Amnesty urges the public to stop Cambodian authorities from evicting poor families

Reports say that 700 police and military police have been mobilised to forcibly evict the families. The Group 78 families started moving into the area in 1983. Since then the value of the land has increased enormously.

They applied for land titles several times, but the authorities have rejected their applications, despite the families having official documentation proving strong ownership claims. The Phnom Penh authorities have given different reasons for the eviction of the families, ranging from beautification of the city to claims that the community are illegal squatters.

In the “final eviction notification” they said that the community is living on land belonging to a private company and on a public road. Group 78 maintains that under the Land Law they are the rightful owners of the land. You can understand why the families have rejected the compensation that’s been offered: relocation to an area 20 km outside the city.

The cost of transport to and from the site for work far exceeds their daily earnings and the site doesn’t have proper water, electricity and sewerage supplies. 20 of the families have been offered no compensation at all. Please spread the word about this so we can generate as many appeals as possible.

More info and the appeal at www.amnesty.org.uk/group78