By Cheang Sokha
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 15 / 11, June 2 - 15, 2006
Flanked by dozens of heavily armed police and military police, Chamkarmon District Governor Lo Yoy on June 1 told squatters at Tonle Bassac commune's Village 14 — Sambok Chab — who have defied orders to leave land owned by Suor Srun Enterprises (SSE) that they must vacate the area or be forcibly removed.
The directive comes just a day after hundreds of villagers rioted to protest the actions of a security guard who began tearing down villagers' huts and attacking those who sought to protect their homes. A pregnant woman and an 11-year-old girl were injured, observers said.
Villagers, outraged by the attack, took up sticks, stones and knives, and chased the security guard. The enraged mob then burned the Village 14 office and destroyed three houses nearby. A tall steel fence, which had been erected at the front gate by SSE was destroyed. Police and military police on duty in the area did not intervene.
Mao Voeun, 37, who claimed she was beaten by a security guard, said she was hit twice but not seriously injured. She said the guard attacked her while she was rebuilding her home, which was torn down several weeks ago.
"We would like to appeal to the King Father and Queen Mother because we face grave difficulties at the moment," Voeun said. "We are living in fear as a result of constant threats from the authorities."
Nhean Sarin, a doctor for local human rights group Licadho present during the rioting, said one young girl suffered a serious neck injury as the huts were pulled down. He said he immediately sent her to the Kantha Bopha hospital, and later sent the pregnant woman who was beaten.
"I inspected the young girl and suspect she has a badly broken bone in her neck. The injury to the pregnant woman was not serious," Saran said. "I will follow up the case, I hope she will get better."
The villagers had posted pictures of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife Bun Rany on their rebuilt huts. The villagers scrawled slogans across available surfaces.
"Only Samdech Hun Sen can help our people from difficulties," read the graffiti. "Where there are poor people, Samdech Hun Sen is always there."
SSE had prepared more than 1,700 plots of land at Trapang Krasang commune in Dangkor district some 25 km west of Phnom Penh, to give to 1,216 families from the Tonle Bassac slum. Each family received a 5 by 12-meter plot.
According to local officials, only 48 families in the slum are continuing to resist removal, and roughly 300 families of home renters remain at the site. But villagers claim that hundreds of outsiders have flooded the area hoping to fraudulently claim compensation. This has created a complicated situation, authorities said.
Recent weather has decimated the makeshift Village 14 — nicknamed Sambok Chab or "Bird's Nest." Tents cannot keep the monsoon rains off the villagers, and young children are falling ill with colds and diarrhea from playing in unsanitary water, said Sarin. More than 250 of the villagers have received medicine from Licadho.
Am Sam Ath, a monitor at Licadho, said the long wait for authorities to resolve the situation has forced difficult circumstances upon the people.
"Security guards are destroying these people's homes and hurting them in the process," Sam Ath said. "The authorities should solve the problem with the people urgently."
Son Chhay, a Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker, has written to Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema requesting a halt to both the eviction process and the use of force.
The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, a coalition of 21 NGOs, and the Housing Rights Task Force have issued a joint statement expressing concern over the ongoing human rights abuses against the residents in Sambok Chab.
"We would like to stress the precipitating conditions and action which led to the violence," the statement read, "For nearly one month the house renters have been living in squalid conditions, forced by authorities into close quarters with minimal shelter and no water supply, electricity or bathroom facilities."
The UN human rights office issued a statement on May 30, also concerned about the ongoing process of evictions at the Tonle Bassac slum.
"Due to the process, several hundred families have already been rendered homeless and are now living in open air, they are facing serious health risks," said Hina Jilani, special representative on human rights defenders.
"There is concern that the authorities may resort to force to evict these families. Moreover, the allegations of intimidation, threats and corruption have marred the process of registration and resettlement of the people affected by the eviction."
Khui Chhor, assistant to SSE owner Suor Pheng, said the firm urged City Hall to solve the problem with the villagers as soon as possible. He confirmed that if trouble persists they would use force to evict them.
"We have stopped negotiating with them," Chhor said, "We do not have any more patience. I think if City Hall is willing to evict them, it won't take long."
Chhor said those who provoked the villagers to destroy his company's property have been identified and the authorities are tracking them down for punishment.
Phnom Penh municipality deputy governor Pa Socheatevong said the present situation at Tonle Bassac is anarchy. He said people from both outside and inside the slum have grabbed private land and spread to the nearby public park, which will cause trouble for the city's development.
"This is an example where you can see who is taking the land from whom," Socheatevong told the Post on June 1. "The people have gone beyond the limits of their rights."
Socheatevong said authorities are struggling to solve the problem of removal and to provide appropriate places for living. He said the people making trouble are the same ones accusing the authorities of treating them badly. He also blamed some politicians and NGOs for interfering with the issue.
"Using force to evict them is the last resort," he said. "We will try to negotiate until we come to end of the road."
