Cambodia Evictions

Cambodia Evictions Is Cambodia's Prime Minister behind an illegal land grab? All over the country, hundreds of thousands are waking up to find the homes they owned have been sold to developers.
An old man shivers in the pouring rain. "They threw us here. I'm so hurt and suffering", he despairs. Three months ago, he lived in his own house in the city. Now, he's been evicted to a squalid resettlement camp and camps under a sheet of plastic. Disease is rampant and the camp is too far from the city for anyone to find work or for the children to go to school. "Property is really the key to prosperity and freedom", explains US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli. "Once people are not secure in what they own, then everything else falls apart". According to Cambodian law, anyone who's occupied land legally for five years is the owner. But the government is ignoring its own law and selling huge parcels of valuable land to developers. Corrupt officials are believed to be making millions. As human rights campaigner Ou Virak points out, much of the land is sold to; "companies closely linked to the Prime Minister". "It's just like in Pol Pot's time", complains one woman. "There's no proper houses and no way to make a living".
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