Tanzanian Government cancels MEP visit to Maasai in Tanzania

5 Sept 2023: Only 24 hours before three Members of European Parliament (MEPs) were scheduled to fly to Tanzania to look into allegations of human rights violations against Maasai pastoralist communities in Ngorongoro in northern Tanzania, the Government cancelled the visit. See the MEPs’ press release in English and French.

The same happened in December 2022, when the State visit by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous People was cancelled 24 hours before the scheduled arrival. The Tanzanian Government does not want the world to see what is happening to Maasai pastoralists in their country.

Meanwhile, the Tanzanian Government is undertaking massive arrests in Ngorongoro. It has stopped almost all social services in Ngorongoro in order to exert pressure on the Maasai communities to relocate and to create room for hotel investment for tourism and probably also for commercial hunting. See also September 2023 Newsletter of Maasai International Solidarity Alliance.

Posted on 5 September 2023 in News, Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralism, Policy & Power