Thursday - 9 September 2010
Archive for January 24th, 2009
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
PHNOM PENH, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Cambodian police fired teargas and eight people were injured on Saturday during the forced eviction of 80 families from a Phnom Penh slum, rights activists and police said. At least two of the eight slum dwellers were seriously hurt in clashes with clean-up crews hired to tear down the dwellings on government land recently sold to a private company. Police cordoned off roads around the area near the Russian embassy, as the 300 workers backed by bulldozers and cranes cleared away the decade-old community. Rights activist Am Sam Ath and witnesses said eight people were injured during the forced eviction, including two seriously hurt and sent to hospital.
Witnesses said an old woman and a boy were hit by a bulldozer, while others were hurt in clashes with the workers armed with clubs and stones. Police denied using excessive force to evict the group, who had waged a 3-year battle against their eviction.
"We did not use violence against them, but tear gas to disperse the people who resisted," Phnom Penh police chief G. Touch Naruth told Reuters.
The eviction came after the squatters rejected the company's offer of $20,000 per family in compensation for the prime 2-hectare (4.9 acres) plot of land facing the Mekong River.
Land disputes are a hot issue in Cambodia, where garment factories and hotels have sprung up to expand the major textile and tourist industries. Last week, police opened fire on farmers protesting against a land grab south of Phnom Penh, wounding two of them, rights activists said.
(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Alex Richardson)
Source | Discuss this article
Posted in Cambodia News, KI Media | No Comments »
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian police fired teargas and eight people were injured on Saturday during the forced eviction of 80 families from a Phnom Penh slum, rights activists and police said. At l...
Source | Discuss this article
Posted in Cambodia News | No Comments »
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
The land on which Dey Krahorm stood was bought by a property developer
Housing rights workers said the eviction was unnecessarily violent
BBC News, Phnom Penh Police have been overseeing the eviction of hundreds of people from a slum community in the centre of the in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.
Residents of Dey Krahorm, who have been fighting eviction for the best part of three years, say they have a legal right to the land.
But the local authorities signed it over to a property developer.
It is the latest in a series of evictions, which have accompanied a dramatic increase in land values.
Dawn operation
As the bulldozers moved into Dey Krahorm at dawn on Saturday, residents had little chance of resisting.
Hundreds of military and civilian police accompanied workers from the property developer which bought the land from the city.
At first, they would not allow journalists or human rights workers to observe the eviction, and forcibly removed those who had made it through the barricades.
Dey Krahorm had been the heart of Cambodia's artistic community. Traditional musicians and dancers held classes there in an effort to pass on their skills to the younger generation.
Their instruments could be seen among the rubble, along with the other belongings of the former residents.
'Excessive force'
Housing rights workers criticised the way the eviction was carried out, saying it was unnecessarily violent.
"They cannot stand again because of the excessive use of force, of tear gas. A few of my colleagues got hurt more than me," said Yeng Virak of the Community Legal Education Centre (CLEC).
The evicted residents will be taken to land on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
The local authorities and the developers say they will find better living conditions there, with running water, electricity, health centres and schools.
Phnom Penh's deputy governor, Mann Chhoeun, insists the city has been generous to the people of Dey Krahorm.
But the residents say the negotiations had not finished and that they have not received fair compensation for their land.
They add that moving outside the city centre will stop them from earning a living.
The demise of Dey Krahorm will also cause concern among several other communities threatened with eviction.
Source | Discuss this article
Posted in Cambodia News, KI Media | No Comments »
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
Police have been overseeing the eviction of hundreds of people from a slum community in the centre of the in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Residents of Dey Krahorm, who have been fighting evicti...
Source | Discuss this article
Posted in Cambodia News | No Comments »
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
Police have been overseeing the eviction of hundreds of people from a slum community in the centre of the in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. Residents of Dey Krahorm, who have been fighting evicti...
Source | Discuss this article
Posted in Cambodia News | No Comments »
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) ? Thailand offered Saturday to host a regional conference to prevent the mass migration — and resulting suffering — of refugees after the Thai navy was accuse...
Source | Discuss this article
Posted in Cambodia News | No Comments »
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
A SENIOR Thai official met ambassadors from neighbouring nations yesterday to discuss illegal immigration after allegations that the Thai army left desperate boat people on the open seas to die.The al...
Source | Discuss this article
Posted in Cambodia News | No Comments »
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
Workers of garment factory L.A Garment block a road as they demand for their salaries, in Phnom Penh January 24, 2009. The company, which has stopped production, owes workers two months of salary, according to the protesters. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Workers of garment factory L.A Garment block a road as they demand for their salaries, in Phnom Penh January 24, 2009. The company, which has stopped production, owes workers two months of salary, according to the protesters. Placard (C) reads " Government please help us, owner did not pay us, only Prime Minister Hun Sen can help us. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Workers of garment factory L.A Garment block a road as they demand for their salaries, in Phnom Penh January 24, 2009. The company, which has stopped production, owes workers two months of salary, according to the protesters. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Source | Discuss this article
Posted in Cambodia News, KI Media | No Comments »
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
A former British music teacher murdered in Thailand has been named as David Crisp. Police found the body of Mr Crisp at his home in Chiang Mai, a police spokesman said. Police attended the house ...
Source | Discuss this article
Posted in Cambodia News | No Comments »
