kuru
and other organisations believe we were not evicted from our lands
because of diamonds.
DE BEERS WRONG ABOUT BUSHMAN EVICTIONS
(19 July 2005) De Beers has made several allegations about Survival in its media
release of 5 July. In spite of this, Survival will continue its campaign
until the Bushmen are allowed to return to their ancestral lands in the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) in Botswana. Bushmen have recently
been tortured there for hunting and the Botswana government's violation
of Bushman rights remain at an acute level.
De
Beers battles with Survival
(17.07.2005) The diamonds
giant is under fire over the forcible relocation of the Bushmen of the
Kalahari. Edward Simpkins examines the complaints and the company's
reaction to them - The Bushmen of
the Kalahari have a new and unexpected protector - Lily Cole, the
striking supermodel who is the face of De Beers, the diamond giant.
WIMSA’s real intentions are suspicious
(14.07.2005) So WIMSA regards itself as the representative of the San people of Botswana and thus has the mandate to do so? It is surprising that WIMSA claims to represent the Basarwa of Botswana when it is not known in Damuchuchunaa and
Medie.
Tanzania: Hunting Concession
Allocated to Abu Dhabis"
(13.07.2005) Credible information from reliable official and
nongovernmental organization sources in Tanzania said that a
hunting concession will be allocated to the royal family of Abu
Dhabi by the Tanzania Government.
SUPERMODEL LILY COLE REFUSES TO WORK FOR DE BEERS AGAIN
(12.07.2005) British supermodel Lily Cole, the current face of De Beers, has stated
that she is refusing to work for De Beers again, over claims that Bushmen were evicted to make way for future diamond mining in Botswana.
JULIE CHRISTIE JOINS PROTEST AGAINST DE
BEERS
(7 July 2005) Screen icon Julie Christie joined the protest against De Beers and theNatural History Museum last night, in support of the Kalahari Bushmen
who have condemned the 'Diamonds' exhibition opening this week at the
museum with De Beers sponsorship.
UK:
Bushmen
slam Natural History Museum's Diamonds exhibition
Survival to protest - 4
Jul 2005 - Kalahari Bushmen have condemned the 'Diamonds'
exhibition opening this week at London's Natural History Museum
with De Beers sponsorship. The museum has refused the Bushmen's
request for the issue of their eviction from their land - which
many believe was to make way for future diamond mining by De Beers
- to be included in the exhibition.
Bushmen tortured for hunting
Bushman
torture victims speak out - 1 Jul 2005 - Seven Bushmen have been tortured by wildlife officials after being
evicted from their land to a relocation camp. Some were tortured several times
over three days; two were tied to the front of the officials' jeep which was
then driven at high speed. Two of the Bushmen have now been charged by police
with hunting without a licence, and are due to appear in court this month.
BOTSWANA: TORTURE VICTIMS NOW TOTAL SEVEN
(27 June 2005) Seven Bushmen have been tortured this month by wildlife officials in
Kaudwane, a relocation camp close to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
Some report that they were tortured a number of times over three days in
early June.
Opposing Words Mark
De Beers LV Opening
(23.06.2005) By Jeff Miller (Rapaport...June 23,
2005) Most Manhattanites (New Yorkers) have passed paper-covered
windows of De Beers' retail store on the corner of 55th Street and
Fifth Avenue for months. But by evening of June 22nd, the paper
was scraped away by a team of window washers revealing the newest
New York luxury jewelry store. Police barricades, tight security,
and rain-soaked carpeting on the store front sidewalk greeted
guests attending the opening reception.
Diamond
Giant De Beers Opens First U.S. Store Amid Protests Over Eviction
of Bushmen in Botswana (June
23rd, 2005) Diamond giant De Beers celebrated the opening of its
first retail store in the United States amid protests decrying the
company's involvement in the eviction of the San Bushmen in
Botswana. We speak to the Bushmen organization First People of the
Kalahari, rights group Survival International, feminist pioneer
Gloria Steinem, and a De Beers consultant.
