Survival International is our Jesus - Sesana
Gothataone Moeng | Thursday December 19, 2013 16:51
FPK and indigenous tribes have been criticised for their relationship with SI whose campaigns have targeted the country’s mining and tourism sectors, the two biggest contributors to the gross domestic product.
Speaking to journalists in Gaborone yesterday, Sesana was unapologetic about their ongoing relationship and credited SI with helping them with the numerous legal tussles they have had with government regarding relocations and access to water.
'Survival International ke Jeso wa rona,' he said. He added that SI had helped them when nobody else was coming forward and after their attempts to engage government failed.
He said his tribe would only stop working with SI once the government addressed all the grievances they had been complaining about.
'Ga se Survival e re timang metsi,” he said. Ga se Survival e e re kganelang go tsoma. Ga se Survival e e re hudusang.' (“It's not Survival that is denying us access to water. It is not Survival that is stopping us from hunting. It's not Survival that is relocating us.”)
Further, Sesana said the indigenous tribes were no longer interested in working with Ditshwanelo, Botswana's human rights advocacy group.
'A Ditshwanelo ya ga Alice (Mogwe) e re sutele lapeng (May Alice’s (Mogwe) Ditshwanelo let us be),' he said. He added that there were many other disenfranchised groups that Ditshwanelo could represent and speak for.
Sesana said indigenous tribes had human rights groups that could lobby on their behalf and that their human rights groups were better informed of their grievances because they speak the languages of the tribes.
Fissures appeared between Ditshwanelo and indigenous tribes when they accused the human rights group of being too close to government to properly represent their interest when advocate Gordon Bennett, who has represented residents of the CKGR in several cases, was prevented from coming to Botswana.