Rights groups condemn attack on relocated Cambodian community

Updated 9 April 2012, 12:26 AEST

Human rights groups in Cambodia have condemned what they say was a "violent and unprovoked" attack on a community who have been relocated from besides railway tracks as part of an ADB and AusAID-funded project.

It comes as residents elsewhere on the rail line in Poi Pet near the Thai border have been issued eviction notices that the rights groups say amount to forced eviction and a breach of ADB and AusAID policies on protecting vulnerable communities.
In order to widen the rail corridor, almost 200 families were moved from their inner-city Phnom Penh location to a remote site about half an hour from the capital.
We've reported before about the lack of facilities at the site and this recent clash appears to have been sparked by a request from one of the relocated people to receive medical assistance from a non-government organisation.
Presenter: Liam Cochrane
Speaker: Nora Lindstrom, Program Manager at Sahmakum Teang Tnaut