April 17, 2008
In a smart story about Cambodia’s urban redevelopment gone bad, Vincent MacIsaac touches on one of the most underreported stories affecting Cambodia.
Excluding Burma, “Cambodia has the most abusive record of forced evictions in the region,” said David Pred, the country director of Bridges Across Borders, an international non-governmental organization formed to combat the root causes of violence.
In an interesting twist, the Cambodian Red Cross, which has been appealing for donations to resettle squatters, is headed by the prime minister’s wife, Bun Rany Hun Sen. Besides widespread allegations of corruption and misuse of funds, the Cambodia Red Cross’s appeal for funds to resettle people evicted as a result of land grabs by people closely tied to the prime minister is, to use the phrase of one diplomat, “more than a little off-putting.”
An official at the International Red Cross agreed: “There’s something not quite kosher about this,” he said.
Considering the Cambodian Red Cross’ affiliation with the prime minister’s wife, it comes as little surprise that local journalists stay silent on the issue. The same, however, cannot be said of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Officially, Red Cross policy stands on autonomy. “The ICRC, the Federation and the National Societies are independent bodies. Each has its own individual status and exercises no authority over the others,” says the Red Cross web site.
But something is seriously crook in the Red Cross movement if national societies can thumb their noses at Red Cross virtues with such transparent disdain. The farce becomes a tragedy for all those in need of help, yet for whom the Cambodian Red Cross is just another tool of oppression wielded by the country’s ruling class.
In a smart story about Cambodia’s urban redevelopment gone bad, Vincent MacIsaac touches on one of the most underreported stories affecting Cambodia.
Excluding Burma, “Cambodia has the most abusive record of forced evictions in the region,” said David Pred, the country director of Bridges Across Borders, an international non-governmental organization formed to combat the root causes of violence.
In an interesting twist, the Cambodian Red Cross, which has been appealing for donations to resettle squatters, is headed by the prime minister’s wife, Bun Rany Hun Sen. Besides widespread allegations of corruption and misuse of funds, the Cambodia Red Cross’s appeal for funds to resettle people evicted as a result of land grabs by people closely tied to the prime minister is, to use the phrase of one diplomat, “more than a little off-putting.”
An official at the International Red Cross agreed: “There’s something not quite kosher about this,” he said.
Considering the Cambodian Red Cross’ affiliation with the prime minister’s wife, it comes as little surprise that local journalists stay silent on the issue. The same, however, cannot be said of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Officially, Red Cross policy stands on autonomy. “The ICRC, the Federation and the National Societies are independent bodies. Each has its own individual status and exercises no authority over the others,” says the Red Cross web site.
But something is seriously crook in the Red Cross movement if national societies can thumb their noses at Red Cross virtues with such transparent disdain. The farce becomes a tragedy for all those in need of help, yet for whom the Cambodian Red Cross is just another tool of oppression wielded by the country’s ruling class.
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