Cambodia: Amnesty International Slams Cambodian Government For Forced
Evictions Of Poor People
News 2008-02-11 11:24
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA: The Cambodian government is actively involved in
the unlawful and forcible evictions of thousands of poor people whose
land is taken for commercial development, Amnesty International
alleged Monday (11 Feb).
Instead of protecting the victims, "the authorities have been
instrumental in demoli****ng villages, setting homes ablaze and making
poor people homeless without due process and at the behest of those
who wield economic and political power," said Catherine Baber,
director of the group's Asia-Pacific Program.
Her allegation was made in a statement marking the Lond-based human
rights group's release of a re****t titled "Rights Razed - Forced
evictions in Cambodia."
The evictions are in "sharp contrast to the rhetoric of the
government's pro-poor policies and in breach of international human
rights laws and standards," Amnesty said.
The government's poverty reduction agenda rings hollow unless the
government urgently puts an end to all forced evictions, Baber said.
The re****t examined cases of land and housing rights violations that
have affected poor Cambodians in both rural and urban areas in recent
years.
At least 150,000 Cambodians across the country now live at risk of
being forcibly evicted due to land disputes, land-grabbing and
development projects, Amnesty said.
The government has often opted for eviction long before all other
alternatives have been explored, Amnesty charged.
The victims, it said, have been ejected from their homes and land with
little or no advance notice, no access to adequate alternative housing
and no recourse to justice.
Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak, asked by The Associated
Press about the allegations, said the Cambodian government respects
human rights. He noted that if the government did not respect human
rights, it would have expelled Amnesty's representatives from Cambodia
already. (AP)
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