Amnesty International accuses Cambodia of ‘forced evictions’ at Angkor Wat

PHNOM PENH — Human rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Cambodia of violating international law by evicting 10,000 families from areas surrounding the Angkor Wat temple complex.

Since last year, the city of Phnom Penh has increased the number of families living inside the UNESCO World Heritage site to a new community built on former rice fields 25 kilometers (15 miles) away.

Officials have long insisted the families were relocated voluntarily, but Amnesty International said in a report released on Tuesday that many had received “direct and implicit threats” of relocation.

“They must immediately stop forcibly evicting residents and violating international human rights law,” said Montserrat Ferrer of Amnesty International.

Cambodian government spokesman Phong Bonar called the report “incorrect” and insisted the relocation of villagers was carried out on a “voluntary” basis and in line with UNESCO regulations.

UNESCO said it was “deeply concerned” about the report, which was released on the eve of a regular intergovernmental meeting on Angkor Wat at the cultural agency’s Paris headquarters.

The temple complex, which dates back to the ninth century, is Cambodia’s most popular tourist attraction, attracting more than 2 million foreigners a year before the pandemic.

Visitors have spawned a microeconomy of street vendors, food and souvenir sellers and beggars, and the local population has surged from about 20,000 in the early 1990s to 120,000 in 2013.

Cambodian authorities say they are taking action to protect the sites by relocating illegal settlers who are damaging the environment with waste and excessive water use.

Officials say only unauthorized settlements are targeted, which are typically run-down huts without proper sewage, running water and, in some cases, electricity.

UNESCO pays attention

The Amnesty International report called on UNESCO to condemn Phnom Penh’s actions and warned that the situation would escalate further if UNESCO did not do so.

“Unless UNESCO takes drastic action, conservation efforts risk being increasingly exploited by states to achieve their own ends, at the expense of human rights,” Ferrer said.

Human rights groups claim officials at the Apsara National Authority and the Ministry of Lands, which manages the archaeological park, are using UNESCO to justify the relocations.

One resident said Cambodian authorities told her explicitly that “UNESCO wants you to leave” or the site would lose its World Heritage status.

At least seven villagers living around Angkor Wat have been charged by Apsara with sedition and obstructing public works, according to court summonses seen by AFP.

In August this year, Apsara officials attempted to demolish alleged illegal structures in the archaeological park, which was protested by hundreds of villagers, who subsequently filed a lawsuit.

“UNESCO is deeply concerned about the population relocation plan being implemented by the Cambodian authorities in Angkor,” the UN agency said in a statement, adding that it had “never requested, supported or participated in the plan.”

UNESCO called on Cambodia to take “corrective measures” and respond to Amnesty International’s allegations in its next report on Angkor Wat.

Government spokesman Bernardo Bonardi said the government’s actions were in line with UNESCO regulations.

“Cambodia must respect the conditions set by UNESCO,” he told AFP, adding that they required there to be no buildings, structures or human habitation on the site.

“There may be a few unhappy villagers who were interviewed by Amnesty International and said the government carried out forced evictions,” he said.