Story of Cambodian eviction caught on camera

From ARTICLE19ASIA

A conflict-ridden project that was supposed to rehouse poor families living on high-value land in the centre of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, has been documented on video by local activists. The year started badly for 300 families in the Borei Keila suburb, with a massive forced eviction operation that saw their homes destroyed and a number of residents arrested. The raid is captured in our lead video (above).

This statement from a coalition of 11 local civil-society organisations condemned the evictions:

The demolition was carried out by Phanimex employees and paid workers alongside an excavator, which crushed houses before residents had the opportunity to clear out their belongings. The process was overseen by over 100 mixed police forces who arrested and detained eight community representatives, including one minor who were taken to the main police commissioner and three bodyguards who were taken to an unknown location. Police also fired tear gas and live ammunition on the residents of Borey Keila.
From LICADHO Cambodia

From licadhocanada

There were further arrests a week later, with women and children from Borei Keila being taken into custody as they protested outside local government buildings:

Image: LICADHO Cambodia

There were calls for the release of the women and children:

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, call for the immediate release of Borei Keila residents detained yesterday and since unlawfully detained at the Prey Speu Social Affairs Center. We also call for the permanent closure of the Prey Speu center, which has been proven time and again to be nothing more than an extra-judicial detention facility. The detained residents – 24 women and six children – are among several hundred who were forcefully displaced on Jan. 3, 2012, when Phan Imex, a construction company owned by the well-connected Suy Sophan, destroyed their homes in Phnom Penh’s Borei Keila settlement. The brutal eviction was overseen by over 100 armed state forces, and resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of at least eight residents.
From LICADHO Cambodia

This video shows the moment when, on the advice of two members of parliament from the opposition SRP party that they were being held illegally, the detained women and children made their escape:

From PhnomPenhPost

Prior to the escape, (member of parliament) Mu Sochua was granted access to the site, something the detainees’ families had been denied. She addressed the emotional women, who knelt in front of her – many crying and some rocking their weary children – as relatives watched through the bars of the centre’s main entrance.
From Phnom Penh Post

This tweet from freedom of expression NGO on Wednesday claimed that scare tactics against the residents were continuing:

ARTICLE 19 Asia@article19asia
#Cambodia: Borei Keila community suffering severe violations to FOE. Scare tactics by authorities persist. ^JT

A Voice of America news report carried quotations from the escapees, who were facing into an uncertain future:

“We were detained in the center with drug users, mad people and homeless people,” said Sim Sakmony, 63, one of the escapees. “It was improper. We were forced to stay at the center. We wanted freedom.”

“I am free from detention,” said Ke Heang, 45. “From today and tomorrow, I don’t know what to think, for I have no house to live in. My life faces poverty and an uncertain future. I cannot resolve it.”
From VOA News

A local news outlet reported that the owner of development firm behind the project was refusing to compensate the families involved:

Phan Imex president Suy Sophan told the Post yesterday that her company would not compensate these families for any losses, but would offer them “humanitarian” payments of US$200 to $500. “Most of the protesters are those who have bought a house after 2003 or rented houses at Borei Keila,” she said. “Many are children of the residents who have received flats from our projects – the company cannot give these people another flat.” Ten families, most of whom had rented houses or cottages belonging to residents in Borei Keila after survey registration in 2003, accepted the offer, Suy Sophan said, with the “humanitarian” money intended to help families run businesses or return to their homelands.
From Phnom Penh Post