JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 11, 2002 (ENS) - The Botswana government has denied that diamonds were behind the controversial relocation of the Basarwa bushmen from the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve, and has accused British advocacy group Survival International of a "campaign of deception."

The Botswana human rights group Ditshwanelo, which is part of an NGO negotiating team on the future of the Basarwa, has distanced itself from Survival International's campaign which has focused on the alleged role of diamonds and the firm de Beers. Ditshwanelo said this "confrontational" intervention had stalled talks between the government and the negotiating team.

Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve (Photo courtesy Botswana Tourism)

A diamond deposit was discovered at Gope, inside the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve, in 1980 but after extensive testing, including the sinking of a trial shaft, it was determined that the deposits could not be economically mined.

The area remained the subject of a retention licence, which temporarily protected certain rights which the former investors may still have, but all activity has ceased and there was no plan to resume, the Botswana government statement said.

A borehole that Survival International criticized the government for disconnecting had been sunk during past mineral prospecting and had attracted a small number of the normally nomadic Basarwa to settle in the area. But this was not the Basarwa's "traditional" water supply as Survival International had claimed, the Botswana government stated.

The program to relocate Basarwa from areas of the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve, where it was "virtually impossible to provide any kind of basic human infrastructure" began in 1997, after consultations started in 1985, the government explained.

"It is in no way related to any plan, real or fictitious, to commence diamond mining in the CKGR. The great majority of the Basarwa communities are anxious to seize the opportunity for an improvement in the quality of their lives and the lives of their children," the government claims.

Basarwa hunter (Photo courtesy Botswana Tourism)

Vast open plains, saltpans and ancient riverbeds characterize a landscape where rain is sparse and sporadic. Varying from sand dunes with trees and shrubs in the north, to flat bushveld in the central area, the reserve is more forested in the south.

Basarwa, also known as San or Bushmen, are the oldest ethnic group of Southern Africa and are its original inhabitants. Archaeological evidence indicates that people bearing San features existed in Africa as early as 30,000 years ago. But the ancient Basarwa way of life is being eroded by the dominant Botswana culture.

A breakdown of the relocations showed that in 1997, 1,739 people relocated to New Xade and Kaudwane. A 2001 government population and housing census showed that there were 689 Basarwa in the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve. They left between February and June 2002 and only 17 people remained in the reserve.

The government had already provided basic facilities in the new settlements of New Xade, Xere and Kaudwane. These included primary schools, health posts, and water facilities. A breakdown of expenditure since 1997 included the construction of a customary court, an airstrip and a hostel for children whose parents did not live in the new settlements.

People relocated had received financial assistance and had been issued with livestock.

Thato Raphaka, co-coordinator of the Botswana government's remote area development program denied that the removals were forced.

"They were completely voluntary. The government wanted to economically empower them and there was a conflict in terms of land use. The settlements were growing, so the wildlife would disappear and the ecosystem would be depleted," Raphaka told Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), a United Nations humanitarian information unit.

Survival International did not immediately comment on the allegations, but a statement from Ditshwanelo said that it was "not convinced" that diamonds were the reasons for the relocation, and urged the government to meet representatives of the negotiating team to reach a solution to the current situation.

Basarwa, also known as San or Bushmen, are the oldest ethnic group of Southern Africa and are its original inhabitants. (Photo courtesy RadioBridge)

On its website Survival International says, "The harassment began in 1986, and the first forced removals were in 1997. Those that remained faced torture, drastic restrictions in their hunting rights, and routine harassment."

"In early 2002, this harassment intensified, accompanied by the destruction of the Bushmen's water pump, the draining of their existing water supplies into the desert, and the banning of hunting and gathering," Survival International says. "Almost all were forced out by these tactics, but a large number have since returned, with many more desperate to do so."

Ditshwanelo has condemned the relocation policy. "The termination of services [in the reserve] by the government effectively forces people out of the reserve, as they will have no access to basic resources," the group said in a statement earlier this year. "The relocation of the residents ... is unnecessary and it is in breach of the constitution and human rights of the residents."

According to Ditshwanelo, the reserve was created in 1961 "specifically" for the Basarwa to practice their hunter-gatherer way of life.

{Published in cooperation with Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), a service of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, online at: http://www.irinnews.org/}