(stands). Moreover, housing cooperatives on many of the farms on which the Minister claimed the Porta community would be resettled were – less than two months later - targeted during Operation Murambatsvina and those already living there were evicted. 4 2005: Operation Murambatsvina at Porta Farm In June 2005 the Secretary-General of the UN appointed Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka as Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe. In her report on Operation Murambatsvina she stated: “Hundreds of thousands of women, men and children were made homeless, without access to food, water and sanitation, or health care. Education for thousands of school age children has been disrupted. Many of the sick, including those with HIV and AIDS, no longer have access to care. The vast majority of those directly and indirectly affected are the poor and disadvantaged segments of the population. They are, today, deeper in poverty, deprivation and destitution, and have been rendered more vulnerable”25 The reasons for implementing Operation Murambatsvina remain unclear, despite widespread speculation in the media. Official statements claimed the operation was intended to address problems of illegal street trading and widespread construction of houses without planning permission or sufficient regard to by-laws; unofficial explanations suggest the security and intelligence services were concerned about serious social unrest from discontented urban dwellers and used the operation to disperse the threat.26 Whatever the reasons, Operation Murambatsvina - which rendered hundreds of thousands of people homeless - cannot be justified under international law. On 27 June 2005, approximately one month after the start of Operation Murambatsvina, police officers came to Porta Farm and distributed fliers which read: “You are requested to leave before law enforcement agents arrive. Pack up your property and carefully look after it. Failure to do so law enforcement agents will pull down all the illegal structures. You are being asked to comply.” The police told the residents they would be back the following morning, giving them less than 24 hours to comply. Early in the morning of 28 June a convoy of vehicles and police descended on Porta Farm. 27 The police were heavily armed. Residents also identified vehicles belonging to the City of Harare, and the Ministry of Local Government. The police began destroying buildings. Residents watched helpless as bulldozers and police officers in riot gear reduced their homes to rubble. Many people lost personal possessions, including food stocks, during the demolitions. Police officers reportedly threatened the residents saying anyone who resisted eviction would be beaten. The destruction of Porta Farm went on all day – only ending when darkness fell. Thousands of people were forced to sleep outside in the rubble in mid-winter. On 29 June the police returned to continue with the demolitions. They also began to forcibly remove people on the back of trucks. Many were obliged to leave furniture and other goods behind at Porta Farm because there was not room on the trucks for their possessions. 28 25 Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zimbabwe to assess the Scope and Impact of Operation Murambatsvina by the UN Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe, 22 July 2005. 26 For a fuller discussion of the reasons for Operation Murambatsvina see: Report of the Fact-Finding Mission to Zimbabwe to assess the Scope and Impact of Operation Murambatsvina by the UN Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe, 22 July 2005 and International Crisis Group “Zimbabwe’s Operation Murambatsvina: The Tipping Point?”, Africa Report N°97, 17 August 2005. 27 Residents identified both members of Zimbabwe Republic Police and Municipal Police.