BOTSWANA:
Bushmen tortured for hunting
(Jun
22 2005) Three Bushmen have been severely tortured by wildlife officials on
suspicion of hunting to feed their families. The three were arrested by game scouts in the relocation camp of
Kaudwane (where they have been living since they were forcibly
evicted from their land in 2002) and were taken to the Wildlife
Department base at the entrance to Khutse Game Reserve.
BOTSWANA:
Court to decide on inspecting reserve for diamond exploration
GABORONE, 21 June (IRIN) - The Botswana High Court is to consider an
application to have a settlement in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR)
inspected, to determine whether the government is conducting diamond mining in
the area.
Will ILO Convention 169 on tribal people ever be adopted?
(17.06.2005) Last week I attended the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Right Livelihood Award, (RLA),in Salzburg, Austria as one of the 75 Award-winning guests of Salzburg’s dynamic lady governor. I won my award in 1981 for developing educational models for the third world majority in Botswana and Zimbabwe.
BOTSWANA:
Judges order visit to diamond site
(June 16 2005) The judges in the Bushmen
court case have ordered that the whole court will fly to the Central Kalahari
Game Reserve, to establish whether preparations for diamond mining are taking
place there.
BIANCA
JAGGER BACKS NEW CAMPAIGN FOR WORLD'S TRIBES
'Alternative Nobel Prize' meeting, Salzburg, 13 June 2005 - Bianca Jagger has
backed a new campaign for the world's governments to sign up to the main
international law protecting tribal people.
BOTSWANA: GOVERNMENT LIES ON BUSHMAN HUNTING EXPOSED
(8 June 2005) A government witness in the Bushman court case admitted yesterday that
there was no evidence that Bushmen living in the Central Kalahari Game
Reserve had been hunting using guns and vehicles, or hunting too many
animals.
BOTSWANA: Civic, human rights bodies slam academic's deportation
JOHANNESBURG, 7 June (IRIN) - Civic bodies and human rights groups in Botswana say the recent deportation of Australian-born academic Kenneth Good is a blot on the country's hard-won democracy.
Govt
Fears in Post CKGR Relocation Period
(May 27, 2005) Former director of Wildlife and National Parks, Joseph Matlhare
has described the aftermath of relocation from the Central Kalahari Game
Reserve (CKGR) as 'sensitive times'. He told the High Court in Lobatse that
people had just moved out of the CKGR and there was a fear that they would
undermine government's relocation efforts.
BOTSWANA : Judges allow Wildlife Director to testify
(May 26, 2005) The Bushmen court case continued yesterday with the judges
ruling that Joseph Matlhare, former Director of Wildlife, should proceed with his evidence.
Settlements
Could Serve CKGR Dissenters - Witness
(May 26, 2005) The assistant director of national parks, Jan Broekhuis said
that people who remained in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) were at
liberty to get services in the relocation settlements of Kaudwane and New Xade.
Poverty
is a major obstacle to indigenous rights
PARTICIPANTS IN INDIGENOUS FORUM HIGHLIGHT DISASTROUS EFFECTS OF
POVERTY, CONFLICTS, LACK OF ACCESS TO HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
(2005-05-25) CL - As the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
continued its fourth session today, participants highlighted the
disastrous effects of poverty, ongoing conflicts and lack of
access to education on the achievement of full human rights, and
stressed the urgent need to complete the draft declaration on
indigenous rights.
BOTSWANA: WITNESS EXPOSES GOVERNMENT
(24 May 2005) Cross-examination of a key witness in the court battle between the
Kalahari Bushmen and the Botswana government has exposed the government's given reasons for the evictions as false.
Department
Could Not Disobey Directive
(May 24, 2005) Assistant director of national parks, Jan Broekhuis said
yesterday that the department was not at liberty to disobey a presidential
directive issued on October 2002. During a re-examination in the Basarwa
relocation case by the lead state counsel Sidney Pilane, Broekhuis said the
directive stipulated that the national parks regulations be strictly enforced
within the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).
