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Botswana bushmen face key verdict Botswana bushmen face key verdict
(about 4 hours later)
A Botswana court is due to decide if a group of bushmen were evicted illegally from their ancestral lands, in a ruling to be watched by indigenous groups. Bushmen from the Kalahari desert have gathered to hear a verdict on whether they were evicted illegally from their ancestral lands four years ago.
The Kalahari bushmen say the government cut water supplies and drove them from their hunting grounds in the central Kalahari game reserve in 2002. The trial is seen as a test case of whether governments can move people from tribal lands, as the Botswana authorities did in 2002.
Botswana says they do not belong to the area as their lifestyle has changed. Botswana says the bushmen abandoned their traditional ways long ago and have no claim to the area.
The trial is seen as a test of whether governments can legally move people from their tribal and ancestral lands. The case is the longest and most expensive in Botswana's legal history.
The case is the longest-running and most expensive in Botswana's legal history.
'Dispiriting' camps'Dispiriting' camps
It has been four years since the last of the bushmen, from one of the world's oldest tribal groups, were evicted from their ancestral lands. Water supplies to the Kalahari game reserve were cut off and the bushmen were moved to functional but bleak settlements, where a new way of life was imposed.
The people were moved to functional but bleak settlements outside the reserve, where a new way of life was imposed.
A bushman involved in the case said they were entitled to their land.A bushman involved in the case said they were entitled to their land.
"We are keen to go back to our ancestral land, where we will practise our traditions and culture," Chika Moeti said."We are keen to go back to our ancestral land, where we will practise our traditions and culture," Chika Moeti said.
However, the government says the bushmen do not belong to the Kalahari any more because their lifestyle has changed, and their presence interferes with conservation.However, the government says the bushmen do not belong to the Kalahari any more because their lifestyle has changed, and their presence interferes with conservation.
The government argues the bushmen are better off in the settlements, where they have clinics and schools along with food and water. The reserve was a poverty trap that denied them access to health and education, it said, arguing that the bushmen were better off in the settlements where they have clinics and schools along with food and water.
The bushmen's lawyer contends that although there are facilities in the camps, there is little for them to do.The bushmen's lawyer contends that although there are facilities in the camps, there is little for them to do.
"Almost everybody is dependent, to a greater or lesser extent, on handouts and that's a rather dispiriting experience," Gordon Bennet says."Almost everybody is dependent, to a greater or lesser extent, on handouts and that's a rather dispiriting experience," Gordon Bennet says.
Diamond miningDiamond mining
The BBC's Orla Guerin in Lobatse, where the verdict will be handed down, says there have been allegations of police brutality, denied by the government.The BBC's Orla Guerin in Lobatse, where the verdict will be handed down, says there have been allegations of police brutality, denied by the government.
The authorities also deny reports that the bushmen were driven out to make way for diamond mining.The authorities also deny reports that the bushmen were driven out to make way for diamond mining.
"The issue about rich diamond deposits is not a factor, because the case is that the deposit inside the game reserve is actually not viable," Botswana's foreign ministry spokesman, Clifford Maribe, said."The issue about rich diamond deposits is not a factor, because the case is that the deposit inside the game reserve is actually not viable," Botswana's foreign ministry spokesman, Clifford Maribe, said.
"So there is no reason at all to relocate people who are living about 200km (107 miles) from these non-economic deposits," he added. "So there is no reason at all to relocate people who are living about 200km (125 miles) from these non-economic deposits," he added.
There has been some drilling in the Kalahari, but a government spokesman said there is prospecting activity throughout the country, not just in the reserve.There has been some drilling in the Kalahari, but a government spokesman said there is prospecting activity throughout the country, not just in the reserve.