Botswana President invites Ouattara but deny Bushmen rights

President Seretse Khama Ian Khama.

The President of Botswana, Seretse Khama Ian Khama, has reportedly invited Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of the disputed 2010 presidential election in Ivory Coast to Botswana for a state visit. This was announced barely a day after the government of Botswana approved the opening of a $3 billion diamond mine on the ancestral land of oppressed indigenous Bushmen in Botswana.

Khama's government argues that African leaders (like Laurent Gbagbo) who reject election results and cling to power "deny people the right to have leaders of their choice." This argument, no doubt, holds water but at the same time it is hypocritical - coming from a government that continues to deny indigenous land rights of it's own people.

Why should a government defend rights abroad, and at the same time violate indigenous rights in it's own backyard?

In 2002, the government of Botswana evicted Bushmen from their land and resettled them in camps after the discovery of diamonds in their ancestral land. Although some Bushmen have been allowed to return to their land following a High Court ruling, the government continues to make life difficult for them by denying them access to water and the right to hunt on their land.

Survival International, an organization working for tribal and indigenous rights, maintains that the Bushmen were evicted from their ancestral land to make room for lucrative diamond exploitation. The recent approval of the construction of a diamond mine worth billions of dollars on the disputed ancestral land of the Bushmen backs this assertion.

In December 2010, President Khama whose regime is apparently more interested in respecting voting rights abroad than the rights of Kalahari Bushmen, described Botswana's indigenous Bushmen as "Primitive," "primeval" and living a "life of backwardness."

It is true that Ivorians have the right to have a leader of their choice, and President Khama has recognized Ouattara as that leader. But it is also true that the government of Botswana has an obligation to respect Bushmen's right to live on their ancestral land and maintain their way of life no matter how "primitive" or "primeval" it may seem.

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Botswana denies Bushmen land rights

I received an email from Survival International, an organization supporting indigenous and tribal peoples worldwide, that called my attention to the violation of indigenous land rights of the Bushmen - a group of indigenous people in the southern African country of Botswana. Prior to receiving the email, perhaps like you - I knew nothing about a gross injustice faced by the Bushmen in Botswana. As I read the email, questions lingered in my mind - who are the Bushman? Why does the government of Botswana violate their land rights?

According to Survival International, the Bushmen are the original inhabitants of Southern Africa, and they have lived in the region for thousands of years. There are only about 100,000 Bushmen in Botswana, South Africa, Angola and Namibia.

Why does the government violate the land rights of Bushmen?

In Botswana, the ancestral land and home of the Bushmen is in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. The government of Botswana discovered diamonds in the reserve in the 1980s and started evicting the inhabitants from their ancestral home, in order to open a diamond mine on the land. By 2005, all the Bushmen had been evicted - their homes, schools and water sources destroyed. The Bushmen were taken to camps outside the reserve and were prohibited from hunting - their main source of livelihood.

The following short video clip better explains the plight of the Bushmen in Botswana and their battle for survival in a country they call home. WATCH



This is a clear case of conflict between business and human rights!

Where do we draw the line between the quest for wealth and profit, and violation of the basic rights of a people? The government of Botswana has shamelessly picked business over human rights.

Irrespective of whether you favor human rights over business or not - the Bushmen have the right to live in their ancestral land - which happens to be rich in diamond.

If you ask me - the government of Botswana should grant the Bushmen within its jurisdiction access to their ancestral land and reinstate their right to live and hunt on their land - in accordance with their culture. The government should grant the Bushmen immediate access to water and other basic neccessities, as well as ensure that they enjoy all constitutional rights guaranteed to every Botswanan. All Bushmen arrested for hunting to feed their families should be released unconditionally.

On 27 May 2010, Survival International reported that trucks carrying soldiers and policemen entered the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. It is believed that the aim of the "invasion" is to intimidate the Bushmen and evict them from their ancestral land.

Many Bushmen are still prohibited from returning to the reserve and there is currently a ban on the use of a borehole (well) that supplies water to the Bushmen in the reserve. Survival International points out that the ban is a calculated attempt by the government to stop the Bushmen from returning to their land.

You can help the Bushmen keep their land. Please take action, here or email Botswana's President - Ian Khama at op.registry@gov.bw - to push for the rights of the Bushmen.

*Photos by CharlesFred

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