Botswana Bushmen Case Could Set Landmark Ruling

A ground-breaking court case on the legality of the forced resettlement of the San communities of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) is due to begin in Botswana tomorrow (Monday) in what some claim has been carried out to allow diamond mining by the government and De Beers, its 50-50 partner.

It is the first case in Botswana, the largest source of diamond in the worlds, to argue that the San, being the indigenous people, have a right to their ancestral land and culture.

The government argues that many residents of the CKGR are becoming settled farmers, raising crops and rearing livestock, which is incompatible with wildlife conservation. It says that resettlement in villages with schools and clinics would benefit the San, and it was uneconomic to provide those services in the reserve.

Although the government does not recognize the San (or Bushmen) as the original inhabitants of the country, archaeological evidence shows the San have lived in southern Africa for at least 30,000 years.

The government decided in the late 1980s to resettle around 2,500 CKGR residents outside the reserve, a move that led to domestic and international protest.

Survival International, a UK-based group fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples, claims the resettlement is aimed at allowing diamond mining by the government and De Beers although the government said the region only has one area that could be mined and that has not proven commercially viable.

The court case that begins on Monday will look into whether the government unlawfully ended essential services to the residents in January 2002; whether the government is obliged to restore the services; whether the residents were in possession of their land and were deprived of it forcibly; and whether the government's refusal to issue game licenses to the residents and allow them to enter the CKGR is unconstitutional.

The case is crucial not just for the San of Botswana. If they do not win recognition as indigenous inhabitants and accorded the same rights under international law as Australian aborigines and Native Americans, it could lead to the denial of rights for other African first peoples.