SI protest Shoot on sight conservation policy
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Survival International has urged the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) to address “the spread of brutal shoot on sight conservation tactics at its world congress, which started this week in Honolulu, Hawaii. Botswana is one of the countries that has adopted this policy in an effort to deter poachers and protect wildlife.
The Minister of Environment Wildlife and Tourism, Tshekedi Khama has in the past remarked that: “Poachers should start carrying their IDs so that we can notify their next of kin. Yes, God will judge the poachers but it’s up to us to arrange the meeting.” Khama said Botswana will do all possible to defend wildlife against poachers.
Survival has asked the IUCN’s Director Inger Andersen to table the motion: “We condemn extrajudicial killing and “shoot on sight” policies in the name of conservation.” The organisation is of the view that the “Shoot on sight” conservation is spreading rapidly, and has been devastating for tribal peoples. But the Botswana government, through the Minister have argued that poachers are a threat to wildlife and human life, especially those entrusted with protecting the animals.
It cites examples from June 2016, in Kaziranga National Park in India, Akash Oram where a seven-year-old tribal boy, was shot and seriously injured by a park guard. It says 62 people have been executed there without trial in nine years.
According to Survival, tribal people face eviction to make way for the park’s expansion. “These people should be the caretakers of the national parks, but the government policy has pauperized and alienated them. They have no livelihood and are living in a perpetual jail."
Survival International still holds to it assertion that in Botswana, nine Bushmen were recently shot at by police from a helicopter for hunting antelope for food. “They were then arrested, stripped naked and beaten. The country enforces a hunting ban which makes it hard for them to live, while big game trophy hunters are encouraged.” But the Botswana Police have flatly denied this allegation.
This is despite a 2006 court ruling which recognized the Bushmen’s right to live and hunt on their ancestral land.
But Survival International insists that the spread of “shoot on sight” tactics is just one sign of how conservation is becoming militarized and increasingly brutal. The human rights organisation says the big conservation organizations are guilty of supporting this.
They never speak out about evictions, arrests or shootings carried out in the name of conservation.
“But there are signs of growing public concern. The UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples recently published a report into the impact of conservation on indigenous peoples. And a slew of recent press reports have exposed the devastating impacts of conservation projects on tribal peoples worldwide,” wrote Survival International in a statement.
Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said: “Conservation would have better luck if it actually brought local communities on side instead of merely paying lip service to policies on indigenous peoples. Conservation initiatives should tackle the true poachers – criminals conspiring with corrupt officials. Instead, tribal people are being shot on sight while big conservation organizations stand by and watch. This is a humanitarian crisis and it’s scandalous that Survival is struggling to get them to condemn this scandal.”
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BCP, AP stalemate in 7 constituencies
When the Botswana Congress Party (BCP), Alliance for Progressives, Botswana Labour Party (BLP), and conveners reconvene next week, the controversial issue of allocation of the seven constituencies will be the main topic of discussion, WeekendPost can reveal.
Not only that, but the additional four constituencies will also dominate the talks. The idea is to finally close the “constituency allocation phase,” which has proven to be the most difficult part of the ongoing negotiations.
Earlier this year, the two parties announced that the marathon talks would be concluded by February. Even at a media briefing last month, BCP Secretary General Goretetse Kekgonegile and Publicity Secretary Dr. Mpho Pheko were optimistic that the negotiations would be concluded before the end of February.
However, it is now mid-March and the talks have yet to be concluded. What could be the reasons for the delay? This is a question that both Kekgonegile and Pheko have not responded to, as they have ignored the reporters’ inquiries. However, a senior figure within the party has confided to this publication as to what is delaying the highly anticipated negotiations.
“We are reconvening next week to finalize constituency allocations, taking into account the additional four new ones plus the outstanding seven,” he explained. It later surfaced that Gaborone Central, Gaborone North, Mogoditshane, Tswapong North, Francistown West, Tati West, and Nata Gweta are all contested by both BCP and AP. This is because the other 50 constituencies were allocated by December of last year.
The three parties have failed to find common ground for the Bosele Ward by-elections. Are these constituencies not a deal breaker for the talks? “None of the constituencies is a deal breaker,” responded a very calm BCP official.
In Bosele Ward, AP has yielded to BCP, despite most of its members disapproving the decision. On the other hand, BLP has refused, and it will face off with BCP together with Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) and Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC).
The decision by BLP to face off with BCP has been labelled as a false start for the talks by political observers.
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Botswana approves extradition of British fugitive
Raiz Ahmed Tayub, a British fugitive sought by Interpol for his involvement in human trafficking and slave trade crimes, was captured by the Botswana Police Service (BPS) earlier this year.
Merapelo Mokgosi, the Assistant Director of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), confirmed that he will be extradited to France, where he is wanted for his crimes.
“It is true that Tayub will be extradited to France, where he has been wanted for some time,” says Mokgosi.
She explained that the fugitive was arrested by the Botswana Police in early January while attempting to enter Botswana through the Pioneer border gate. Since his arrest, he has been appearing before the Lobatse Magistrate Court to fight his release from custody and to object to his extradition to France. During his court appearance, Tayub opted for voluntary extradition.
“He opted for voluntary extradition, which the extradition Act allows,” said Mokgosi. She added that the suspect was not under duress when he chose voluntary extradition. Soon after he made this choice, the Ministry of Justice was notified, and the minister approved his extradition. Preparations are still underway to fly the wanted man to France, and once the necessary paperwork is completed between the two nations, the suspect will be extradited.
Mokgosi indicated that plans were still being made to complete the suspect’s extradition to France, and the Botswana government would pay for his flight along with his escort.
Meanwhile, the court has ordered the Botswana Prison Services (BPS) to provide the Islamic British fugitive with “halal food” while he is in custody.
In an earlier court application, Tayub had asked to be detained at a five-star hotel, as he could pay for it until the completion of his case. He also argued that he should not have to wear a prison uniform due to the Covid-19 outbreak. He was thought to have been traveling to Malawi at the time of his capture.
When delivering the order, the principal magistrate, Gofaone Morwang, said the detainee should be provided with halal daily rations with immediate effect while he is in custody. The magistrate dismissed TAYUB’s application for hotel detention and exemption from wearing a prison uniform.
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Botswana approves extradition of British fugitive
Raiz Ahmed Tayub, a British fugitive sought by Interpol for his involvement in human trafficking and slave trade crimes, was captured by the Botswana Police Service (BPS) earlier this year.
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