Tanzania’s Masaai demand Indigenous rights in UN framework

By WANJOHI KABUKURU
Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tanzania’s Maasai people, resisting government pressure to leave their ancestral homes in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, have presented their demands for Indigenous land rights to negotiators in Nairobi finalizing the proposed U.N. global biodiversity framework. This follows a violent confrontation with Tanzanian security forces two weeks ago which forced many of them to flee to neighboring Kenya. A decision by the East African Court of Justice on the politically sensitive issue was expected this week but was postponed until later this year due to “unavoidable circumstances,” according to a court notice.