BHP Billiton exploring Bushman reserve without consent
BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, is exploring the Gana and Gwi Bushmen's reserve without their consent.
BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, is exploring the Gana and Gwi Bushmen's reserve without their consent.
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.
The World Bank ombudsman is investigating complaints that the Bank has been funding diamond exploration in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, without first consulting local communities.
Survival International is launching a boycott of Botswana today at the world's largest tourism fair, ITB (Internationale Tourismus-Börse) Berlin. Supporters of the Gana and Gwi Bushmen will give out leaflets outside the fair.
Kenneth Good, professor of political science studies at the University of Botswana for 15 years, has been ordered to leave Botswana. Late last Friday three men arrived at his home with handcuffs to inform him that he had 48 hours to leave the country.
Botswana's President Mogae told a UK audience yesterday that he would not allow the Bushmen to return to their homes in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. 'I cannot allow them to go back,' he said, prejudging the court case currently in progress.
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.
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.