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Angkor Wat in Cambodia: the government clears the homes of thousands of families

2022-11-29T15:46:04.712Z


Cambodia's government wants it this way: Thousands of residents should "voluntarily" leave the Angkor Watt World Heritage Site. They are to be compensated with a small piece of land, $250, building materials and 50 kilos of rice.


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Angkor Wat: More than two million tourists come every year to see the temple complex in Cambodia

Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP

The Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia has been a World Heritage Site for a good thirty years.

Now the government of the Asian country is worried about the future of the well-known landmark.

As the British "Guardian" reports, those responsible in the capital fear that the UNESCO status of the archaeological park could be endangered by the numerous residents.

The solution to the problem should now be mass resettlement.

According to the Guardian, a good ten thousand people are affected by the resettlement program.

While the government is talking about a voluntary measure, those affected feel driven out.

They now fear for their existence.

"I sold all my belongings to start this business, but it will soon be gone," the Guardian quoted Houn Chenda, 33, as saying.

She pawned her family jewelry and invested her entire savings to open the shop.

The building is scheduled to be demolished at the end of the year.

Angkor Wat is one of the most famous sights in Cambodia.

More than two million tourists visit the temple complex every year.

In recent years, more and more Cambodians have settled in and around the archaeological park.

For them, tourism is often the only source of income.

The government is concerned about the development.

livelihood threatened

According to the Guardian, authorities had already started giving residents and shopkeepers a deadline to leave last summer.

In some cases, the deadline was set for 2023, in others even earlier.

Those affected were promised compensation for the loss: a small piece of land, $250 to build a new house, roofing material and 50 kilograms of rice.

That shouldn't be enough to make a living on a permanent basis.

For example, one shopkeeper reports that she still has a $20,000 loan to pay off.

However, the government remains firm.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen described the evictions as "voluntary resettlements" necessary to retain UNESCO status.

"Angkor Wat could be removed from the World Heritage List because it would lose the conditions required by the World Heritage Commission," he said in August.

In October, the prime minister warned that those who refused to leave would be evicted without "a single penny."

However, there are doubts about the government's justification for the evictions.

Objection from UNESCO

In a 2008 report, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee expressed concerns about the “uncontrolled” development of the park.

However, a threat to the World Heritage property was last mentioned in 2004, while in 2014 a positive development was attested.

"Unesco or the World Heritage Committee have never called for the eviction of the population in Angkor," a spokesman for the UN agency told the Guardian, adding that Cambodia had assured the office that livelihoods, sustainable development and human rights were "respected." .

However, local residents report that they are under considerable pressure.

Some new plots of land have already been allocated to them.

According to the Guardian, these are in a sparsely populated area with neither schools nor hospitals.

In addition, the forced resettlement seems to have triggered a domino effect.

According to the Guardian, residents in the alternative region are already reporting that they have been driven out to make room for those who were forced to move from Angkor Wat.

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Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-11-29

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