An anonymous former Botswana official has admitted that his government ousted the G/wi and G//ana people from their homes in 2002 in order to expedite a proposed diamond mining project. According to an article in the current issue of Dissident Voice: A Radical Newsletter in the Struggle for Peace and… Continue reading…
The government of Botswana last week stepped up its persecution of the G/wi by arresting and committing to jail six people for hunting in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). Their cases were to be heard in a court on Monday. According to a news release from Survival International last… Continue reading…
Survival International reported last week that the government of Botswana has taken new steps to hassle the G/wi people and try to drive them out of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). In 2002, the government had confiscated the goats kept by the San people when it expelled them from… Continue reading…
Survival International (SI) has just announced that Gem Diamonds decided to delay their diamond mining operation on G/wi lands inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Demand for diamonds has dropped radically due to the global recession, and all of the diamond mining operations in the country closed in February. The… Continue reading…
Criticisms of a prominent BBC broadcaster, who made an offensive, racist remark a couple weeks ago about what he calls “primitive” people, keep reverberating. Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 program “Moral Maze,” Michael Buerk said, “the only really primitive societies to survive into the modern age are the tribes… Continue reading…
Survival International last week tried to shame another major diamond corporation with the taint of supporting the government of Botswana, which is continuing to persecute the G/wi. SI organized a well-publicized protest at the flagship store of Graff Diamonds on New Bond Street in London on Tuesday afternoon. According to… Continue reading…
While many people around the world celebrated the 60th anniversary last Wednesday of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Botswana took the occasion to announce repressive measures against the G/wi. That country apparently did not notice the tragic paradox. Last Thursday morning, December 11, Google News provided… Continue reading…
The G/wi and G//ana people have appealed to Pope Benedict XVI for help in prompting the government of Botswana to allow them to return to their homes. Botswana and the Vatican have recently established diplomatic relations, a move that was initiated by the previous President of the country, Festus Mogae…. Continue reading…
Survival International reported last week that De Beers has capitulated to their pressure and has announced that it will not do any more diamond exploring in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). SI believes that this decision is a “huge victory for the Bushmen [the San].” The renewed commitment to… Continue reading…
Survival International claimed last week that De Beers is resuming prospecting in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). According to the British human rights organization, the planned exploration for diamonds in the vicinity of the San community of Metsiamenong threatens the G/wi and the other San people who live there,… Continue reading…
