Angolans protest evictions

2009-07-28 17:03

Luanda - Hundreds of people who were forcibly evicted by the authorities from shanty towns around Luanda marched to the city centre on Tuesday demanding compensation.

The residents were stopped just short of the National Assembly building, where parliament was voting on a revised 2009 budget, and were dispersed by armed police officers with dogs.

"Give us back our homes, give us back our homes," the protesters yelled, running away from hundreds of baton-yielding policemen in one of the biggest protests of its kind since evictions began in last week.

By Monday the authorities had forcibly evicted thousands of people from the illegal settlements - known locally by names such as "Baghdad", "Iraq" and "Camama" - and torn down their makeshift homes.

SOS Habitat, an Angolan non-governmental organisation, said more than 15 000 people had been left homeless since the demolitions began, calling the move one of the biggest forced evictions in Angola's post-war history.

The government said the land was needed for public interest development projects. It said the move was also part of plans to improve living conditions in Luanda by replacing the illegal tin and brick huts with new homes for the poor elsewhere.

"It's one of the biggest forced evictions in recent years and a clear violation of human rights in Angola," Luis Araujo, the head of SOS Habitat, said.

- Reuters