The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.

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The Scotsman

Annan may take up Mugabe invite

EVELYN LEOPOLD
IN HARARE

KOFI Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, yesterday said he was
willing to visit Zimbabwe after the country's president, Robert Mugabe,
invited him to inspect the much criticised operation to destroy slum housing
there. Mr Mugabe made the invitation after a UN report condemned the
Zimbabwe government's policy and called for a halt to the urban demolitions
that have thrown 700,000 people out of their homes or jobs.

Mr Annan said he spoke to Mr Mugabe on Friday after the report was made
public.

 "I stressed the need for action to be taken to help the people affected, to
stop the clearances, and to ensure that those affected are not only looked
after but they are given adequate housing," Mr Annan said.

"We, the international community, would want to muster the aid necessary to
help the people [and] to work with the government in changing the
situation," he said.

Mr Mugabe, Mr Annan said, had invited him to Zimbabwe. "I haven't set a date
yet but I would want to do it," the secretary-general said. "I would want to
go to see how we can resolve some of the issues raised in the report."

Mr Mugabe "indicated there were other positive aspects of the activities of
the operation which hadn't been covered by the report", Mr Annan said.

Yesterday, the official Herald newspaper in Harare reported: "President
Mugabe told Mr Annan that he wondered why Zimbabwe attracted international
attention for embarking on a programme to clean up its urban centres and
provide decent houses and business premises to those affected by the
operation."

The government defended the crackdown saying it was intended to root out
black market trade in foreign currency and other scarce commodities.

But the report by UN envoy Anna Tibaijuka said the bulldozing of urban slums
since May was "carried out in an indiscriminate and unjustified manner, with
indifference to human suffering" and had left some 700,000 without homes or
livelihood or both.

In her report, Ms Tibaijuka said the demolitions piled economic pressure on
Zimbabwe, struggling with unemployment of over 70 per cent, triple-digit
inflation and chronic shortages of food and fuel.

Mr Mugabe's government is saddled with foreign debt of about $4.5 billion
and has reportedly been seeking a $1 billion loan from South Africa.

The Herald also quoted Zimbabwe defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi as
accusing Ms Tibaijuka of "whipping up the international community's emotions
and sending a wrong message about Zimbabwe".

The government says it will help affected families with building materials
to put up legal structures at stands allocated amid the wreckage of the old
demolished shacks.

Another 120 families had been removed from a demolished squatter camp on the
outskirts of Harare and transported to their rural homes, the Herald said
yesterday.
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Bloomberg.com

      N.Z. Lawmakers Pass Motion to Scrap Cricket Tour to Zimbabwe
      July 26 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand lawmakers passed a motion today
calling on their national cricket team to abandon next month's tour of
Zimbabwe, while stopping short of introducing legislation to make the trip
illegal.

      The players left yesterday for a training camp in Namibia ahead of a
monthlong visit to Zimbabwe starting Aug. 4, as political pressure mounted
to halt the matches because of alleged human rights abuses by President
Robert Mugabe's regime.

      The ruling Labour Party and opposition National Party united behind
the motion, proposed by the government, a day after Prime Minister Helen
Clark called a Sept. 17 national election. The government's request to stop
Zimbabwe playing matches was rejected by the sport's ruling body July 13.

      ``Through this motion, parliament urges New Zealand Cricket and the
International Cricket Council to heed the call of public opinion in New
Zealand and around the world and to abandon the tour of Zimbabwe,'' Clark
told parliament in Wellington, the New Zealand capital.

      The ICC, which runs international cricket, has said the matches could
only be canceled on security concerns or if New Zealand's government passed
a law blocking the tour. New Zealand Cricket, the national ruling body,
would be fined a minimum $2 million if it withdrew for any other reason.

      New Zealand's Green Party today proposed a bill preventing teams from
touring countries that violate human rights. Clark said the government
wasn't prepared to offer its support and the legislation was voted down.

      `Not an Option'

      ``Freedom of passage to and from this country is a basic right enjoyed
by New Zealanders,'' Clark added. ``Abrogating those rights is not an option
for us.''

