A South African court has ruled to suspend the construction of a complex in Cape Town that will house Amazon's African headquarters, siding with indigenous groups who say the land is sacred, in a decision published Sunday.
A high court in Capetown ordered the project's debutants to engage in "meaningful engagement and consultation" with the Khoisan group, which sees the land as the site of their early resistance to European colonialists in 1510, the French News Agency reported.
Construction had already begun on the four-billion-rand (231 million euros) complex, located on what was previously a golf course.
"The fundamental right to culture and heritage of the indigenous groups, in particular the Khoi and San peoples, is threatened in the absence of proper consultation," the court said in its ruling dated March 18, published on Sunday. The ruling acknowledges that many Khoi groups support the project after the devilopers agreed to build a heritage, culture and media centre to be run by indigenous groups. But the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Traditional Indigenous Council and a neighbouring association have asked the Western Cape Supreme Court to stop the rebuilding.
Amazon was not named in the case. City officials last year approved the rebuilding of a nine-story complex of businesses and residences. The offices will provide a total area of 70,000 square meters.
According to Agence France-Presse, the once hunter-gatherers, known by the now-discarded name of Bushmen, the Khoisan suffered deeply from colonization and apartheid. Many in their community say they still endure great social inequalities and lack economic opportunities, and their past remains ignored.
Source: CNA
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