Protestors kept away from UN's Ban Ki-moon in Cambodian capital

Oct 27, 2010, 6:55 GMT

Phnom Penh - Police on Wednesday prevented dozens of Phnom Penh residents who face eviction from protesting near the motorcade carrying United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Ban arrived in Phnom Penh late Tuesday on a two-day official visit, and met Prime Minister Hun Sen Wednesday morning.

Earlier this week residents from the Boeung Kak lake area in central Phnom Penh submitted a petition to the UN requesting a meeting with Ban to discuss efforts to evict them from land on which many have lived for decades.

The site was leased to a company linked to a senator from the ruling Cambodian People's Party, and the lake is being filled in ahead of the development project. Hundreds of people have been evicted, and thousands more have been told they will lose their homes.

A number of other civil society groups have also requested meetings with Ban to discuss what many see as a worsening environment for civil society.

Aimee Brown, a spokeswoman for the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Phnom Penh, said Ban knew of the requests, but said his office had not yet decided on whether he would meet them.

'He's definitely aware that there are protestors, and he is aware of the petitions that have been received,' Brown said.

Land-grabbing and evictions are a serious problem in Cambodia, and tens of thousands of people have been thrown off their land in recent years as values have rocketed.

On Monday, Human Rights Watch called on Ban to address the issue during his visit, saying the country's 'respect for fundamental human rights and the process of democratization continues its precipitous decline.'

Later on Wednesday Ban is scheduled to visit the hybrid UN-Cambodian tribunal, which earlier this year convicted former Khmer Rouge security chief Comrade Duch of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ban is scheduled to depart on Thursday for Vietnam, where he will attend a summit between the United Nations and the regional Association of South-East Asian Nations bloc. He will then head to China as part of his four-nation tour.

His trip began in Thailand, where he met Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and senior officials.

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