Bushman leader lobbies politicians
June 4, 2007
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Bushman leader Roy Sesana will return to Botswana today from Italy, where he met with the Vice President of the Senate, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and the former Minister of Culture.
Sesana travelled to Italy from the UK on the second leg of his European tour, to seek support for his people’s ten-year struggle to return to their land.
Sesana met with Mario Baccini, Vice President of the Senate, Patrizia Sentinelli, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vittorio Sgarbi, former Minister of Culture. He also addressed 400 students from the Liceo Beccaria in Milan, and more than 600 people at a concert.
Patrizia Sentinelli said, ‘The Bushman case is a clear example of how much public opinion can do to defend human rights and keep them at the top of governments’ priority lists, despite profits and economic interests. I will do whatever I can to support the defence of tribal cultures and the struggle for Indigenous rights.’
In the UK, Sesana met with parliamentarians from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Tribal Peoples, and delivered a letter to Tony Blair asking the British government to stop endorsing the Botswana government’s eviction of the Bushmen.
For further information contact Miriam Ross on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or email [email protected]
