ZIMBABWE: Church leaders disturbed by suffering of homeless

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 11 Jul 2005 (IRIN) - A delegation from the South African Council of Churches (SACC), visiting Zimbabwe to assess the impact of the ongoing urban cleanup campaign, are "disturbed" by what they've witnessed.

Thousands of informal settlements and markets have been demolished in the cleanup campaign, launched in May, and at least 375,000 people left homeless; the authorities have claimed it was part of an urban renewal strategy that will eventually build 10,000 homes at a cost of US $300 million.

The government wants people evicted from illegal settlements to either move directly to their place of birth in rural areas, or to one of two temporary transit centres outside the capital, Harare, and the eastern city of Mutare. A third facility was to be completed in Bulawayo in the south of the country.

Spokesman Eddie Makue said the SACC delegation, together with the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), had toured the Caledonia transit camp outside Harare, which was set up to temporarily shelter those rendered homeless by the cleanup campaign, and met with civil society and church leaders in Zimbabwe.

The delegation, led by Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ngundane and SACC president Professor Russell Botman, was also scheduled to tour Mbare township, which was severely affected by the cleanup.

The group aimed to meet with both the ruling party and the opposition before returning to Johannesburg.

"We will make a statement tomorrow, as it's going to be important for us to share our observations, after the delegation briefs the SACC central committee [on Tuesday morning]," Makue said. The AACC representative in the delegation is also to report back to the pan-African body's central committee.

He noted that "what we are observing [in Zimbabwe] is very close to the statement released by the World Council of Churches".

In its statement on 24 June, the World Council of Churches condemned the mass forced evictions taking place in Zimbabwe and called on the government to end the "rapid, ruthless and arbitrary manner" in which the cleanup operation was being conducted.

The council observed that the campaign was being prosecuted during winter, and at "a time when the rural areas are particularly unable to absorb those expelled from the urban areas because of the effects of drought".

Makue added that "for now ... what we can say is that the church leadership is very disturbed by what we have seen: the suffering of the people in the Caledonia camp is quite profound".

The SACC was discussing with local clergy what assistance it could provide to those in need. "[But] we recognise our own limitations as well, and we are very appreciative of the fact that the main caregivers in the Caledonia camp are UNICEF [UN Children's Fund] and Christian Care, the service arm of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches."

Meanwhile, rights group Amnesty International has urged the "African Union (AU) to challenge attempts by the government of Zimbabwe to frustrate the AU's investigation of the current human rights crisis in Zimbabwe".

This followed reports that the AU envoy sent to Zimbabwe to evaluate the impact of the controversial demolition of informal settlements and shops had left the country last week without completing his mission.

AU spokesman Adam Thiam confirmed to IRIN that Bahame Tom Nyanduga, a member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Special Rapporteur Responsible for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, had left Zimbabwe last Thursday.

Amnesty said the government of Zimbabwe had reportedly claimed there were "procedural irregularities" regarding Nyanduga's visit.

"By trying to block the work of an African Union representative through the use of blatantly obstructionist procedural excuses, the government of Zimbabwe is showing its real fear: that African Union criticism will force other African governments to finally tackle the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe publicly and effectively," said Kolawole Olaniyan, Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme.

"It is deplorable that the government of Zimbabwe has treated the African Union and a respected member of its Commission in this way," Olaniyan commented. "We urge African Union member states to uphold the African Union's credibility and integrity, and reaffirm their commitment to human rights and accountability by refusing to allow governments to deflect attention from human rights violations by resorting to the flimsy excuse of 'procedural irregularities'."

[ENDS]