Post by ifayomi on Jan 16, 2007 15:41:47 GMT -5
Subject: ANGOLA: Church implicated in forced removals
ANGOLA: Church implicated in forced removals
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 15 January (IRIN) - The Angolan government and the
Catholic Church have been slated in a report by rights group Amnesty
International for the eviction of thousands of people in the capital,
Luanda.
Amnesty International's report, 'Lives in ruins, forced evictions
continue', covering the period from 2001 until May 2006, said the
cycle
of evictions in the oil- and diamond-rich country - "nearly always
without notification to the families affected" - had intensified since
2001. "Tens of thousands have been left without shelter, with hundreds
of families still living their lives in ruins."
The Kilamba Kiaxi area of the capital had experienced waves of
demolitions to make way for the development of public and private
housing projects since 2004, and although the ruling MPLA government
acknowledged in 2006 that it needed to review the housing needs of the
city, so far "none of the affected residents of Kilamba Kiaxi has
received compensation or alternative adequate accommodation."
Tawanda Hondora, deputy director of Amnesty International's Africa
Programme, said in the report, "Disturbingly, many forced evictions in
the last two years have been carried out apparently at the request of
the Catholic Church."
The alleged complicity of the Catholic Church in forced removals in
Luanda's Wenji Maka neighbourhood refers to land owned by the Church
before Angola's independence in 1975 and returned to the Church in
1998
at the request of the late Pope John Paul II. Thousands of families
had
settled on this church land in since independence.
"When granting the land title to the Catholic Church [in 1998],
Angolan
authorities reportedly did not take into consideration those people
already living on the land, and national police have repeatedly tried
to
expel over 2,000 families in the area where the Catholic Church
intends
to build a sanctuary," the report said.
The Angolan government and country representatives of the Catholic
Church could not be reached for comment.
According to Amnesty International, the Archbishop of Luanda asked the
government to provide land in other areas for those being evicted from
the Church land. The Church alleged "that in many instances
individuals
put up constructions on land when they found out that the Church had
intentions to use the land."
The Archbishop of Luanda told Amnesty International that the Church
rationalised its actions with the phrase: "Absolute justice can result
in injustice."
Hondora dismissed this reasoning, saying, "The Catholic Church should
not ask the Angolan authorities to evict people occupying land to
which
the Church has been granted title."
Amnesty International's Angola researcher, Muluka-Anne Miti, said the
government was obliged by both its own laws and international treaties
to provide alternative housing for evictees, and the rights group was
calling for a moratorium on all further evictions "until policies are
put in place to protect these people" and those already evicted had
been
provided with housing.
Angola emerged from a 27-year civil war in 2002, but since the onset
of
peace the country's huge reserves of oil, diamonds and other natural
resources have drawn international corporations seeking business
opportunities to Luanda, in turn attracting workers in search of jobs
and adding to pressure on the existing housing stock.
During the civil war Luanda's population swelled to about 4.5 million
from a pre-independence population of about 500,000 as people fled to
the city from the rural areas. About half the 16 million people of the
southwest African country have access to clean drinking water, while
life expectancy is about 40 years, according to UNAIDS. More than
two-thirds of the people live on US$2 or less a day, and 4 million of
those survive on US$0.75 or less a day.
A report published in 2006 by the nongovernmental organisations
Christian Aid and SOS Habitat, which advocates for housing rights,
said
the evictions were overseen by the Angolan authorities, acting in
concert with private security companies, and "extreme violence" was
often used to force families from their homes.
"The houses were then razed to the ground by bulldozers, often with
the
family's possessions still inside, including ID cards and school
books,
which has resulted in some children being unable to continue their
education," the report said.
Sian Curry, of Christian Aid, told IRIN that poor neighbourhoods were
being replaced with middle-class suburbs to accommodate a burgeoning
expatriate community, where new houses being sold for about US$500,000
and were beyond the reach of poor people.
UN resident coordinator Pierre-François Pirlot said Angola faced
tremendous reconstruction challenges in the aftermath of three decades
of civil war and some progress regarding eviction practices had been
made in the last few years, such as some alternative housing being
built
for those evicted.
"Where before people were forcibly removed and in some cases shot,
[the
process has evolved] ... to negotiations [with the evictees], to
finding
alternative housing," he said. "But further progress can be made."
