"Families forcibly evicted for expressway development reluctant to speak out for fear of losing compensation", 4 November 2021

As Cambodia’s first expressway takes shape, the costs of development have driven straight through a Phnom Penh neighborhood.

…, as many as about 30 families were forcibly evicted with little advance notice to make way for the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville freeway…

One family now camping near the remains of their house, which was destroyed …, denied an interview. Others agreed to speak … but asked not to be named, due to fears both for their personal safety but also that authorities will withhold compensation for lost property in retribution.

A 64-year-old man who declined to be named said his house had previously been a total size of 260 square meters. Now, about half of that space has been demolished, leaving him with only 136 square meters to call home.

“I have a land title and I never thought I would meet this day,” the man said.

Several days before demolition, he continued, authorities came to force residents to accept compensation offers. The officials said that if the families ignored them, they would take administrative measures.

“They have only threatened us to accept compensation,” he said. “We have not yet received any compensation.”

… Construction of the expressway, which is being built under the broad umbrella of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative …

Vann Sophat, the business and human rights project coordinator at the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), decried the use of forced evictions and demolitions without proper compensation.

“We saw the demolition of their houses as unfair compensation in which some houses were built that cost up to $100,000,” he said…