      A Television New Zealand/Colmar Brunton poll published July 18 found
77 percent of New Zealanders were against the tour, while 53 percent
surveyed by Fairfax New Zealand/AC Nielsen also wanted it stopped. New
Zealand is scheduled to play two Test matches and a one-day series in
Zimbabwe.

      United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan last week asked Zimbabwe
to stop demolishing what it says are illegal urban dwellings following a
report that called the policy a ``catastrophic injustice.''

      The 100-page report by UN envoy Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka said up to
700,000 people had been left homeless and that an additional 2.4 million
people have been left without water, sanitation, health care and education.
Mugabe's government has said the program was conducted to reduce crime in
urban areas.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Dan Baynes in Sydney  dbaynes@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: July 26, 2005 00:21 EDT
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Washington Times

Mugabe and the United Nations
TODAY'S EDITORIAL
July 26, 2005

Last week, a scathing U.N. report on Zimbabwe illustrated why the government
of that southern African country so deserves its status as a pariah. In late
May, the beginning of winter in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe's government
embarked on something called Operation Murambatsvina, or "Operation Restore
Order," ostensibly a military and police campaign to dismantle illegal
vending sites and illegally constructed dwellings in urban areas. It quickly
turned into something much worse. The U.N. report shows in excruciating
detail how the government wrecked the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands
of Zimbabweans in less than two months without any reason.
    The homes or livelihoods of 700,000 poor Zimbabweans have been destroyed
since the campaign began in May, the United Nations concluded. It's not
clear precisely why, though many claim it was retribution against poor
voters who supported the opposition Movement for Democratic Change Party in
recent elections. What's clearer is that the Zimbabwean government has
behaved with its usual criminality.
    On May 19, Sekesai Makwavarara, chair of the government-appointed Harare
Commission, announced the operation in a speech in the mayor's offices in
the capital of Harare. Then, without additional notice, well before the
announced move-out deadline of June 20 and certainly before any poor
Zimbabweans would have heard, on May 25 police and military forces began
destroying flea markets, vendor stations, shanty homes and other "illegal"
commercial structures that have sprung up to fill in the gaps left by
Zimbabwe's moribund state-run economy. The destruction quickly spread
throughout the country. In the first week, 20,000 vendors around the country
were arrested for "illegal" commercial activity. Those who resisted were
beaten by police.
    The U.N. report labels the campaign "disastrous" and "indiscriminate,"
and calls for the perpetrators to be prosecuted. What it doesn't do is blame
the suffering on Zimbabwe's thuggish dictator Robert Mugabe. In words that
should go down as spineless even by U.N. standards, U.N. investigator Anna
Kajumulo Tibaijuka spoiled her otherwise fine report by saying that Mr.
Mugabe's advisors -- not Mr. Mugabe -- are responsible. "I suggest the
people who gave him bad advice should be held accountable," Ms. Tibaijuka
told reporters in New York last week.
    About the only "bad advice" here is the idea that only Mugabe's henchmen
should go. Mr. Mugabe has been Zimbabwe's dictator for 25 years. During that
time he has caused untold misery for his people. Ms. Tibaijuka should know
better, and the United Nations should be ashamed of itself for trying to
downplay his role.

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Mail and Guardian

      Zim steams ahead with demolitions

      Harare, Zimbabwe

      26 July 2005 08:56

            A United Nations official said on Monday that Zimbabwe had not
halted its demolitions campaign despite assurances from the government last
week that the razing of shacks and other unauthorised homes had stopped.

            United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident
representative Agostinho Zacarias said "we are still getting reports that
for instance in Chipinge demolitions have continued".

            "We are very concerned with that because it seems to be
contradicting the report we got from the minister," Zacarias told a news
conference.

            Chipinge, located near the border with Mozambique, about 300km
east of the capital, is a remote rural district which has traditionally
voted for the opposition but a ruling Zanu-PF candidate won the seat in the
March elections.

