Location: Central Kalahari Game Reserve, CKGR, Ghanzi, BotswanaOn December 13th, 2006 a verdict was issued in the ‘Central Kalahari Game Reserve Legal Case’ in which the the High Court of Botswana ruled IN FAVOR of the San Indigenous Community. In that case, the San or Bushmen were declared “TO HAVE A RIGHT TO RETURN TO LIVE IN THE CENTRAL KALAHARI – WITH THE RIGHT TO HUNT THERE FOR SUBSISTENCE PURPOSES.”
On April 10th, 2012, a group of 8 tribesmen and women from the Metsiamanong San Indigenous community in Botswana were arrested for hunting in the Kalahari Game Reserve by the Botswana Army and Police Forces.
On May 5th, 2012, the government of Botswana sent Botswana Army, Police, and Department of Wildlife and National Parks officers to camp at Metsiamanong in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve – in order to intimidate the nearby San Indigenous community from practicing their traditional hunter-gatherer subsistence.
The San Indigenous Community STILL does not know the whereabouts of their 8 tribal members who were ILLEGALLY arrested by the Security Forces of the Government of Botswana.
I ask you….is this the behavior of a ‘progressive’ state that recognizes and respects the human rights of Indigenous Peoples resident within its borders?
Did the Government of Botswana, which openly declared their support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that was passed in the General Assembly at the UN on 17th September 2007 – only do so in order to deceive the world and receive the undeserved praise and salutations from their Nation State peers?
Indigenous Peoples are putting their bodies on the line and it's our responsibility to make sure you know why. That takes time, expertise and resources - and we're up against a constant tide of misinformation and distorted coverage. By supporting IC you're empowering the kind of journalism we need, at the moment we need it most.
