Bushmen in Botswana on Tuesday confirmed that they planned to return to court within a matter of weeks if the government continued to prevent them from returning home, Survival International said in a statement.
”Hundreds of letters signed by Bushmen were today [Tuesday] handed to Botswana’s Department of Wildlife, detailing their concerns. They say the government is refusing to let them hunt to feed their families,” the statement said.
The Gana and Gwi Bushmen were evicted from their lands in the central Kalahari in 2002, but last year won a landmark court case affirming their right to go home.
Fifty-three Bushmen have been arrested for hunting since the court victory in December, Survival International said.
A representative of the Bushman organisation, First People of the Kalahari, said: ”We do not want to keep fighting in the courts. That is not the way to resolve problems. But we feel we have no other option. We are desperate.” — Sapa