NAIROBI, Kenya
Tanzania’s government has been accused of using violence against Maasai herders protesting efforts to evict them from one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations, in the latest friction between those who see certain African landscapes as a lucrative playground and those who simply call them home.
Witnesses of the
confrontations in the Ngorongoro area told The Associated Press that some of
the wounded people fled to neighboring Kenya to seek medical care, fearing
retaliation from Tanzanian authorities. Video shared with the AP shows Maasai
taking cover amid gunfire and tear gas, and others injured.
“We saw many people being
beaten,” said Stephen Parmuat, who said he helped carry some of those wounded
across the border after the confrontations late last week. “For now, the
situation is still bad. We don’t know what’s next. Many people are displaced.
We don’t know where to go.”
A Tanzanian advocate for the
Maasai told the AP that 20 people arrested, including political leaders, were
charged with murder on Thursday at the Resident Magistrate’s Court in Arusha
without advocates being notified, contrary to procedure. The AP saw a copy of
the court documents, with many of those charged described as “peasants.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, the advocate
asked how so many people could be charged with the murder of the one police
officer that authorities said was killed.
A call to the court in Arusha
was not answered.
The confrontations, which
erupted after Maasai community members noticed Tanzanian authorities marking
off land reportedly for a game reserve, occurred just days before the East
African Court of Justice is set to rule next week on the merits of a case filed
by supporters of the Maasai against Tanzania’s government.20 Maasai from Loliondo were arrested, including political leaders, were charged with murder on Thursday at the Resident Magistrate’s Court in Arusha
The government was served
notice of the upcoming judgment, and lawyer Donald Deya wondered whether
Tanzanian authorities were trying to pre-empt it by marking off the land.
“In 2018 the court issued an
interim order that stopped the government from doing exactly the kind of things
it’s doing now,” said Deya, who leads the Pan African Lawyers Union. “Do not
evict Maasai, do not touch disputed land. These actions of the government are
in contempt of court.”
Human rights lawyers in
Tanzania were searching police stations in the region for more than 30 people,
including Maasai leaders, allegedly detained amid the confrontations, he said.
A march by a small number of
Maasai in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, to the Tanzanian embassy on Friday was
broken up by police who used tear gas and arrested a national community leader.
In order to take land in the
public interest, Tanzanian authorities must consult communities and give
justification, Deya said. He doesn’t believe that has occurred, and he warns
that a court decision favoring the Maasai could be followed by a public
campaign pressuring Tanzania’s government to respect it.
“Embarrassment might stop
them,” he said, adding that some “tourists want to have exclusive use so they
don’t have to run into cows.”
Tourism is a major source of
income in Tanzania, which drew global attention when its previous president,
John Magufuli, largely denied the presence of COVID-19 and urged tourists to
keep coming to the East African nation.
The confrontations in
Ngorongoro district led to an outcry among supporters of indigenous communities
in general and of the Maasai, many of whom are employed in the safari industry
in both Tanzania and Kenya.
Several United Nations human
rights experts in a joint statement on Wednesday said they were “deeply
alarmed” by the reports of Tanzanian security forces using live ammunition and
tear gas against the Maasai and protested “continuous encroachment” on their
ancestral lands.Witnesses of the confrontations in the
Ngorongoro area told The Associated Press
that some of the wounded people fled to
neighboring Kenya to seek medical care
Up to 70,000 Maasai could be
displaced by the planned game reserve which would take up 1,500 square
kilometers (580 square miles) of 4,000 square kilometers (1,544 square miles)
designated as village land, experts said.
The entire Ngorongoro
Conservation Area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the U.N. experts urged
Tanzania’s government to make sure any plans for the area meet human rights
standards.
The African Commission on
Human and People’s Rights this week called on Tanzanian authorities to “halt
the ongoing forcible eviction.”
Tanzania’s government,
including the tourism minister and prime minister, have said the goal for the
disputed area is conservation and alleged that the growing number of Maasai and
cattle on the land could put it at risk.
Police inspector general Simon
Sirro accused some Maasai of being mobilized by local leaders to disobey the
law. “I have instructed the police to apply force where necessary,” he said.
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