Police bars protest by Cambodian land-grab victims [-Will it open Prof. Subedi's eyes to poor Cambodians' plight?]

Tue, 15 Jun 2010
DPA

Phnom Penh - Riot police on Tuesday prevented several hundred Cambodians, who represent tens of thousands of victims of land grabs, from marching to the premier's house to hand over a petition requesting help.

The UN human rights office condemned the decision to outlaw the march, saying it was issued "without any reasons or justification" as required under the law regulating demonstrations.

"It is difficult to understand how a peaceful march involving only 220 persons, whose sole objective is to deliver a petition to the prime minister, could endanger public order or security," said UN human rights country head Christophe Peschoux, adding that the land issue was "of great importance."

The village representatives from across the country instead handed the petition, which was thumb-printed by 60,000 villagers, to members of Prime Minister Hun Sen's cabinet.

Meanwhile, UN human rights envoy Surya Subedi, on his third visit to Cambodia, said he would focus on the judiciary and its ability to dispense justice, including for people involved in land evictions.

Subedi said he wanted to see "tangible results" of pledges made earlier this year that Phnom Penh would implement its obligations under international human rights law.

Late Monday police dispersed 80 villagers staying at a pagoda in the capital. The villagers, from the south-eastern province of Kampong Cham, are in dispute with soldiers over 225 hectares of land the villagers claim to have lived on since 1979.

Land grabbing and evictions are a significant problem for ordinary Cambodians, with vast tracts of land appropriated by the powerful and well-connected.

Around 80 per cent of the population lives in rural areas, many of them on or below the poverty line. Less than 10 per cent of the country's land parcels have formal land title.