CAMBODIA: Alleged illegal expropriation of land by the military in Koh Kong

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

22 December 2006

UA-411-2006: CAMBODIA: Alleged illegal expropriation of land by the military in Koh Kong

CAMBODIA: Illegal expropriation of land; violation of Cambodia Land Law; violation of the right to housing and food; impunity

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the illegal expropriation of a large plot of land by the Army Brigade 31 of the Cambodian army in Cham Srey village, Kompong Seila commune, Kompong Seila district, Koh Kong province, Cambodia. The affected villagers lodged complaints to several local authorities, including the Ministry of Defence, but have not heard any effective responses from them.

CASE DETAILS:

On 19 December 2006 a group of 27 villagers from Cham Srey village, Kompong Seila commune, Kompong Seila district, Koh Kong province, camped out in front of the Parliament in Phnom Penh to protest against an illegal expropriation of their farmland of consisting of an area of 170 hectares by the military. The villagers are also calling for an intervention from the MPs and the Prime Minister to return the land to them.

The process of alleged expropriation started towards the end of 2004 when Meas Sok, Deputy-Commander of Army Brigade 31 of the Cambodian army began to mark the site for eventual occupation on the land that 47 families had cleared from forests and farmed since 1985. In October 2005, Meas Sok allegedly barred those villagers' access to their land using threats and intimidation. In one incident on 26 October 2006, Leng Try, a soldier guarding that land, fired a shot at some of the villagers to intimidate them.

On 14 June 2006 Army Brigade 31 allegedly started to build its barrack and the entire area was completely closed off to their owners. The military then started to destroy their plantations of cashew nuts and mangoes and remove their land posts. Those 47 families immediately protested against the construction and demanded Meas Sok to show them valid documents from higher military authorities assigning the army the legal right to take over the land. However, Mea Sok failed to produce the document and the villagers believe that the army illegally expropriated the land without any valid documentation.

The affected villagers then made a complaint with the chief of Kompong Seila, who declined to act upon it, claiming that he had no jurisdiction over the military occupation of that specific land. They then filed a complaint with the Kompong Seila district authorities. The district authorities formed a working group to conduct a cadastral survey of the land concerned and the plots belonging to each of the families. This working group was composed of the Cham Srey village chief, the Kompong Seila commune chief, the Kompong Seila commune police chief, a deputy district governor of Kompong Seila, a cadastral officer and two army officers from the Army Brigade 31.

After the inquiry, the working group agreed to allocate the different plots of land as identified to those families with a promise to issue land titles to them in due course. But the army officers disagreed with the decision. Later on, the district authorities met with representatives of those villagers to ask them whether the villagers would accept any compensation in cash, but no specific amount was mentioned. The villagers insisted upon having their land back.

Upon learning that those villagers would go to Phnom Penh to stage a protest in front of the Parliament, Ay Khan, Member of Parliament for Koh Kong province, offered to resolve the dispute through talks between the villagers and the military. He proposed the suspension of all activities by all parties until the final settlement is made. However, the military did not agree and continued the construction on the land. The villagers continued to file their complaints with various competent authorities and in July 2006 the Senate sent their case to the National Defence Ministry to consider. Several days later, this ministry assigned its inspection department to conduct an inquiry into the said expropriation, but since then the villagers have not heard any news on the outcome of the inquiry to date.

In September 2006 those villagers went to protest against the illegal expropriation of their land by the army in front of the Parliament and the National Defence Ministry in Phnom Penh. On December 19 they went again to the Parliament to request the MPs to intervene to get their land back from the military. The villagers suspect that the military grabbed their land to resell for profit.

According to Article 30 of the Cambodian Land Law, anyone who has peacefully occupied any land for at least five years without contest prior to the enactment of that law in 2001, the person(s) is the rightful owner of that land even though he does not have any title to it. Therefore those 47 families are rightful owners of their respective land since they had occupied it without any contest for more than 16 years before 2001.

The AHRC urges the Cambodian government, in particular the Ministry of National Defence and the Cambodian Royal Armed Forces, to take prompt and strong action to ensure the return of the land to the 47 families. Action should also be taken against the army officers of the Army Brigade 31for their unlawful act.

The AHRC also urges donors, UN agencies, international agencies, and the international human rights community to work with the Cambodian government and army to end any abuse of power and illegal expropriation of land.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below and request them to intervene to get the military to return the land they have illegally expropriated to its rightful owners and to end any abuse of power and illegal expropriation by the military.

