The Battle for the Soul of Angkor Wat | Arts and Culture


People & Power investigates the mass evictions of thousands of residents at the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, or “City of Temples”, is the largest religious structure in the world.

A truly spectacular place, it is deeply revered across Cambodia and depicted on its flag as the defining image of the nation.

In 1992, UNESCO designated Angkor as a World Heritage Site.

The UN agency also affirmed it as a “living” site whose traditional communities were as important as the stones.

But now, locals accuse the Cambodian government of the mass forced eviction of thousands of people from those communities, while the government claims each one has voluntarily moved after settling illegally in Angkor. It also says the relocations are at UNESCO’s behest.

People & Power went to Cambodia to investigate.



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