De stolte kvægnomader, Masaier og Datogaer, har været mål for systematisk jordran fra magtfulde personer i Morogoro-regionen i det centrale Tanzania uden at politiet griber ind, skriver fortaler-NGOen for verdens oprindelige folk, IWGIA.
Statsminister Helle Thorning-Schmidt (S) besøgte netop en masai-landsby på sin visit i Tanzania i marts 2013 – se telegrammet http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/07-03-13/helle-thorning-m-dt-af-dansende-masaier-som-nu-f-r
Maasai and Datoga citizens living in the Morogoro region of Tanzania were recently victims of deadly, ethnic violence, writes Copenhagen-based IWGIA.
According to local media, the assaults were instigated by public figures interested in acquiring land, and state authorities have not intervened to protect Maasai citizens.
Police protection has instead been given to others who are illegally cultivating officially registered Maasai land.
Since January 15, assaults have led to between 6 and 15 deaths (numbers still to be confirmed) and many people have been injured and robbed.
Six Maasai women were raped, 38 Maasai homesteads on village land were burned to the ground and 77 cattle were stolen.
Currently 266 men, women and children are living in Mabwegere Village (Kilosa District of Morogoro Region) without food, shelter or protection.
Bange masaier forfordeles på alle måder
Due to ongoing assaults, Maasai living in the region are frightened to be in public. They are not receiving health care, attending school and university, or carrying out usual economic activities.
Despite appealing to district, regional and national authorities, no protection or recourse to justice has been provided to the affected Maasai citizens or communities to date.
None of these offences have been addressed despite high court rulings and numerous commissions of enquiry, states IWGIA.
The most recent attacks have been occurring since mid-January 2015, and follow years of poor governance in the Morogoro region. Illegal evictions (udsættelser), dispossession of Massai citizens, and human rights violations have become daily life for indigenous people in the area.
Serious concerns were recently voiced in the Tanzanian Parliament, and it is feared that the attacks could descend into ethnic based violence and spread across the country.
Fortsat vold truer Tanzanias fred og stabilitet
In a policy brief IWGIA calls for urgent action to halt the violence in the Morogoro Region and to put a stop to the current culture of impunity (straffrihed).
It states that without strong and public action from the highest levels, Maasai and Datoga citizens will continue to be stigmatized and the prospective of nation-wide violence will remain a threat to stability, development, and peace in Tanzania.
Man kan hente (downloade) baggrundspapiret i sin helhed på
http://www.iwgia.org/iwgia_files_news_files/1183_Briefing_Note_Violence_in_Morogoro_Tanzania.pdf
Yderligere oplysninger hos:
Annemiek Wilson
Communications Officer
Tlf. 35 27 05 05 og e-mail: [email protected]