Socheatevong said the security guards whose actions led to the May 31 riot had been carrying out orders to prevent people from rebuilding their huts and grabbing other plots of land.
"Actually, City Hall acted very softly," he said. "We do not want to make people suffer."
The directive comes just a day after hundreds of villagers rioted to protest the actions of a security guard who began tearing down villagers' huts and attacking those who sought to protect their homes. A pregnant woman and an 11-year-old girl were injured, observers said.
Villagers, outraged by the attack, took up sticks, stones and knives, and chased the security guard. The enraged mob then burned the Village 14 office and destroyed three houses nearby. A tall steel fence, which had been erected at the front gate by SSE was destroyed. Police and military police on duty in the area did not intervene.
Mao Voeun, 37, who claimed she was beaten by a security guard, said she was hit twice but not seriously injured. She said the guard attacked her while she was rebuilding her home, which was torn down several weeks ago.
"We would like to appeal to the King Father and Queen Mother because we face grave difficulties at the moment," Voeun said. "We are living in fear as a result of constant threats from the authorities."
Nhean Sarin, a doctor for local human rights group Licadho present during the rioting, said one young girl suffered a serious neck injury as the huts were pulled down. He said he immediately sent her to the Kantha Bopha hospital, and later sent the pregnant woman who was beaten.
"I inspected the young girl and suspect she has a badly broken bone in her neck. The injury to the pregnant woman was not serious," Saran said. "I will follow up the case, I hope she will get better."
The villagers had posted pictures of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife Bun Rany on their rebuilt huts. The villagers scrawled slogans across available surfaces.
"Only Samdech Hun Sen can help our people from difficulties," read the graffiti. "Where there are poor people, Samdech Hun Sen is always there."
SSE had prepared more than 1,700 plots of land at Trapang Krasang commune in Dangkor district some 25 km west of Phnom Penh, to give to 1,216 families from the Tonle Bassac slum. Each family received a 5 by 12-meter plot.
According to local officials, only 48 families in the slum are continuing to resist removal, and roughly 300 families of home renters remain at the site. But villagers claim that hundreds of outsiders have flooded the area hoping to fraudulently claim compensation. This has created a complicated situation, authorities said.
Recent weather has decimated the makeshift Village 14 — nicknamed Sambok Chab or "Bird's Nest." Tents cannot keep the monsoon rains off the villagers, and young children are falling ill with colds and diarrhea from playing in unsanitary water, said Sarin. More than 250 of the villagers have received medicine from Licadho.
Am Sam Ath, a monitor at Licadho, said the long wait for authorities to resolve the situation has forced difficult circumstances upon the people.
"Security guards are destroying these people's homes and hurting them in the process," Sam Ath said. "The authorities should solve the problem with the people urgently."
Son Chhay, a Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker, has written to Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema requesting a halt to both the eviction process and the use of force.
The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, a coalition of 21 NGOs, and the Housing Rights Task Force have issued a joint statement expressing concern over the ongoing human rights abuses against the residents in Sambok Chab.
"We would like to stress the precipitating conditions and action which led to the violence," the statement read, "For nearly one month the house renters have been living in squalid conditions, forced by authorities into close quarters with minimal shelter and no water supply, electricity or bathroom facilities."
The UN human rights office issued a statement on May 30, also concerned about the ongoing process of evictions at the Tonle Bassac slum.
"Due to the process, several hundred families have already been rendered homeless and are now living in open air, they are facing serious health risks," said Hina Jilani, special representative on human rights defenders.
"There is concern that the authorities may resort to force to evict these families. Moreover, the allegations of intimidation, threats and corruption have marred the process of registration and resettlement of the people affected by the eviction."
Khui Chhor, assistant to SSE owner Suor Pheng, said the firm urged City Hall to solve the problem with the villagers as soon as possible. He confirmed that if trouble persists they would use force to evict them.
"We have stopped negotiating with them," Chhor said, "We do not have any more patience. I think if City Hall is willing to evict them, it won't take long."
Chhor said those who provoked the villagers to destroy his company's property have been identified and the authorities are tracking them down for punishment.
Phnom Penh municipality deputy governor Pa Socheatevong said the present situation at Tonle Bassac is anarchy. He said people from both outside and inside the slum have grabbed private land and spread to the nearby public park, which will cause trouble for the city's development.
"This is an example where you can see who is taking the land from whom," Socheatevong told the Post on June 1. "The people have gone beyond the limits of their rights."
Socheatevong said authorities are struggling to solve the problem of removal and to provide appropriate places for living. He said the people making trouble are the same ones accusing the authorities of treating them badly. He also blamed some politicians and NGOs for interfering with the issue.
"Using force to evict them is the last resort," he said. "We will try to negotiate until we come to end of the road."
Socheatevong said the security guards whose actions led to the May 31 riot had been carrying out orders to prevent people from rebuilding their huts and grabbing other plots of land.
"Actually, City Hall acted very softly," he said. "We do not want to make people suffer."
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