- Cambodian Monk and Advocate for Human Rights is Detained, May Be Defrocked We have received word that the Venerable has been released and was not defrocked. More information soon. The fastest way to get updates on this developing situation is to follow me on Twitter: @WitnessRyan
- Video Captures Police Destroying Homes, Beating Locals in Phnom Penh Riot police and security forces moved into the Boeung Kak area of Phnom Penh with batons and shields on Friday to forcibly evict families from their homes. In all eight homes were destroyed. Our partner in Cambodia, LICADHO, and LICADHO Canada, captured the attack on video, including the violent beating with a brick by police of a local activist. This video contains graphic and violent content.
- Cambodian Government Attempts to Silence Work on Forced Evictions International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have written to 35 foreign ministries to review donor aid if the Government of Cambodia passes a law severely restricting the activities of NGOs in the country.
- Threats Increase Against Monk Fighting Forced Evictions in Cambodia Since 2009, our partner organization in Cambodia, LICADHO, has been using video to document forced evictions and land-grabbing. We met the Venerable Loun Sovath, a Buddhist monk, through our work with LICADHO. His tireless campaigning for those at risk of forced eviction in Cambodia, has repeatedly put him at risk.
- Video Shows What Happens After a Forced Eviction and Why They Should Be Prevented Amnesty International lent support to filmmaker and friend Chris Kelly and others to produce a short documentary about the forced eviction of residents of Boeung Kak Lake where 4000 families are now facing forced eviction.
- Community Complaint Leads to World Bank Conceding Role in Forced Evictions The municipality of Phnom Penh is not only forcibly evicting communities from land, it is also removing 90% of the city’s major lake to build luxury apartments and hotels. To do this, water and silt are being pumped into Boeung Kak Lake, purposefully flooding nearby homes in several feet of murky water and causing other homes to collapse into floodwater. Approximately 20,000 people are effected.
- Actions against land-grabbing in Cambodia shared in Africa At an international conference for African communities facing land-grabbing, LICADHO presented a video showing how communities in Cambodia are resisting forced evictions and land grabbing. The three-day conference, Land grabbing in Africa – Dangers and Challenges, was hosted by Caritas Senegal in cooperation with other groups like, FIAN - that is FoodFirst Information and Action Network.
- Video Documents Land-Grabbing in Rural Cambodia In an earlier post, I shareda clip from a video advocacy training in Cambodia. The first practical training exercise took place in Siem Reap province, where one of the trainees, the Venerable Luon Sovath, grew up.
- Video Training Targets Forced Evictions in Cambodia In Cambodia, WITNESS has focused the past two years on supporting LICADHO's efficacy to produce and strategically distribute advocacy videos on forced evictions in the name of development - the same subject as our new global campaign.
- Outsourcing our food: “Land grabs” and the food on your plate This week the World Bank is hosting an online consultation with global civil society based on its controversial report released last week: “Rising Global Interest in Farmland: Can It Yield Sustainable and Equitable Results?"
- Forced Evictions in the Name of Development In an earlier blog post my colleague Sam Gregory introduced our new focus on gender-based violence. Our second focus area is what is known as development-induced displacement, or the forced eviction of people and communities in the name of development.