            Zacarias said farm workers in the area had their houses
flattened.

            Zimbabwe last week said it had stopped demolitions to give
people time to obtain necessary permits for their homes and other buildings.

            It also closed down a camp that had become the dumping site for
people whose dwellings had been destroyed since May, when the government
launched the operation that it said was to rid the country of crime and
squalor.

            The UN estimates that at least 700 000 people have lost their
homes while 2,4-million others have been affected by the campaign.

            The UN produced a damning report last week following a
fact-finding mission by the director of UN Habitat Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka
to the country and called on the government to put an immediate end to the
razings.

            The report was condemned by Zimbabwe as baised and prejudged,
but Zacarias said it "provides a good basis to engage the government
constructively in many areas".

            He dismissed reports in the state-controlled media that former
colonial ruler Britain had influenced the report, saying no UN employee is
on the payroll of the British government.

            "Everything that is written in the report ...is what Mrs
Tibaijuka believes to be rightly observed on the ground," he said.

            Confirming that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had shown
interest in visiting Zimbabwe, Zacarias said there were no conditions
surrounding his trip.

            Annan said earlier on Monday that he had accepted an invitation
from President Robert Mugabe to visit Zimbabwe to discuss Tibaijuka's report
but no date had yet been set.

            Commenting on the movement of people from the transit camp
outside the capital back to their original places of residence, Zacarias
said "I think there was an admission that it was a mistake to move people
from Hatcliffe to Caledonia farm and that is why the government is reversing
its decision."

            He said the UN and the government were currently trying to reach
an agreement "to mobilise immediate humanitarian assistance".

            'Look East'
            China is committed to aiding Zimbabwe's economic growth while
staying out of its internal affairs, the government said on Tuesday as the
Chinese president prepared to meet with Mugabe.

            Mugabe was in Beijing apparently seeking aid and investment for
his struggling economy. He blames the crisis on Western sanctions imposed in
response to human rights abuses.

            He was to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao later on Tuesday.

            China's Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said it "doesn't
interfere in another country's internal policies".

            China "trusts Zimbabwe's government and people have the ability
to deal properly with their own matters," the statement said.

            "Since China and Zimbabwe established diplomatic relations, the
Chinese side has consistently provided aid and supported economic and social
development as it can," it added.

            The two countries set up relations in 1980.

            According to Zimbabwean government figures, China has entered
joint ventures and loan agreements with Zimbabwe worth $100-million since
1980 and has assisted in the training of the national army.

            Mugabe's "Look East" policy seeks aid from China and other Asian
countries that are less likely to raise human rights concerns.

            China is reported to covet mining rights in Zimbabwe as it
trawls the globe for raw materials to feed its economic boom.

            The Chinese ministry statement, issued in response to questions,
didn't say what trade or investment deals Beijing was seeking during
Mugabe's visit, which began on Saturday.

            New Zealand is calling on Beijing to change the way it gives aid
to Zimbabwe to ensure the money gets to those who need it and isn't funneled
to the Mugabe regime.

            Zimbabwe has suffered five years of steep economic decline since
the government began seizing white-owned farms to give to landless blacks.
Some of the best farms have ended up in the hands of ruling party
officials. - Sapa-AP, Sapa-AFP

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Mr. Ralph Black
The Association of Zimbabweans Based Abroad (AZBA)
(469) 223-6201
ralphblck@yahoo.com

Dr. Handel N. Mlilo
The Association of Concerned Zimbabweans (ACZ)
(240) 505-0179
hmlilo@verizon.net

PUBLIC STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE UN REPORT ON ZIMBABWE'S 'OPERATION
MURAMBATSWINA' BY THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR A FREE ZIMBABWE

The UN Report on Zimbabwe's Operation Murambatswina (literally "drive out
the filth") is out, and it is a damning report. The United Nations envoy,
Mrs. Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka from Tanzania, has revealed in her report to
the United Nations Secretary General the depraved indifference that attended
the flouting of international law and the creation of a grave humanitarian
crisis. What the government of President Robert Mugabe has been doing in the
past one and a half months is not just a crime against humanity but a
calculated attempt to destroy what ever semblance of socio-political order
was left in the country.  A leading Catholic Cleric described Operation
Murmbatswina as "social reconstruction with a sledge hammer and bulldozer".

