You just cannot hide the truth about Cambodia forever. It reminds me
during the Sangkum era, when everything was cleaned and fake prepared for
Samdech Euv to visit. Trees was newly painted and planted. Street were swept
and
cleaned. I ( and many of my friends) had to borrow someone else uniforms
so that we could look nice for the Prince...But after the reception was
over... the garbage returned.
All foreign officials know about Phnom Penh and Cambodia quite well.
Sweeping the poor away from their sights is more embarrassing than showing
them
the real things. Why causing pains and suffering on others just to please a
bunch of diplomats? Better yet, why wine, dine and dance in luxury hotel
while many Cambodians are starving?
Domrei Slapp York Chang Er Mork Baing...
===============
Fresh street sweeps mar summit opening
(http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26141&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=52)
(http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=emailform&id=26141&itemid=52)
Written by Mom
Kunthear and Sebastian strangio Friday, 29 May 2009
Photo by: TRACEY SHELTON
A homeless woman sits on a bench on Sihanouk Boulevard in Phnom Penh.
Rights groups say the municipality has cracked down on street people ahead of
this week's ASEAN-EU meeting.
RIGHTS groups say at least 25 street people were rounded up by police in
Daun Penh district on Monday and Tuesday nights ahead of the Wednesday
opening of the 17th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting in Phnom Penh.
Jason Barber, a monitoring consultant at local rights group Licadho, said
10 people Monday night and an additional 15 on Tuesday were unlawfully
detained by security officials from the Daun Penh district office, handed to
the Municipal Department of Social Affairs and trucked to Prey Speu, a
government "rehabilitation" centre in Choam Chao district.
Barber added that the detained included an HIV-positive woman who had her
antiretroviral drugs confiscated by district authorities.
"It could have been a death sentence for this woman if we didn't get
[ARVs] to her in time," he said.
"This is just an indication of how the authorities are playing with these
people's lives."
‘Cleanup' policy
The most recent wave of roundups followed a similar sweep last week, when
30 beggars, suspected drug users, sex workers and homeless people were
detained in Daun Penh and turned over to Social Affairs officials.
Barber said the unlawful detention of street people has been the policy of
the government for "close to two decades".
Prey Speu is one of several government centres that have been widely
criticised by rights groups, who say that inmates have been beaten and
starved.
In its 2009 global human rights report released Thursday, Amnesty
International writes that in 2008, the centres saw "at least three" detainees
beaten to death and the gang rape of women by centre guards.
____________________________________
...the authorities are playing with these people's lives.
____________________________________
"We think that this centre, in particular, needs to be closed down. As
long as it's open, it will continue to do nothing more than function as a
detention centre," said Barber.
But Soun Chhoeung, deputy director of the city's Social Affairs
Department, denied the sweeps were timed to coincide with the ASEAN-EU
meeting,
saying authorities intended to beautify the city and provide care and
education
for street people.
"The authorities in Phnom Penh city have to clear [these people] in order
to make our city more attractive, and we don't want them to sleep on the
street because it can make them sick," he said.
"We are worried about their health and future."
Daun Penh Deputy Governor Sok Penh Vuth added "it is bad for our city when
foreign tourists see there are many street children and when
beggars come to them to ask for money. They make our city dishonourable."
Sebastien Marot, executive director of Friends International, said
municipal clean-up efforts happened roughly every three months, but that the
onset
of big events - such as the ASEAN-EU meeting - appeared to accelerate the
sweeps.
He added that Friends worked to help the victims of such cleanups by
providing them with temporary accommodation and getting them out of the city's
rehabilitation centres.
"We try to offer the municipality a different way of doing these things,"
he said, adding that 60 street children were now in a "holiday camp" run by
Friends in Kampong Speu province, and that 20 families were staying at the
group's two drop-in centres in the city.
"We're trying to get people out of those centres," he added.
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