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Vol 46 No 12

Published 10th June 2005


Zimbabwe

One law for the poor

The government that smashes unlawful small businesses is saved by unlawful currency deals

The government's willingness to use arbitrary force against poor Zimbabweans just after claiming a landslide election victory on 31 March suggests it thinks the country is much closer to social breakdown than it would admit. As the economy has shrunk at world-beating levels, crime in Zimbabwe has soared. The government's Operation Murambatsvina (clean-up) left more than 200,000 people homeless and deprives up to a million of their sole means of survival. The cruelty of the clearances sent a brutal message to the towns which mainly support the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

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