By destroying people's homes, bulldozing dwellings while children screamed
inside, leaving AIDS patients out in the open to face the elements and to
die in the cold at night, forcing people to go to rural "homes", forcing
people to go hungry and not allowing churches and charities to feed them,
Robert Mugabe has joined that small clique of brutal dictators whose only
reason for existence is to control and subjugate their citizens. It  is
clear now that Robert Mugabe seeks to destroy any political opposition to
him and will do anything to achieve that goal, including causing death,
destruction and destitution.  The dislocation and displacement of seven
hundred thousand people and the characterization of the displaced persons as
"maggots" and "filth" should be viewed as a preamble to genocide.

It is not enough to call for a halt to what the Mugabe government has been
doing. The damage is doneand it is immense.  The international community is
urged to put the crisis in Zimbabwe on the Security Council agenda through
the agency of the United Nations, and to work out a process where by human
rights, democracy and the rule of law are restored as soon as possible. The
United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Anan is urged to galvanize the United
Nations Security Council to action, and together with leaders of the
Southern African countries should convene an urgent meeting to get all the
parties to the crisis in Zimbabwe to a negotiating table where an
internationally approved process can be put in place to bring Zimbabwe back
into the fold as a free and democratic country.

Further, the North American Coalition for a Free Zimbabwe (NACFREEZ) calls
upon the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, the United
States and other concerned parties to:

- Urgently establish and implement a plan to feed the hungry and
dispossessed masses of Zimbabweans affected by Operation Murambatswina, to
provide urgently needed health care facilities and medicines, and to
construct temporary and permanent housing for those that Mugabe has rendered
homeless and destitute;

- Appoint a special envoy for Zimbabwe to establish procedures and a time
table for all the parties to the Zimbabwe crisis to negotiate a return to
the rule of law, free and fair elections and the re-establishment of a
democratic dispensation in the country;

- Develop a set of stringent sanctions against the regime of Robert Mugabe
and set a deadline for their imposition if he does not negotiate a new
dispensation for Zimbabwe in earnest;

- Urge the International Criminal Court to commence without delay an
investigation into the claim that a crime against humanity has been
perpetrated and those responsible for perpetrating this egregious act must
be brought to justice;

- Endorse and sanction the trial of those responsible for Operation
Murambatswina for crimes against humanity in internationally recognized
jurisdiction if the Zimbabwean Government does not adhere to the demands of
the international community on the restoration of order in Zimbabwe under a
given timetable.

The proposals above are minimum requirements. In the long term, the
international community and its financial institutions will need to help
Zimbabwe restore economic viability and socio-political stability.  Zimbabwe
can, as it has done in the past, feed itself, provide jobs for its people,
educate, house and provide good health care for its citizens.  The Mugabe
government and radical political extremist elements within the ruling
Zanu-PF party have systematically destroyed the country's potential in the
name of nationalism. It is time for the world family to stop the carnage and
to abandon polite diplomatic maneuvers in the face of a gathering threat to
the  stability and security of the Southern African region.  Robert Mugabe
and the criminal elements of his Zanu-PF party must not be allowed to drag
the region into a dark abyss.

This statement is endorsed by the following members of the North American
Coalition for a Free Zimbabwe:

| The Association of Concerned Zimbabweans (ACZ)
| The Association of Zimbabweans Based Abroad (AZBA)
| The Alliance for Southern African Progress (ASAP)
| The Movement for Democratic Change - North America District (MDC-NAD)

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BBC
 
Kiwis ignore tour pull-out motion
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark
New Zealand Cricket has been placed in a difficult position by the International Cricket Council
Prme Minister Helen Clark
New Zealand politicians have failed to stop the national cricket team's tour of Zimbabwe going ahead as scheduled.

