WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (OneWorld.net) - The 60 low-income families forced to abandon their homes in Phnom Penh's "Group 78" are just the latest victims in a string of mass evictions carried out by the Cambodian government in recent years, say international observers.
Shanty town in Cambodia © kevincure (Flickr)What's the Story?
In mid-July, security officers entered the settlement to remove the final families that had refused to accept a government compensation offer that was widely considered inadequate and did not include any access to new land -- a key necessity for low-income families. Seven families held out an extra day, but eventually left the area as government workers dismantled homes around them.
Amnesty International monitors say the Cambodian government has been harassing the families for over three years, pressuring them to leave the area that is considered valuable real estate near two key rivers.
People have been living in the riverfront area since the early 1980s and have applied for land titles several times over the last few years. But Cambodian authorities have ignored these land ownership claims while forcing families out of the area. A final eviction notice was issued to residents of the district in April 2009, an order which goes against international law prohibiting forced evictions, according to Amnesty International.
In a series of meetings following the notice, officials warned residents that their homes would be demolished by military and police forces if they did not leave. A local commission has yet to make a decision on who owns the rights to the disputed land, and the options for accommodation and compensation were characterized as "inadequate" by Amnesty International monitors.
"Group 78 was clearly cut off from due process and denied justice," said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International's Cambodia researcher. "The Municipality of Phnom Penh made no attempts to properly consult with the affected community or explore any feasible alternative to eviction." [See the full statement from Amnesty International below.]
Squeezing out the Poor in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh's shanty towns have been a refuge over the last two decades for families who need to survive on a few dollars a day. Some people have lived in areas like Group 78 for more than 10 years, which gives them a strong legal claim to own their property, noted the BBC news service. But the government has refused to grant these families the right to the land.
"The official line is that the evictions are necessary for the development of the city," said the BBC report. But as the residents are forced out, property developers move in to build expensive apartments and shopping centers in and around Phnom Penh. By virtue of Group 78's proximity to the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers, it is considered some of the most valuable land in the capital city.
Cambodian authorities have threatened the residents of Group 78 with eviction for three years without following any of the safeguards required under international law, said Amnesty International. No land was included in the compensation offer and many of the residents -- pushed out to make room for tourists, government officials, and the wealthy -- are unsure where they will go.
The World Bank, European Union, and a number of international embassies in Phnom Penh issued a statement condemning the forced evictions, saying actions like it are "creating uncertainty for, and putting at risk the livelihoods of, thousands of poor people living in disputed urban areas."
Life After Eviction
In past cases, low-income families evicted from their land often found conditions at government-provided resettlement sites much worse than those of their old homes. In 2006, families were relocated outside of the city, far from markets or schools, and had "no running water, mains electricity or sewage," reported the BBC.
Last year, around 300 families were forcibly evicted from a rural district in southern Cambodia and their houses burned to the ground. Some of the dispossessed, who were largely poor farmers who settled on the land believing it to be vacant, spent the night in the ashes of their homes. No prior notice or eviction order was given and no court decision was made, noted Amnesty International.
In January, over 130 families were forced to leave their homes in Phnom Penh in the middle of the night, without prior notice. These evictions are proving to be a trend to make room for property developers in Cambodia's capital, and they constitute a "grave breach" of human rights, said Raquel Rolnik, a United Nations housing expert.
"Given the disastrous humanitarian situation faced by the victims of forced evictions, I urge Cambodian authorities to establish a national moratorium on evictions until their policies and actions in this regard have been brought into full conformity with international human rights obligations," pleaded Rolnik.
In 2008, Amnesty International estimated that 150,000 Cambodians were living at risk of forced eviction.
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