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Kaziranga National Park, in northeastern India, is an example of success in conserving endangered species. When it opened a century ago, only a handful of one-horned rhinos remained there. Today, with more than 2,400, the park is home to two-thirds of the world's rhino population. However, the methods he uses to protect his animals are controversial: park rangers are allowed to shoot and kill hunters. A type of permit normally granted only to the military or police in cases of civil insubordination. In fact, at one point more people were killed each year - more than 20 - than rhinos. And, in the middle of this conflict, the inhabitants of the local communities, mostly indigenous, were trapped. Rhinos dead for a year Rhinos undoubtedly need protection. The value of its horns is higher than gold in Vietnam and China, where they attribute miraculous properties to it. They say they are used to cure all kinds of illnesses, from cancer to erectile dysfunction. But how far should we go to protect this threatened animal? «Extrajudicial executions» The government has given Kaziranga park rangers extraordinary powers that give them considerable protection if they are accused of killing people within the park's perimeters.
The instruction is that when we see a hunter, we take out our weapons and chase them," ranger Avdesh tells the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Justin America Mobile Number List Rowlatt. According to critics, the order that Avdesh and other guards like him have received effectively means carrying out "extrajudicial executions." Satyendra Singh, director of the reserve, says the shoot-on-sight order does not accurately describe how rangers operate. «First we give them a warning: who are you? But if they shoot we have to kill them," she says. "But first we try to arrest them, to obtain information on who they are linked to, who the other members of the gang are," he says. In the last three years, Singh says, they have killed 50 hunters. This, he adds, reflects how many people in the local community have become involved in the illegal rhino trade. Singh believes at least 300 locals are involved. However, for people living in the vicinity of the park, the increase in the death toll is a worrying issue. Without Borders Like the rest of the country, Kaziranga is densely populated. Many tribal groups have lived in the surrounding forests - where they collect firewood and plants - for centuries.
They say that more and more innocent residents are being killed. Kachu Kealing and his wife live in a small town next to the reserve. Park rangers killed Goanburah's son in December 2013. Goanburah was taking care of the family's two cows. His father believes that they escaped and got into the park and his son - who had serious learning difficulties - went to look for them. It is a very easy mistake to make, there are no fences or signs separating the park from the surrounding land. Authorities say they fired when Goanburah did not respond to warnings. "He could barely tie his shoes," his father says. "Everyone in the area knew him because he had so many disabilities." Human rights sacrifice Since 2013, when the reserve's rules changed under pressure from local politicians seeking to curb the growth of illegal hunting in the park, which is one of the region's main tourist attractions, the death toll has increased dramatically. . In 2015, more people were killed by park rangers than rhinos were killed by hunters (23 people, compared to 17 rhinos). The park justifies the figure by saying that it is because the hunters come heavily armed and shoot at the guards. However, statistics show that these “encounters” are not as the reservation authorities suggest. According to Pranab Doley, a local community member and human rights advocate, the high number of deaths is due in part to the legal protection enjoyed by the park and its employees.
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發表於 2024-3-9 16:31:28