The
Difficulty After Relocation From CKGR
(May 20, 2005) Basarwa counsel, Gordon Bennett said that entry into the
Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) proved very difficult after the
relocation of residents to settlements outside the reserve.
Lawyer
grills game reserves man
(13 May, 2005) LOBATSE-The man incharge of the development of the country's
national parks and game reserves was yesterday still under cross-examination
by the applicant's counsel, Gordon Bennet in a case in which some Basarwa and
Bakgalagadi are challenging their relocation from the Central Kgalagadi Game
Reserve.
FROM
THE BOTSWANA GOV. SPINDOCTORS' WEBSITE
(11 May, 2005) Alberston tried
to secure job with govt witness - LOBATSE
A South African ecologist, Arthur Albertson who gave evidence for
the applicants in the ongoing Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve (CKGR)
case, once tried to secure a job with the Department of Wildlife
and National Parks as a consultant.
KALAHARI ECOLOGIST: BUSHMEN LIVE BETTER IN RESERVE
(5 May 2005) Kalahari ecologist Arthur Albertson told Botswana's high court this week
that the Gana and Gwi Bushmen's lives were better in the Central Kalahari where they could hunt and gather than in the government
eviction camps.
Bushmen
to be Denied Homeland
(29th April 2005) The authorities in Botswana look set to scupper bid by
Bushmen to reclaim their Kalahari home. The Botswana government is about to
end for ever the rights of southern African Bushmen to their traditional lands,
a move that would likely have been denounced as racist if ever introduced by
one of Africa's former colonial powers.
Indigenous
people resist DNA-project
Genographic research as neo-colonial attitude (28.04.2005) The
ambitious DNA profiling "Genographic project" which
seeks to retrace the path of human settlement on Earth has been
encountering resistance among indigenous people. After a
boycott-appeal by the US-American Indigenous Peoples Council on
Biocolonialism, now some Maori and African First Nations have also
announced concerns over the project .
BBC'S JOHN SIMPSON: MISERY OF EVICTED BUSHMEN
(26 APRIL 2005) In a high-profile article published yesterday, the BBC's World Affairs
Editor John Simpson reveals how shocked he was by his visit to the
evicted Gana and Gwi Bushmen.
Bushmen
fight for homeland
(25 April, 2005) If you know anything about the quiet Southern
African country of Botswana, the chances are that it will chiefly
be because you have read the delightful novels of Alexander McCall
Smith.
Botswana strips Kalahari bushmen of ancestral land
(Apr 20, 2005) The oldest inhabitants of southern Africa, the Gana and Gwi Bushmen of Botswana, are set to lose historic rights to ancestral lands after a controversial change to the country's constitution.
An Open Letter to the Vatican:
Pope Fails Indigenous Peoples on Important Fronts
Pope John Paul II's recent death has stirred a kind of global frenzy for
an individual unparalleled in modern times. As millions have mourned and
gathered to pay tribute to him, some have chosen to step back and reflect
upon the meaning of the third longest papal tenure in history.
BOTSWANA: Govt to retain
"draconian" law
GABORONE, 13 April (IRIN) - The Botswana government will retain the stringent apartheid-era National Security Act despite complaints from journalists that it limits media freedom.
Botswana Government is bending the law
(11 April 2005)
BOTSWANA TO REMOVE CRUCIAL BUSHMAN PROTECTION FROM CONSTITUTION -
Botswana's government is pushing a bill through Parliament to scrap the key clause in the Constitution that protects Bushman rights. The move comes half way through the Bushmen of the Central Kalahari's landmark legal action against the government, in which the same clause forms a major plank of their case.
SHAME !!!
