More than 1,000 land activists from multiple long-running disputes delivered petitions to authorities over their disputes throughout the end of March, in some cases facing obstruction, surveillance and interference from authorities, Cambodian human rights organization Licadho said in a report.
Starting on March 27, roughly 150 people — representing seven Siem Reap communes but also a broader group of 10,000 families living in and around Angkor Archaeological Park — gathered at several Phnom Penh national ministries before attempting to deliver petitions at UNESCO’s office. Among other things, the petition called for compensation for evictees and protection for those still living at the heritage site, where thousands were forced to move to ill-equipped relocation grounds starting in September 2022.
The petitioners told Licadho they were unable to deliver the document to UNESCO offices after being told that UNESCO does not handle land disputes, a characterization that UNESCO later disagreed with. The role of the international body in the mass evictions has remained unclear, as the government repeatedly claimed the evictions were necessary to protect the site’s World Heritage status — but UNESCO claimed it never asked for people to be relocated.
Two days later in a separate protest, more than 1,000 people hailing from Kampong Speu, Koh Kong and Preah Vihear submitted petitions to multiple Phnom Penh ministries over longstanding conflicts with sugar companies linked to oknhas Ly Yong Phat and Heng Huy. Police and authorities “repeatedly obstructed” residents’ vehicles from making their journey to Phnom Penh and in some cases demanded their names and IDs, Licadho said. The physical obstructions forced some in Kampong Speu to travel 10 kilometers on foot, while about 500 people in Koh Kong also walked “long distances through the early hours of the morning.”
Residents from the Ly Yong Phat and Heng Huy sugar disputes have submitted petitions at least five times and protested six times since 2019, according to reports tracked in this database.
The presence of undercover authorities, security forces and police was heavy at both gatherings, residents said.