The Royal Government of Cambodia evicted 168 families (over 800 residents) living near Preah Monivong Hospital in Phnom Penh on 2 July 2006.
The Community was first threatened with
forced eviction by the Cambodian Ministry of Interior in February 2005 when it claimed ownership of the land and declared all residents to be squatters. Approximately 40 families had lived on the site from 1988 when the Hospital Chief suggested that hospital staff and their families occupy the land so they could be in the vicinity of the hospital for shift work, and on standby for emergency situations. A further 100 families who returned from refugee camps on the Thai border settled on the land in 1993 once they secured employment at the hospital. However, none of the families were provided with legal documents authorising their use of the land.
The Ministry of Interior has decided to transfer the ownership of the hospital and surrounding land, which is prime real estate in the heart of Phnom Penh, to the Royal Group. The Royal Group, which is financed by major international companies such as ANZ Bank and Millicom International Cellular S.A, is expected to find a new location for the hospital and utilise the prime real estate for commercial purposes. The Monivong Community was informed in late June by Mr Kith Meng of the Royal Group and MobiTel during a series of intimidating meetings that
forced evictions would commence on 5 July 2006.
The plight of the Monivong Community is not uncommon in Cambodia. It is not unusual for government authorities in Cambodia to forcibly evict entire communities from their lands and homes, especially in urban areas, without providing any alternative housing or adequate resettlement. COHRE’s Research Officer on Cambodia, Rhodri Williams noted, “International law demands that governments and local authorities only evict in exceptional circumstances and after consideration of all possible alternatives to eviction. It is clear that this did not occur in the case of the 168 families of the Preah Monivong Community.
Williams observed, “The way in which land distribution and privatisation programmes have been implemented in Cambodia ultimately decreased rather than increased tenure security and access to land, particularly for the poor. During the 1990s, the Royal Government conceded rights to huge tracts of land to investors and speculators for commercial gain, and failed to protect the land and
housing rights of its ordinary citizens.”
The Royal Government should be urged, pressured, and assisted by all parties to tackle this problem head-on in order to reverse current trends, and to vigorously implement policies and programmes that will promote and protect the right to land tenure security and
adequate housing of all its citizens. If this does not occur, there will be many more communities that will face the predicament of the Preah Monivong Community which currently exists in limbo, constantly in the shadow of
forced evictions.
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