by BRIDGET DI CERTO
Friends of Chea Dara, a woman who took her life on Tuesday night, console one another during an Amnesty International meeting yesterday at Meta House concerning forced evictions. PHOTO/Hong Menea
Broken promises and empty commitments from the Royal Government of Cambodia must stop and be replaced by real action when it comes to forced evictions, Amnesty International said yesterday.
Launching their report on the effects of evictions and resistance on Cambodian women, Amnesty representatives said they were troubled by the treatment of human rights defenders in Cambodia.
In the case of forced land evictions, these human rights defenders are predominantly women.
“Cambodian women are increasingly at the forefront of the battle against a wave of forced evictions sweeping the country,” Amnesty Asia-Pacific deputy director Donna Guest said.
Three prominent women, who have been fighting forced evictions in Cambodia, attended the launch held at Meta House yesterday.
“Our husbands travel to work, so it is the housewives, the mothers, that are at home facing the evictions,” Boeung Kak lake resident Tep Vanny said. “We feel the worst of the economic and emotional pressure and suffering from being forced off our lands.”
The Phnom Penh Post for more