Parliament passed a resolution on Tuesday calling on the International Cricket Council (ICC) and New Zealand Cricket to cancel the trip.

There are concerns over human rights abuses in the southern African country.

But NZC chief executive Martin Snedden said the team had a "contractual" obligation and would be liable for a $2m fine should they withdraw.

The Black Caps have already flown to Namibia for the first leg of their tour despite opposition from the government, which until now has stopped short of introducing new laws to prevent it.

Opinion polls have shown the majority of the New Zealand public to be against the tour.

And about 1,000 people, led by former Zimbabwe fast bowler Henry Olonga, marched through Auckland earlier this month in protest.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark proposed the resolution on Tuesday asking the ICC and NZC to cancel the tour and it was passed by a 110-10 majority.

But she acknowledged: "The International Cricket Council made it clear that the imposition of penalties on New Zealand Cricket could only be avoided if the government passes legislation here making the tour to Zimbabwe illegal.

"The government is not prepared to support such legislation, Freedom of passage to and from this country is a basic right enjoyed by New Zealanders."

New Zealand Cricket chief Martin Snedden
The consequences of not touring are open ended and would be disastrous
NZC chief executive Martin Snedden

The New Zealand government's stance echoes that of their British counterparts when they came under pressure to stop England touring Zimbabwe last year.

In response, Snedden said New Zealand Cricket understood the views of opponents of the tour.

He added: "New Zealand Cricket, however, has a contractual obligation to tour Zimbabwe under the Future Tours programme. The parliamentary motion does not change this obligation.

"The consequences of not touring are open ended and would be disastrous to all levels of the game of cricket in New Zealand."

The Black Caps will play several warm-up matches in Namibia before arriving in Zimbabwe on 4 August for two Tests and a triangular one-day series, also involving India.

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IOL

Ndungane urges Mugabe to end blitz on poor
          July 25 2005 at 04:17PM

      Cape Town - Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane on Monday
appealed to the Zimbabwean government to work with international
humanitarian operations in its country.

      "I appeal to the Zimbabwean government to facilitate international
humanitarian operations within the country since it has limited capacity to
address these needs fully at present," Ndungane said in a statement.

      Reacting to the United Nations' report on human rights violations in
Zimbabwe, Ndungane said Operation Murambatsvina had to be stopped
immediately.

      "I also appeal to President Mugabe and the Zimbabwe Government to stop
the Operation immediately and to focus on rebuilding and reconstruction."

      He said the Southern African Anglican Church has set up a relief fund
for Zimbabweans affected by Operation Murambatsvina. It has donated R250 000
to start the fund off with.

      "This money will be used for food and other basic necessities and
there is ongoing research and discussion aimed at identifying the most
effective means of distribution of this aid."

      Ndungane said he supported the UN's condemnation of the people
responsible for the so-called cleaning up operation. He was also all for the
call for them to be brought to book, but his major concern was with the
well-being of people "so terribly affected by this humanitarian crisis.

      "In the short term, our concerns must be adequate food, water, shelter
and healthcare and with these basics for human life the international
community can be of much help."

      He also supported the longer term recommendations in the UN report
that the Zimbabwean government revive dialogue with all stakeholders.

      Ndungane said when visiting Zimbabwe two years ago, Mugabe, opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai and representatives of civil society and churches
agreed that there was no alternative to negotiations.

      "I therefore call on all resourceful Zimbabweans to gather around the
negotiating table and to work together to resolve their economic problems
and political tensions."

      He welcomed the South African government's undertaking to talk to the
UN about its recommendations for Zimbabwe.

      "I appeal to the international community to assist in any way possible
to bring relief to those hundreds of thousands of affected people and to
help work towards restoring their living conditions to acceptable
standards." - Sapa
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Zimbabwe will not formally ask WFP for help-paper
      26 Jul 2005 08:07:45 GMT

      Source: Reuters

HARARE, July 26 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe will not formally ask the U.N. World
Food Programme (WFP) for help despite a devastating drought that has left
the country short of food, the official Herald newspaper reported on
Tuesday.

Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Secretary Lancaster Museka said
the government still welcomed donor assistance.

"I do not think we will go that route (of a formal appeal to the UN). The
government has indicated that about 1.8 million tonnes of maize are needed
to feed the people countrywide. So based on that figure, any donor
organisations that are willing to assist can come in with their assistance
through the normal channels," the paper said, quoting Museka.

"But as we speak, the government is importing food from South Africa to feed
the people," he said.

WFP director James Morris last month said Zimbabwe required several hundered
thousand tonnes of food aid after meeting President Robert Robert Mugabe
during a tour to assess the food situation in the region.

Mugabe told Morris the country welcomed food aid although Zimbabwe had not
made clear how much it needed.

WFP spokesman Mike Huggins said Zimbabwe's decision not to formally ask for
help had been expected and was not expected to have too great an impact on
food delivery plans for the country.

"Zimbabwe's decision not to fomally request international assistance for
those affected by the drought should not impact too greatly on our efforts
to raise the necessary funds, but clearly it would be much easier to go
forward with an open and transparent request from the government," Huggins
said.

But he said the WFP was concerned about the humanitarian situation of all
those displaced by Harare's urban demolition campaign -- which the U.N.
estimates has left some 700,000 people without homes, livelihood or both -- 
and hoped to be able to expand its assistance to those people in the near
future.

Zimbabwe's government has said it has already put in place measures to
import the 1.8 million tonnes of maize to cover the grain deficit arising
from the current drought.

Mugabe's government has previously accused aid agencies of driving a
political agenda and last year said the Southern African country would not
require aid amid forecasts of a bumper maize crop of 2.4 million tonnes,
which later fizzled out after the drought.

Mugabe denies that the chronic food shortages that have hit the country for
much of the last five years are largely due to disruptions to farming linked
to his seizure of white-owned farms for landless blacks.

The shortages have worsened an economic crisis widely blamed on government
mismanagement that has lasted for six years and manifesting in acute foreign
currency shortages as well as record inflation and unemployment. (additional
reporting by Andrew Quinn in Johannesburg)
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News24

China 'trusts Zim govt'
26/07/2005 09:31  - (SA)

Beijing - China is committed to aiding Zimbabwe's economic growth while
staying out of its internal affairs, the government said on Tuesday as the
Chinese president prepared to meet with visiting Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe.

Mugabe was in Beijing apparently seeking aid and investment for his
struggling economy. He blames the crisis on Western sanctions imposed in
response to human rights abuses.

He was to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao later on Tuesday.

China's Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said it "doesn't interfere in
another country's internal policies."

China "trusts Zimbabwe's government and people have the ability to deal
properly with their own matters," the statement said.

"Since China and Zimbabwe established diplomatic relations, the Chinese side
has consistently provided aid and supported economic and social development
as it can," it added.

The two countries set up relations in 1980.

According to Zimbabwean government figures, China has entered joint ventures
and loan agreements with Zimbabwe worth $100m since 1980 and has assisted in
the training of the national army.

Mugabe's "Look East" policy seeks aid from China and other Asian countries
that are less likely to raise human rights concerns.

China is reported to covet mining rights in Zimbabwe as it trawls the globe
for raw materials to feed its economic boom.

The Chinese ministry statement, issued in response to questions, didn't say
what trade or investment deals Beijing was seeking during Mugabe's visit,
which began on Saturday.

New Zealand is calling on Beijing to change the way it gives aid to Zimbabwe
to ensure the money gets to those who need it and isn't funnelled to the
Mugabe regime.

Zimbabwe has suffered five years of steep economic decline since the
government began seizing white-owned farms to give to landless blacks. Some
of the best farms have ended up in the hands of ruling party officials.

More recently, Mugabe has come under fire from the United Nations for what
his government calls an urban clean-up drive that has seen the demolition of
shantytowns where tens of thousands of Zimbabweans live and work.
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