by Jake Lapham, BBC News
Getty ImagesThe Cambodian government has been accused of using “direct and subtle intimidation” to evict thousands of families living near the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat.
A report by human rights group Amnesty International concluded that international law had been violated.
A government spokesman said that was “not correct” and insisted the relocation was voluntary.
The families are being relocated to a new community 15 miles (25 km) away.
Cambodian authorities say squatters are building informal settlements and damaging the environment.
Government spokesman Pen Bona said the relocation of the 10,000 families was in line with rules set by UN cultural heritage agency Unesco, which bans any structures or people from living on the site.
But UNESCO said it “has never requested, supported or been a party to the plan” and called on authorities to take “corrective action” in response to the report.
“UNESCO is deeply concerned about the plans to relocate the Angkor complex,” the UN agency said in a statement.
Amnesty International claims that the group that manages the temples, the Apsara National Authority, is using UNESCO to justify the move.
One resident told AFP they had been told explicitly by Cambodian authorities that “UNESCO wants them to leave” or its world heritage status would be at risk.
At least seven villagers living around Angkor Wat have been sued by Apsara for instigating and disrupting public works, according to a court summons seen by AFP.
“Without serious opposition from UNESCO, states will increasingly weaponize conservation efforts for their own ends, at the expense of human rights,” said Amnesty’s Montse Ferrer.
This in turn boosts the micro-economy of street vendors, food vendors and souvenir vendors.
Located near Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia, the ruins were built in the 12th century by the Khmer king Suryavarman II.
It is thought to be a funerary temple and faces west to symbolize the setting sun and death.
French archaeologist Bernard Philippe Gloriet dubbed the city “City of Water” because of its complex water management network.