RIGHTS: Relocation of San an Immediate Talking Point at CIVICUS Conference

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Rosemary Nalisa

GABORONE, Mar 22 2004 (IPS) - The World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS) has begun its biennial World Assembly with strong words from Botswana President Festus Mogae about the relocation of members of his country’s San community. The assembly is being held in Botswana’s capital, Gaborone.

A non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Britain, Survival International, claims that Mogae’s government has evicted the San – or Basarwa – from lands they had traditionally occupied in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve to make way for mineral exploitation.

In his address to delegates at the opening ceremony Sunday (Mar. 21), Mogae described the relocation as being part of a plan to bring schools, clinics and other services to all people in Botswana – even those living in remote, rural areas.

“People belong in settlements and not game parks. In this respect, this government shall continue to vigorously maintain that rural poverty, no matter how it is romanticized, is a condition – not a culture,” he said.

“Like our brothers and sisters elsewhere in this region, we shall also continue to reject the old colonial apartheid myth that insists that some black communities are more indigenous than others,” Mogae told delegates.

According to the chairman of the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations, Phillip Makgalemele, plans to mine diamonds in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve could be seen in a positive light, as the operation would bring benefits to all communities – including the Basarwa.

However, in a document entitled the “Importance of rights to development” (issued this month), Survival International argues that the Basarwa have not been “willingly and meaningfully” involved in efforts to move them – and that the relocations constitute an abuse of their right to self-determination.

The document says there is ample evidence to show that this abuse of human rights ultimately undermines development, as it deepens the “powerlessness” and “social exclusion” which lead to poverty.

Survival International also claims that the experiences of indigenous people in Canada, Tasmania, Bangladesh and other countries prove it is “disastrous” to try to settle hunter-gatherer groups like the San into fixed communities.

The events of the opening ceremonies aside, CIVICUS does not appear to have made provision for any further discussion of this sensitive topic at the assembly. A conference organiser who wished to remain anonymous said the matter did not feature in the official line-up as CIVICUS did not want it to overshadow other important developmental issues.

This statement contradicts earlier promises that the relocations would be debated. In an interview given to IPS in February, CIVICUS Secretary-General Kumi Naidoo said, “We can’t hold a big conference in Botswana while ignoring the plight of the Basarwa.”

Certain delegates believe the topic will still resurface during conference discussions. A meeting was also held last week in Gaborone between government, Survival International and other NGOs to help resolve the controversy surrounding the relocation of Basarwa members.

Organisers of the World Assembly, which is being held under the theme “Acting Together for a Just World”, say they are using the fact that the meeting is being held in Africa to draw attention to some of the key issues affecting the continent.

These include the AIDS pandemic, conflicts in various parts of Africa, and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). This is a plan for African renewal that aims to use improved standards of governance across the continent to attract investment from developed countries.

A variety of workshops will also be held on helping civic groups to play a more active role in society – notably in conflict situations – and on assisting them to improve their own levels of organisational management.

CIVICUS – a Johannesburg-based NGO – is an alliance that works to give all citizens a say in how their countries are governed, particularly those who live in undemocratic states.

About 700 delegates from over 100 countries are attending the five-day meeting. They will be addressed by speakers that include former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, the Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community – Prega Ramsamy – and Graca Machel, a lobbyist for children’s rights.