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This article participates on the following special index pages:
Operation Murambatsvina - Countrywide evictions of urban poor - Index of articles
ZIMBABWE: Security forces ready to "deal" with protests
against evictions
IRIN News
June 06,
2005
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=47497
BULAWAYO - The
Zimbabwean government placed its security forces on high alert on
Monday, in the event of a mass stay-away to protest against the
forced eviction of informal settlers in and around the capital,
Harare.
A broad alliance comprising the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU); the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), a coalition
of civil societies; the main opposition Movement for Democratic
Change; and several other civic bodies have urged people to stay
away from work on Thursday and Friday this week.
The eviction campaign - described officially as an attempt to rid
the capital of illegal structures, businesses and criminal activities
- began three weeks ago and has left thousands of people homeless
and without a source of income.
Since the announcement of the protest action the government has
deployed armed riot police and soldiers in Harare and the second
city, Bulawayo.
Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena warned that security forces
would deal with any form of protest, and said there were enough
security personnel to contain the situation.
"Zimbabweans should be reminded that it is an offence to engage
in protests without police clearance, and those caught on the wrong
side of the law will surely be dealt with accordingly. It is therefore
my advice to the people to resist manipulation by a few individuals
for their own safety," he cautioned.
Protests and mass gatherings without prior police approval are barred
under Zimbabwe's stringent security law, the Public Order and Security
Act (POSA).
But civic leaders appeared unperturbed and vowed to press ahead
with the protests. One of the organisers, Lovemore Madhuku, NCA
chairman and law lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, told IRIN
that threats of a crackdown would not deter protestors.
"The government has ruthlessly demolished people's homes and destroyed
their [market] stalls - in a way complicating things for the masses
- and this is why we are saying people should register their disapproval
through mass stay away," said Madhuku.
The UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) has called for an "immediate"
halt to the evictions. Miloon Kothari, special rapporteur on the
right to adequate housing, reminded the Zimbabwean government that
forced evictions constituted a "gross violation of human rights".
UN member states, prior to carrying out any eviction, must ensure
that all feasible alternatives to avoid or minimise the use of force
have been explored.
"Legal remedies or procedures should be provided to those who are
affected by eviction orders, along with adequate compensation for
any property affected, both personal and real," said Kothari.
In cases where evictions are justified, "it should never result
in rendering individuals homeless, or vulnerable to the violations
of other human rights," he pointed out.
The High Court in Harare has upheld as lawful the demolition of
houses built in Hatcliffe, one of the affected suburbs, as the co-operative
had not filed proper building plans.
The co-operative, supported by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association
(ZimRights), had challenged the operation. The official Herald newspaper
reported that Justice Tedias Karwi had noted in his ruling that
the affected people should have been given a longer period of notice
of the demolition exercise.
ZimRights director Munyaradzi Bidi said the organisation was considering
filing another application in the Supreme Court to stop the clean-up
operation, which is still continuing.
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