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Zimbabwe: Fear for safety/ Excessive use of force
Amnesty International
PUBLIC AI Index: AFR 46/011/2005
UA 148/05
June 01, 2005

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR460112005?open&of=ENG-ZWE

Amnesty International is seriously concerned for the safety of thousands of informal street traders and residents of informal settlements across Zimbabwe who are being targeted for forcible eviction in a government operation called "Operation Murambatsvina" (meaning drive out the rubbish, and referred to by the police as 'restore order').

"Operation Murambatsvina" reportedly aims to "clean up" urban areas and tackle illegal trade in foreign exchange. The evictions are being carried out without notice and without court orders. During the evictions, police and other members of the security forces are using excessive force, burning homes, destroying property and beating individuals. In at least one instance police reportedly forced people to destroy their own homes. Amnesty International believes that many more people are in danger of injury as the operation continues.

Since 18 May 2005, many thousands of people have been forcibly removed from informal market areas in Harare by the police. Similar police actions have taken place in across the country in Bulawayo, Mutare, Chitungwiza, Rusape, Murehwa, Gweru, Masvingo and Kadoma. Although the government has claimed that the traders are unlicensed, lawyers have said that many of those arrested last week had licences. The traders have been given no notice and their goods have been destroyed or confiscated. Many traders are alleged to have been beaten during the operation.

Public anger at the destruction of property and livelihoods has resulted in traders and residents of affected areas attacking police. In response, armed police and the armed forces have been sent into some areas to quell unrest, raising further concerns for the safety of the affected communities.

On the night of 26 May 2005, more than 10,000 people were forcibly driven from their homes in the informal settlement of Hatcliffe Extension in northern Harare. Police reportedly destroyed homes - leaving the settlement's families destitute and sleeping in the open. The government has reportedly threatened more evictions from squatter camps around Harare.

In September 2004, Amnesty International reported on the attempted forced eviction of thousands of people from Porta Farm, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Harare, during which police reportedly misused tear gas against residents. The police were acting in defiance of a court order prohibiting the eviction. According to eye-witness testimony the police fired tear gas directly into the homes of the Porta Farm residents. At least 11 people died in the following weeks, after what eyewitnesses claim was exposure to the tear gas. Amnesty International has repeatedly called for a full investigation into the events which took place at Porta Farm and the subsequent deaths, but no investigation is known to have taken place. (See Amnesty International press releases: Zimbabwe: Ten dead following police misuse of tear gas, AFR 46/027/2004, 22 September 2004 and Zimbabwe: Another death at Porta Farm - 11 people now dead following police misuse of tear gas, AFR 46/028/2004, 1 October 2004)

Amnesty International is very concerned that Porta Farm may again be targeted in the current "clean-up" operation. The residents of Porta Farm have lived there for more than 10 years, and have invested in the development of the area.

For further information, please see http://web.amnesty.org/library/eng-zwe/index

Public Document
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org

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