Government dismisses London protests

Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday February 18, 2014 14:20

 

European media reported that SI protestors last Thursday (February 13) greeted Khama when he arrived at the anti poaching conference.

SI is an international advocacy group for indigenous people, which has been at loggerheads with the Khama regime over the relocation of Basarwa from the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve.

'It didn't concern us at all because they have been doing that for almost 15 years.

 They did not intimidate at all, our focus was on the conference and people did not even recognise them,' Ramsay said.

Khama was addressing the conference. Khama told the attendees that, 'It is their responsibility as world leaders to protect our natural environment, not just the large ‘Iconic species’, like elephants and rhinoceros and tigers and whales, but also the smallest microorganisms, as all life is equally important and interlinked.

'The problem of poaching and the illegal wildlife trade is a worldwide problem. It is being driven by well-organised international criminals who are only concerned with profit.  This drive for greed has far reaching consequences which has raised the already high level of corruption throughout the illegal wildlife trade value chain in Africa and Asia,” he said.Khama said people should be taught on how they can coexist with fauna and flora.

He said a similar situation happened in Botswana where there is a0 large population of elephants whose natural habitat is the same as the people, the land and people have had to co-exist with elephants in spite of the fact that elephants tend to raid crops and homes, and sometimes with people losing lives in the process.