Saami Council supports Maasai in Tanzania
The Saami Councils demands that confiscated land is returned to the Maasai and that detained Maasai leaders are released.
The Saami Council has received disturbing news on the establishment of the Loliondo Game Reserve in Tanzania and the forceful eviction of Maasai from their traditional lands this summer. A total of 1500 km2 have been cleared of traditional land users for the benefit of wealthy tourist’s trophy hunting. The United Arab Emirates-based Otterlo Business Company — which runs hunting excursions for the country’s royal family and their guests — will reportedly control commercial hunting in the area. Not only have Maasai in the region lost over 1/3 of their most productive grazing areas, it has also been done in a violent manner without the consent of the people concerned.
The confiscated land is important grazing land for the Maasai people.
In addition, 11 Maasai leaders, together with 12 community members, have been illegally detained without due legal process or conviction. This is obviously a move to silence the opposition to the land grabbing, and a harassment of the leaders defending their rights as indigenous peoples of the area.
The Saami Council calls for:
1. The immediate release of the unlawfully detained Maasai leaders and community members.
2. The immediate return of the confiscated areas of Loliondo Game Reserve to the traditional owners of the land.
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