Letter to the Editor
The Cambodia Daily
Because of corruption, many destitute people of Khmer descent cannot 'prove Cambodian citizenship.' For this reason, many are unfairly excluded from democratization processes.In "Evicted Residents Barred From Registering To Vote" (Friday, page 15), you elaborated on the fact that thousands of people recently evicted from their homes in central Phnom Penh have been barred from registering to vote in their new commune on the outskirts of the capital. Independent observers noted that they were turned away either because they could not "prove residency" in their new commune, or could not "prove Cambodian citizenship."
The people who were forcibly moved from Tonle Bassac commune to Kouk Roka commune by the municipal authorities are facing a Kafkaesque situation. The Kouk Roka commune chief claims that he lacks information on the new comers and therefore cannot register them as voters. The Tonle Bassac commune chief, who keeps detailed lists of residents including those who have recently left his commune, has apparently not communicated the relevant information to his counterpart in Kouk Roka. Both commune chiefs work under the authority of the municipal governor, who ordered and organized the population transfer.
Since the public authorities organized the transfer, why is it so difficult for the displaced persons to "prove residency" to the very same authorities? The Kouk Roka commune chief should have automatically delivered to the displaced persons certificates of residency required for registration. Most former Tonle Bassac residents lost their meager belongings along with administrative documents when they were brutally and hastily chased from their homes in June.
It is the obligation of any state to provide its citizens with appropriate documents to prove their citizenship, and not the converse. To "prove Cambodian citizenship" is often an insurmountable task for destitute people of Khmer descent because of the rampant corruption prevailing in our country; for this reason, many poor are unfairly excluded from the election and democratization processes.
Tens of thousands of victims of land grabs and evictions all over Cambodia successively suffered from two injustices in less than 12 months. First, they lost their land because of abuses by the powerful. Subsequently, they were deprived of their voting right through administrative harassment associated with corruption and/or political discrimination.
Sam Rainsy,
Member of Parliament,
Phnom Penh
2 comments:
These displaced are not certified as residents of anywhere in Cambodia. Therefore, they are not Cambodians. The government must deport them.
SiS
Hello,
This is in fact clearly shows the government has been carrying out their internal policy scheme to evict those innocent and disadvantage Khmer people from their established residency. First, the government had illegally evicted them from their residency, then the government turned around and denied them as legal Khmer citizens due to the fact that they do not have any proper identification and/or documents to prove that they are Khmer citizens.
THE GOV’T’S MAIN POLITICAL PURPOSE WAS (1) TO DENY THOSE KHMER CITIZENS THEIR RIGHTS TO REGISTER TO VOTE (2) TO DISRUPT THE VOTING REGISTRATION PROCESS (3) LAND GRABBING (4) WIN-WIN POLICY (5) SHARE WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND RELATIVES AND GOVERNMENT INTERNAL CIRCLE
How difficulty is it just to prove that a person is Khmer citizen or not?
Bunch of scums!
Somlor Ma-Chou Yuon Leay . . .
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