US: Coalition Launches Online Campaign for Indigenous Kenyan Tribe

NEWARK, NJ -- A international coalition of human rights and environmental organizations announced the launch today of an online campaign to urge the Kenyan government to protect the Ogiek, an indigenous tribe that lives in Kenya's Mau Forest and is fighting to remain in their ancestral home.

A group of concerned organizations, including the U.S.-based
Digital Freedom Network (DFN), the Kenya-based Rights News and
Features Service, and the Kenya Land Alliance, has set up a Web
site for the Ogiek at http://www.ogiek.org.
The site includes a one-click Web form that will generate protest
letters to be sent to Kenyan officials, a brief explanation of
the issues surrounding the Ogiek, an in-depth report on their
situation, and recent news.

"Since indigenous peoples often lack political clout, they make
easy targets for governments. With the Ogiek.org site, we hope
to raise public awareness about the Ogiek's situation and level
the playing field so that the Kenyan government will respect their
rights," said Bobson Wong, executive director of DFN, one of the
partner organizations behind the site.

"The time has come for the world community to say no to such
wanton contempt of a indigenous community that hardly does harm
to the forest. The Mau Forest is not a gift of the Kenya government
but a natural gift from God and no government or individual should
destroy it," said John Kamau of Rights News and Features Service.

The Ogiek (pronounced oh-GEE-ik) are an indigenous hunting and
honey-gathering people that have lived in the Mau Forest for hundreds
of years. Kenya's government is forcing them out of the forest,
insisting that the area is environmentally protected under the
country's Forest Act. But Kenya is allowing powerful logging companies
to cut down trees in the forest, and much of Kenya's protected
forests have been illegally sold or given to developers. Meanwhile
the Ogiek, who selectively hunt animals that are not endangered
for food, pose no environmental threat.

For years, Ogiek representatives asked President Daniel arap
Moi and other Kenyan officials to take action to protect them.
When these requests proved unsuccessful, the Ogiek went to court
in 1997 to stop Kenyan officials from surveying and allocating
the Ogiek's land to others. The Ogiek's lawsuit eventually went
to the Kenyan High Court, who dismissed the case in March 2000.

The Ogiek are now urging people to lobby Kenyan officials to
stop logging companies from cutting down trees in the forest and
to pass legislation that would give them the right to inhabit
Mau Forest and traditionally conserve the forest.

The Digital Freedom Network (DFN) promotes human rights around the world by developing new methods of activism with Internet technology and
by providing an online voice to those attacked simply for expressing
themselves. DFN creates Internet applications to fight censorship,
acquires technology tools for other activists, launches Internet-based
campaigns on behalf of human rights, and serves as a technical
resource for activists worldwide. DFN's Web site is http://dfn.org.

• 116 Human Rights
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