Two Kalahari Bushmen plan to stage separate protests in London today (Tuesday) outside the De Beers LV shop and the Botswana High Commission over alleged forced eviction from their ancestral lands, Survival International said in a statement on Monday.

 

“The Gana and Gwi Bushmen were brutally evicted from their ancestral land in 2002 by the Botswana government,” said Survival International, which is championing the Bushmen’s cause.

 

“De Beers has been caught in a storm of controversy over the evictions. The company holds the concession on a large diamond deposit on the Bushmen's land, and is prospecting for more.”

 

Representatives of Botswana's Bushmen who have been moved away from their ancestral lands in the Kalahari Desert are on a worldwide tour drumming up support for their legal fight.

 

A group of 243 San Bushmen have taken the Botswana government to court challenging their relocation from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

 

Diamonds have been discovered in Gope, in the Kalahari reservation, leading to accusations that Debswana wants the San off their land so it can start mining operations.

 

The Botswana high court started hearing the Bushmen’s case in early July. The defense ended its case in late July and the state is to start calling witnesses when hearings resume next month.

 

The Botswana government and De Beers claim there is no connection between the resettlement policy and the diamond reserves on the ancestral lands.

 

“De Beers, as a company, respects the land rights of peoples wherever it operates.  However, there is absolutely no connection whatsoever between the resettlement policies of the Botswana Government and diamond mining and prospecting in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve,” the company said today.

 

“This has repeatedly been made clear to Survival International by De Beers and the Botswana Government, and has been confirmed by eminent independent observers and journalists, as well as by the Botswana Centre for Human Rights.”

 

Botswana is the world's leading diamond producer, with diamond exports accounting for 70 percent of its foreign currency earnings. Diamonds are mined by Debswana, owned jointly by the government and De Beers.

 

The crucial role played by Botswana’s mines in De Beers’ production is seen in the fact that the country’s mines accounted for 69 percent of the mining giant’s diamond production last year, with four mines producing more than 30 million carats.

 

De Beers earlier this year set up a joint subsidiary with African Diamonds with the aim of exploiting new diamond reserves in Botswana, including around the Orapa area.