Sample letter:

Dear_________,

CAMBODIA: Alleged illegal expropriation of land by the military in Koh Kong

Victims: 47 families of Cham Srey village, Kompong Seila commune, Kompong Seila district, Koh Kong province, Cambodia

Alleged perpetrators: Meas Sok, Deputy-Commander and officers of Army Brigade 31 of the Cambodian army

Period of illegal expropriation: Illegal expropriation process began in the end of 2004 and the victims have been barred to access to their land since October 2005 to date

I am writing to request your immediate intervention into an alleged illegal expropriation by the Army Brigade 31 of the Cambodian army over the 170 hectares land in Cham Srey village, Kompong Seila commune, Kompong Seila district, Koh Kong province, Cambodia. The land is lawfully owned by the 47 families according to the Cambodian Land Law.

According to the information I have received, those 47 families had peacefully occupied the concerned land and work on it for more than 15 years from 1985. However, the said army brigade started the process of expropriation in the end of 2004 and then completely barred the families to access their land since October 2005 by using various threats and intimidations. In June 2006 the said brigade started to build a barrack on the land, which incited the affected villagers to protest. However, to date Meas Sok, Deputy-Commander and officers of Army Brigade 31 has failed to present the valid legal document from higher authorities about this expropriation of the land.

I was further informed that Army Brigade 31 also declined the decision of the working group established by the composed of various officers of the Kompong Seila district administration, which agreed to allocate the different plots of land as identified to those families with a promise to issue land titles to them in due course. I was also informed that the brigade disagreed to the suggestion of Ay Khan, Member of Parliament for Koh Kong province, who proposed the suspension of all activities by all parties until the final settlement is made.

I was also informed that in July 2006 the Senate sent their case to the National Defence Ministry to consider and the ministry assigned its inspection department to conduct an inquiry into the said expropriation. However, since then the villagers have not heard any news on the outcome of the inquiry to date.

Now those families went to the Parliament in Phnom Penh for the second time on 19 December 2006 to protest against the illegal expropriation by the military and seek intervention to get their land back.

According to Article 30 of the Cambodian Land Law, anyone who had peacefully occupied any land without any contest for at least five years prior to the enactment of that law in 2001 is its rightful owner even though he does not have any title to it. Therefore the 47 families are lawfully entitled the ownership of the said land.

I therefore strongly urge you to take immediate and proper action to ensure that the said land is returned to the 47 families according to the land law without further delay. Apart from that, I also request you to take disciplinary and legal action against Meas Sok, Deputy-Commander and officers of Army Brigade 31 for their abuse of power and illegal expropriation of the land. I further urge you to end such abuse of power and illegal expropriation by the military.

I look to your immediate intervention and action on this matter.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. Mr. Samdech Hun Sen
Prime Minister
Cabinet of the Prime Minister
No. 38, Russian Federation Street
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855-23-21 98 98
Fax: +855-23-36 06 66
E-mail: cabinet1b@camnet.com.kh

2. Mr. Ang Vong Vathna
Minster of Justice
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: + 855-23-36 41 19/21 66 22

3. General Hok Lundy
National Police Commissioner
General-Commisariat of National Police
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel/Fax: +855-23-21 65 85/22 09 52

4. Mr. Youth Phou Thang
Governor of Koh Kong province
Koh Kong Cabinet office
Koh Kong province
CAMBODIA
Tel/ fax: 855-35-93-6049/35-93-6046

5. Mr. Douglas Gardner
UNDP resident Representative in Cambodia
Resident Coordinator of United Nations/ UNRC
N 53, Pasteur Street, Boeung Keng Kang I,
Chamkar Mon, Phnom Penh,
CAMBODIA (P.O.Box 877)
Tel: +855-23-214371/214397/211240/211205/216167/216217/213094
Fax: +855-23 216257/721 042/216 863/210 214

6. Ms Margo Picken
Director
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Cambodia
N¢X 10, Street 302
Sangkat Boeng Keng Kang I
Khan Chamcar Mon
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855-23-987 671 / 987 672, 993 590 / 993 591 or +855 23 216 342
Fax: +855-23-212 579, 213 587

7. Prof. Yash Ghai
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for human rights in
Cambodia
Attn: Ms. Marianne Haugaard
Room 3-080
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 91 79214
Fax: +41 22 91 79018 (ATTENTION: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE CAMBODIA)

8. Mr. Miloon Kothari
UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing
Att: Ms. Cecilia Moller
Room 4-066/010
UNOG-OHCHR, CH-1211, Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9265
Fax: +41 22 917 9010


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)