Thai Eviction Demands an Insult to Cambodian Sovereignty

A Thai sign behind a barricade in Chouk Chey in Banteay Meanchey province threatens that Cambodian villagers will face eviction under Thai domestic law. AKP

-Opinion-

Thailand has crossed a line. Ahead of the upcoming border talks in Poipet, their First Army Region made a shocking request: they want Cambodia to evict its own people from land that is clearly within its borders — just so they’ll agree to sit down at the table. Let that sink in. Thailand is asking us to remove Cambodians from Cambodian soil.

These aren’t new settlements. These are long-established villages like Chouk Chey and Prey Chan, where Cambodian families have lived for generations. They’re not squatting on Thai land — they are at home. For Thailand to suggest we push them out, before talks even begin, is not just disrespectful. It’s outrageous.

This isn’t how neighbours act. It’s not diplomacy — it’s pressure. And behind it is a dangerous assumption: that because Thailand has more weapons, more money and more media influence, they can get away with making such demands. That might have worked a hundred years ago, but not today.

Cambodia knows this land. We know our history, and we know our people. We’ve lived through injustice before, and we carry those lessons with us. Sovereignty is not something we trade for peace talks. It’s something we protect, even when it’s difficult.

Let’s not forget: Cambodia and Thailand agreed to use the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) to handle disputes like this. That’s the process. Not unilateral demands. Not threats. And certainly not asking a country to displace its own people.

What kind of peace is built by forcing civilians out of their homes? What kind of message does it send to demand something that no country would accept for itself? Would Thailand move its citizens out of an area just because Cambodia asked? We all know the answer.

This goes beyond politics. It’s personal. These are our people — farmers, parents, children — being treated like they don’t matter. Cambodia has been patient, respectful and committed to peaceful solutions. But that doesn’t mean we’re weak.

We will not prepare any eviction plan. We will not move our people. We will not be bullied. Cambodia stands on its own land, and we will defend it — with dignity, with law and with unity.

To the world, we say: Cambodia may be small, but our voice is clear. This land is ours. These people are ours. And no one has the right to tell us otherwise. Please know — Cambodia stands on truth, not threats; on law, not force; on dignity, not fear. We will not be moved.

Neang Sopheap is a Phnom Penh-based policy analyst. The views and opinions expressed are his own.

-The Phnom Penh Post-

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