Turf Wars

Squalid camps are developing as more people are evicted from their homes

This week's People & Power examines allegations that officials in Cambodia have been profiting from illegal land seizures in the country.

 

Following the abolition of property rights by the Khmer Rouge, a law passed in 1992 stipulated that anyone who has occupied land legally for five years is the rightful owner.

 

Unfortunately it seems that Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Sen, is ignoring the law with huge parcels of land being seized and sold to developers. 

 

Squalid camps are developing as more people are evicted from their homes, disease is rampant and in a country where 70 per cent of the population relies on land for subsistence farming, ordinary Cambodians now face an uncertain future.

 

Filmmaker Eric Campbell reveals the extent of the land grabs, the far-reaching nature of corruption and the impact it is having on a country that is still trying to recover from the damage inflicted by decades of conflict.

This episode of People & Power aired from 15 April 2007

 

Watch Part One here:

 

Watch Part Two here:

 

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