BOTSWANA: Corporal punishment extended to women
GABORONE, 7 April (IRIN) - Individuals up to the age of 50, including women, can now be sentenced to flogging in Botswana, according to new legislation in the
pipeline.
Botswana
launches 3rd Human Development Report
Gaborone: 31 March 2005: Despite its extensive
telecommunications infrastructure and one of the highest Internet bandwidths
in Africa, Botswana has so far been unable to leverage communications and
information technologies to help improve the lives of its people and take
advantage of the opportunities presented by the global marketplace. This is
the conclusion of the country’s third Human Development Report launched
today by the Minister of Communication, Science & Technology, Ms Pelonomi
Venson
SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS CAMPAIGN FOR BUSHMEN
SI NEWS RELEASE (29 March 2005) Reaching out from the forests of South America to the Kalahari
desert, members of the isolated Ayoreo tribe in Paraguay have added
their voices to the Gana and Gwi Bushmen's campaign for their rights.
BHP
BILLITON EXPLORING BUSHMAN RESERVE - WORLD BANK INVESTIGATING
COMPLAINT (22 March 2005) BHP Billiton, the
world's biggest mining company, is exploring the Gana and Gwi
Bushmen's reserve without their consent.
BOTSWANA: Reintroduction of school fees draws mixed response
GABORONE, 22 March (IRIN) - The planned reintroduction of school fees in Botswana from January 2006 has received a mixed response from opposition parties and
educators.
WORLD WATER DAY:
BUSHMEN'S PLEA
(21 March 2005) As Botswana continues to deny them access to water, the Gana and
Gwi Bushmen are issuing a plea to the government to recognise
their rights. Three years after smashing their water boreholes and
pouring their supplies into the sand, the government is still
preventing the Bushmen from taking water into the Central Kalahari
Game Reserve.
UK HUMAN RIGHTS POLICIES 'ABHORRENT AND
SHAMEFUL'
(11 March 2005) Indigenous peoples are marking Commonwealth Day on 14 March by attacking
the UK government for blocking the recognition of their rights at the
UN. 'The UK's human rights policies concerning indigenous peoples are
abhorrent and shameful,' says Inuit spokeswoman Dalee Sambo
Dorough.
South-African
spin-doctors at work
(04.03.2005) COMMENT: The South-African
spin-doctors are at work again here. In the real Khoisan-speaking people there is not only
hope, there
is growing anger against those double-gamers and also a clear
vision: WE SHALL OVERCOME !
The
San a "Community Fast Losing Hope"
JOHANNESBURG, Mar 4 (IPS) - The plight of an
indigenous community in South Africa, the San, was placed in the
spotlight this week with the launch of a report by the South
African Human Rights Commission.
BOTSWANA: AU body calls for end to death penalty
GABORONE, 2 March (IRIN) - The African Commission on Human and People's
Rights (ACHPR) has called on Botswana to end its enforcement of "inhuman
and degrading" corporal and capital punishment.
BOTSWANA: Govt unveils plan to control FMD
GABORONE, 2 March (IRIN) - Botswana has drawn up a contingency plan for controlling and eventually eradicating foot and mouth disease (FMD) as it
battles to meet the beef export preconditions set by the European Union (EU).
Hai//om-Protest
zurückgewiesen
(02. März 2005) Das
San-Hilfswerk WIMSA prangert seine Widersacher an - Als
,,undemokratisch, verfassungswidrig und ausgesprochen
gewaltsam" hat das San-Hilfswerk WIMSA - Working Group of
Indigenous Minorities of Southern Africa - die aggressive
Demonstration einer Hai//om-Fraktion Mitte letzter Woche in
Windhoek verurteilt.
Demo-Geld verlangt
(25. Februar 2005) Angegriffene Instanz soll Protestkosten zahlen
- Windhoek - Die Hai//om-Demonstranten haben die San-Interessenvertretung
aufgefordert, die sie am Mittwoch angegriffen haben, die Kosten für ihre
Protestaktion zu übernehmen. Dies bestätigte gestern Axel Thoma,
Koordinator der San-Hilfsorganisation WIMSA (Working Group for Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa), dessen Rauswurf die etwa 40
Demonstranten am Mittwoch forderten.
