The Battle for the Soul of Angkor Wat
UNESCO under pressure to inspect forced displacement at Angkor Wat
UNESCO’s mission to protect sites of meaningful world history clashes with human rights abuses, as the forced displacement of an estimated 40,0000 citizens reveals the cost of protecting Cambodia’s cultural treasures.
Pressure from Amnesty International, who label the evictions as a mass human rights violation, has brought the situation at Angkor Wat to the forefront, as tens of thousands have been displaced from their homes. "Their ancestors are probably the ones who built Angkor Wat…their land will be taken away", warns Son Chhay, an opposition MP banned by Cambodia’s autocratic president Hun Sen. The President is unyielding: "I will not allow Angkor Wat to be removed from world heritage status. For sure, those families will be removed".
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