ANGOLA: Church implicated in forced removals
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 15 January (IRIN) - The Angolan government and the
Catholic Church have been slated in a report by rights group Amnesty
International for the eviction of thousands of people in the capital,
Luanda.
Amnesty International's report, 'Lives in ruins, forced evictions
continue', covering the period from 2001 until May 2006, said the
cycle
of evictions in the oil- and diamond-rich country - "nearly always
without notification to the families affected" - had intensified since
2001. "Tens of thousands have been left without shelter, with hundreds
of families still living their lives in ruins."
The Kilamba Kiaxi area of the capital had experienced waves of
demolitions to make way for the development of public and private
housing projects since 2004, and although the ruling MPLA government
acknowledged in 2006 that it needed to review the housing needs of the
city, so far "none of the affected residents of Kilamba Kiaxi has
received compensation or alternative adequate accommodation."
Tawanda Hondora, deputy director of Amnesty International's Africa
Programme, said in the report, "Disturbingly, many forced evictions in
the last two years have been carried out apparently at the request of
the Catholic Church."
The alleged complicity of the Catholic Church in forced removals in
Luanda's Wenji Maka neighbourhood refers to land owned by the Church
before Angola's independence in 1975 and returned to the Church in
1998
at the request of the late Pope John Paul II. Thousands of families
had
settled on this church land in since independence.
"When granting the land title to the Catholic Church [in 1998],
Angolan
authorities reportedly did not take into consideration those people
already living on the land, and national police have repeatedly tried
to
expel over 2,000 families in the area where the Catholic Church
intends
to build a sanctuary," the report said.
The Angolan government and country representatives of the Catholic
Church could not be reached for comment.
According to Amnesty International, the Archbishop of Luanda asked the
government to provide land in other areas for those being evicted from
the Church land. The Church alleged "that in many instances
individuals
put up constructions on land when they found out that the Church had
intentions to use the land."
The Archbishop of Luanda told Amnesty International that the Church
rationalised its actions with the phrase: "Absolute justice can result
in injustice."
Hondora dismissed this reasoning, saying, "The Catholic Church should
not ask the Angolan authorities to evict people occupying land to
which
the Church has been granted title."
Amnesty International's Angola researcher, Muluka-Anne Miti, said the
government was obliged by both its own laws and international treaties
to provide alternative housing for evictees, and the rights group was
calling for a moratorium on all further evictions "until policies are
put in place to protect these people" and those already evicted had
been
provided with housing.
Angola emerged from a 27-year civil war in 2002, but since the onset
of
peace the country's huge reserves of oil, diamonds and other natural
resources have drawn international corporations seeking business
opportunities to Luanda, in turn attracting workers in search of jobs
and adding to pressure on the existing housing stock.
During the civil war Luanda's population swelled to about 4.5 million
from a pre-independence population of about 500,000 as people fled to
the city from the rural areas. About half the 16 million people of the
southwest African country have access to clean drinking water, while
life expectancy is about 40 years, according to UNAIDS. More than
two-thirds of the people live on US$2 or less a day, and 4 million of
those survive on US$0.75 or less a day.
A report published in 2006 by the nongovernmental organisations
Christian Aid and SOS Habitat, which advocates for housing rights,
said
the evictions were overseen by the Angolan authorities, acting in
concert with private security companies, and "extreme violence" was
often used to force families from their homes.
"The houses were then razed to the ground by bulldozers, often with
the
family's possessions still inside, including ID cards and school
books,
which has resulted in some children being unable to continue their
education," the report said.
Sian Curry, of Christian Aid, told IRIN that poor neighbourhoods were
being replaced with middle-class suburbs to accommodate a burgeoning
expatriate community, where new houses being sold for about US$500,000
and were beyond the reach of poor people.
UN resident coordinator Pierre-François Pirlot said Angola faced
tremendous reconstruction challenges in the aftermath of three decades
of civil war and some progress regarding eviction practices had been
made in the last few years, such as some alternative housing being
built
for those evicted.
"Where before people were forcibly removed and in some cases shot,
[the
process has evolved] ... to negotiations [with the evictees], to
finding
alternative housing," he said. "But further progress can be made."