Phnom Penh
22 February 2008
Cambodian police and military police launched tear gas into a crowd of residents, injuring several, prior to forcibly evicting them from their Phnom Penh neighborhood early Friday morning, rights investigators and witnesses said.
Around 500 security forces armed with batons and riot shields forcibly evicted the families, in Russei Keo district, firing multiple rifle shots into the air and accompanied by a water cannon and bulldozer, witnesses said.
"I no longer have a home to live in," said one evicted resident who, like others, asked not to be named.
"Where is the justice for the protection of the people?" asked another. "They don't help the people, but they come to destroy the people. I saved money from one cent to build the house, for 20 years."
Police fired around 27 canisters of tear gas, according to a statement by the rights group Adhoc.
"I protected my house," said a third resident. "When they forced me out, I refused. They stoned me in the head."
Russei Keo District Chief Khlang Hout said the forces were carrying out a court order.
"The court verdict is an independent power, and we have a duty to cooperate with the court to do this," Khlang Hout said.
Chan Saveth, an investigator for the group, called the eviction "very brutal" and condemned "the carrying out of a court verdict with the blood and tears of the people."
Police arrested 11 people during the eviction, and at least seven were injured, Adhoc said.
Keo Remy, vice president of the Human Rights Party, called the eviction "a violation of the people's rights and additional tragedy for them."
"The land problem is more important than the political problem right now, because the land problem is related to personal interests, and [those who take the land] can use all means, through both a company and powerful men, to capture land," Keo Remy said.
The value of land in Cambodia doubled from 2006 to 2007, Adhoc has said.
Around 500 security forces armed with batons and riot shields forcibly evicted the families, in Russei Keo district, firing multiple rifle shots into the air and accompanied by a water cannon and bulldozer, witnesses said.
"I no longer have a home to live in," said one evicted resident who, like others, asked not to be named.
"Where is the justice for the protection of the people?" asked another. "They don't help the people, but they come to destroy the people. I saved money from one cent to build the house, for 20 years."
Police fired around 27 canisters of tear gas, according to a statement by the rights group Adhoc.
"I protected my house," said a third resident. "When they forced me out, I refused. They stoned me in the head."
Russei Keo District Chief Khlang Hout said the forces were carrying out a court order.
"The court verdict is an independent power, and we have a duty to cooperate with the court to do this," Khlang Hout said.
Chan Saveth, an investigator for the group, called the eviction "very brutal" and condemned "the carrying out of a court verdict with the blood and tears of the people."
Police arrested 11 people during the eviction, and at least seven were injured, Adhoc said.
Keo Remy, vice president of the Human Rights Party, called the eviction "a violation of the people's rights and additional tragedy for them."
"The land problem is more important than the political problem right now, because the land problem is related to personal interests, and [those who take the land] can use all means, through both a company and powerful men, to capture land," Keo Remy said.
The value of land in Cambodia doubled from 2006 to 2007, Adhoc has said.
3 comments:
Make sure the evicted people keep voting for Hun Sen in power. These CPP people don't get any pain because they don't feel people's pain. Wait until one day the new government in power; then, we need to evict those crook who took the land from the innocent people. Anyway all of the people including CPP are occupying the land illigally. Those properties should be handing back to the original owner before 1975. If the original owner passed away, then the government can take control and sell the public. This is the true democrat.
You can't just claim this is my land and my properties. The right owners should have their properties back because they work very hard for their lives to buy the land and built their house.
this is, perhaps, a wake up call to all of cambodia, regardless of who's winning the election and who's running the gov't, to think in terms of social reforms like a welfare system, a social security system, a tax collection gov't agency, etc., in order to deal with the poverty issues in cambodia because right now there isn't one such gov't agency and i have not heard anyone in any political groups take the time to solve this real issue that cambodia is facing due to economic growth which the country can not live without. i urge strongly that political parties consolidate to reform and remedy this social system; otherwise, no matter who is running cambodia, this problem of poverty won't go away easily. every gov't people should take this social issue serious, if they really mean what they say ie. helping cambodia to rid of poverty like this. this is the national issue, not just any one political party's issue; repeat, a national issue!!!
Go CPP continue what you are doing. I am not CPP, but you know one day..you will not even have a peice of cloth to wear.
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