MURAMBATSVINA ECHOES CONTINUING

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 000721 SIPDIS SIPDIS AF/S FOR B. NEULING NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE USAID/AFR/SA FOR E. LOKEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL ASEC ZI SUBJECT: MURAMBATSVINA ECHOES CONTINUING REF: HARARE 583 Classified By: Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Eric T. Schultz under Section 1.5 b/d ¶1. (C) On June 15, officials from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that municipal police burned down the houses and possessions of approximately 100 families in the Harare suburb of Glen Norah early that day. City officials had served an eviction notice to the families on June 12. An IOM official told poloff that IOM was distributing blankets and supplies and was seeking an arrangement with the GOZ to provide food to the families, who remained at the site. One of IOM's implementing partners was negotiating with officials at Hopley Farm, where the GOZ has moved other displaced persons, to admit families who choose to relocate there. According to officials at the UN Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),the UN Resident Representative was writing a letter of protest to the GOZ and OCHA officials were seeking meetings with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Social Welfare to discuss the situation. ¶2. (C) MDC pro-Senate MP for Glen Norah, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, told poloff on June 15 that the families were all previous victims of last year's Operation Murambatsvina (Restore Order),many of whom had originally lived in the area and kept rebuilding shelters each time government officials destroyed their homes. For some, this latest destruction was their fourth. Human Rights NGO Forum had tried to go to court to stop the city from carrying out the evictions but had been unable to get a judge to attend the hearing before the destruction began. Mushonga said that, in addition to the supplies provided by IOM, the Coalition of Churches was attempting to provide some of the families with shelter. There was as yet no food for the displaced, most of whom had not eaten all day. She was concerned that, in the middle of Zimbabwe's winter, the IOM blankets would be insufficient shelter. Mushonga was on her way to speak with city officials to find out what they intended to do with the victims. ¶3. (C) According to a representative of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR),municipal police arrived in riot gear and burned most of the victims' possessions along with the houses. Police told the victims they would return at 3 pm to remove them. ZLHR was filing an urgent application with the court to stop officials from removing the individuals. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: This incident is the latest in a series of small-scale efforts by the government to complete the "unfinished business" of last year's Operation Restore Order, which saw the destruction of homes and businesses of an estimated 700,000 people. These efforts have so far affected no more than a few hundred at a time. Nevertheless, these events could yet lead to something bigger highlighting as they do the GOZ's insensitivity to the urban poor and its priority on disrupting life in the urban centers, a stronghold for the opposition and the natural starting point for potential civil action. SCHULTZ