San rights groups split

A split has emerged among groups campaigning against relocation of the San Bushmen from Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). The Working Group of Indigenous Minorities in Southern Africa (WIMSA), an umbrella group of rights NGOs, issued a statement from their head office in Windhoek, Namibia, earlier this month, saying that the London-based NGO, Survival International (SI), did not have a mandate to speak on behalf of all the San. SI has run a vociferous campaign alleging that San rights in the CKGR have been trampled in order to make way for diamond explorations in the reserve - charges that both the government and its mining partner, De Beers, have denied. Diamonds remain central to Botswana's economic health, accounting for 70 percent of foreign currency earnings. "We appreciate that SI regards it as their duty to campaign about human rights violations by the Botswana government against the San of the CKGR. However, we object strongly to the fact that SI seeks to give the impression that they speak on behalf of all the 'Kalahari Bushmen', when they handpick quotes from a few San only," WIMSA said. The statement noted that the "San from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Angola request SI to understand that the CKGR San do not want to close the door [to] negotiations with the Botswana government". WIMSA claimed the San regarded diamond mining in the CKGR as an option for development, as long as their rights were respected. The organisation urged SI to "understand and accept" that the CKGR Bushmen - who took the government to court in 2002, alleging forced relocation after basic services were terminated in the game sanctuary - also questioned the contention that diamonds were the reason behind the removal of residents from the CKGR. According to WIMSA, "the San do not claim the entire CKGR, only their ancestral territories. The San would like to enjoy the advantages of both traditional life in the CKGR and modern amenities provided in villages and towns". The umbrella group appealed to SI "to immediately cease their campaign on our behalf, until such time as they [SI] are prepared to co-ordinate with our representative organisations". However, this week the WIMSA's chapter in Botswana dissociated itself from the statement, saying it had not been consulted on its contents. "SI is representing the people that were forcibly moved from the CKGR and it has the mandate to do so," Ngakaeja Mathambo, WIMSA Botswana's coordinator told IRIN. A WIMSA affiliate, the First People of the Kalahari (FPK), also lashed out this week at the WIMSA statement, asking SI to stop its campaign. "Any organisation claiming to represent us and not saying anything about diamonds is not telling the truth," FPK said. SI was "helping us with the campaign and speaking loudly for us", FPK added, saying it had terminated "any mandate they [WIMSA] think they have". The government had relocated people against their will "and our culture is dying ... in the process", said FPK. SI has responded to WIMSA by "asking whether they claim to represent the wishes of the CKGR Bushmen - in fact, they do not - and we are awaiting a reply". In the meantime SI has vowed to continue its campaign until the Bushmen are allowed to return to the CKGR. New Xade and Kaudwane, just outside the CKGR, were created in 1998 to resettle the Bushmen after the government drew up controversial plans to set the reserve aside for wildlife and tourism developments. The San Bushmen court case resumes on 2 August in the High Court in Lobatse, 60 km south of the capital, Gaborone, when the court is likely to visit the game sanctuary to look for evidence of diamond mining, following an appeal by the state for it to do so.