Phnom Penh, 10 October 2013 – The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) is alarmed at the use of force by the authorities during an event to mark World Habitat Day 2013. World Habitat Day is intended to remind the world of its duty to protect the basic right to adequate shelter. This right is protected under Cambodian and international law, but it is routinely violated across the country through forced evictions and land grabs. Protesters were exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and association, and the police should have facilitated the exercise of this right, rather than attempted to suppress it. Instead, three community activists and two monks sustained injuries.
Today’s event started peacefully at 8am at Wat Phnom. Protesters assembled beside the statue of Lady Penh; a statue in honor of the city’s founder. Across the road in the garden at Wat Phnom, police gathered and told protesters to disperse peacefully, and refused their request to march to Phnom Penh Municipal Hall. Protesters intended to deliver a petition informing the Phnom Penh Governor of their dire living conditions as a result of land grabs and forced evictions, violations of their human rights and to call for development practices that respect land rights. The petition also condemned the continued detention of Mrs. Yorm Bopha, a land rights activist who has been imprisoned for over a year on spurious charges.
Thirty-three urban communities and twenty rights organizations – including ADHOC – signed the petition.
At around 10am the protesters marched to City Hall carrying a large model house, which was later wrecked when they were confronted by the police. A tense standoff unfolded when the authorities – dressed in riot gear – refused to allow the protesters to meet with the city governor. It was at this time that the five demonstrators were injured.
Representatives of the communities wanted to deliver the petition to the governor personally, or for him to come out and meet the crowds and collect the petition from them. Eventually, after intervention from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), five community representatives were allowed into City Hall, where they had their petition formally accepted, and the crowds soon returned to their homes.
World Habitat Day reminds us of the right to adequate housing. The communities which submitted this petition have this right in theory, but the reality is far different. Many of those at the event have been forcibly evicted from their homes, had property destroyed and been relocated to squalid sites away from the city center and their jobs. This has been done to make way for development projects by well-connected politicians and business figures, who get rich off the suffering of poorer Cambodians. Those willing to speak up against rights violations have been intimidated, harassed and detained – such as Yorm Bopha.
The rights to freedoms of expression and assembly are crucial; communities must be able to highlight rights violations and show the world that they will not sit quietly while they are forced to leave their homes. ADHOC reminds the Phnom Penh authorities of their duty to facilitate the exercise of fundamental freedoms, and that injuries inflicted by the authorities are unacceptable. In addition, the practice of forced evictions and land grabs without adequate consultation and compensation to the communities should cease immediately. Cambodia’s development should be sustainable and in the interests of all of its people, not just a wealthy few.
For more information or comment, please contact:
Mr. Nay Vanda, Deputy Head of Human Rights and Legal Aid Section: 012599106
Mr. Neil Loughlin, Technical Assistant: 092 648 318; loughlin.adhoc@gmail.com