Hai//om
drohen mit Gewalt
(24. Februar 2005) San-Vertretung
WIMSA holt sich Polizeischutz zur Verhandlung - Die
private Hilfsorganisation der San - Working Group for Indigenous
Minorities in Southern Africa, WIMSA - wurde gestern unerwartet
von etwa 40 Demonstranten der Hai//om, darunter auch einige !Kung,
mit verleumderischen Behauptungen und Gewaltandrohung
konfrontiert.
NO HAPPY
ANNIVERSARY FOR BUSHMEN
(24 February 2005)
The Gana and Gwi Bushmen are marking the forty-forth anniversary
today of the establishment of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in
Botswana as a home for their people. Evicted from their homes in
the reserve by the Botswana government, they are renewing their
appeal for international support for their right to return to
their land.
San
eviction trial goes on in Botswana
(11 February 2005) On the third anniversary of the
eviction of the San people ("Bushmen") from Botswana's the Central
Kalahari Game Reserve, the struggle about their future goes on in court. While
the court case currently is bout the San people's ability to live in the
Reserve without food aid, another battle about Botswana's image abroad is
fought.
THREE-YEAR EVICTION ANNIVERSARY:
BUSHMEN FIGHT BACK AS BOTSWANA'S PR EFFORTS FLOUNDER - (11 February 2005)
Three years after the Botswana government evicted the Gana and Gwi
Bushmen from their ancestral land, over 200 Bushmen have returned home
in spite of attempts to stop them, while Botswana faces increasing
criticism in the international press. Recent articles in the Los Angeles
Times, the Boston Globe, the Seattle Times and the well-known US magazine Mother Jones all slam the evictions.
Pilane
disputes expert’s evidence
(10.02.2005)
Lead state counsel Sidney Pilane has disputed a statement by expert witness,
Arthur Albertson that hunting and gathering could sustain the Basarwa inside
the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR).
Witness
presents important food plant species
(09 February, 2005) LOBATSE - The High Court here was yesterday presented with
a list of what the expert witness, Arthur Albertson, described as important
food plant species for CKGR residents.
BOTSWANA
THREE YEARS ON: PERSECUTION INTENSIFIES
SI NEWS RELEASE - (February 03, 2005) On the eve of the three-year
anniversary of the eviction of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen from their
land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, six Bushmen have been
heavily fined for hunting to feed their families.
Places of
death
Jan / Feb 2005 - Gana fight to
retain land in Botswana - THE two Gana men never imagined
they would find themselves on other continents thousands of kilometres away
from their ancestral lands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in southern
Africa. But the fight to save their homelands and their people recently led
Roy Sesana and Jumanda Gakelebone to the US, Britain and Norway.
Exiles
of the Kalahari
(January / February 2005 Issue) Forcibly resettled by a Botswanan
government eager to clear the way for diamond mining, the Bushmen
are battling to regain their ancestral homeland.
EXPOSED: BOTSWANA USED DYING FATHER TO EVICT SONS
(20 January 2005) Botswana's high court has heard how government officials evicted a dying
man from his home in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and then returned to tell his sons that they would not see their father unless
they agreed to be relocated.
BUSHMEN TO CONCLUDE EVIDENCE AS HISTORIC CASE RESUMES
SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL NEWS RELEASE - 14 January 2005 - The historic court case being brought by 220 Gana and Gwi Bushmen
against the Botswana government resumes on 17 January, with evidence
from the last of seven Bushman witnesses.
New
Chief for Khwe Community?
(January 12, 2005) WINDHOEK - THE Khwe Community of Western
Caprivi have elected a new chief to succeed the late Chief Kippi
George, who died in exile at Dukwe refugee camp in December 2001.
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