| Front Page |
Rapaport…February 16, 2004 – Survival International has begun a
postcard campaign calling for a boycott of De Beers and Somali
supermodel Iman. The campaign came up in a week in which the Botswana
government has allegedly launched a new wave of harassment of the Gana
and Gwi Bushmen.
Two years after evicting them from their ancestral land, the
government recently sent in wildlife officials to arrest Bushmen at
gunpoint for hunting near their resettlement camp. The Bushmen believe
the government is targeting those opposed to the forced relocation.
De Beers has been drawn into the controversy surrounding the Botswana
government’s eviction of the Bushmen, as it is suspected that the rich
diamond deposits under the Bushmen’s land are the reason for the
eviction. Diamond mining in Botswana is controlled by De Beers, in a
fifty-fifty partnership with the government.
Iman is the public face for De Beers LV and is reportedly paid around
$1 million to promote the company. Rapaport Diamond Report was unable
to reach her for comment.
Home | Contact us | Links | Archives