By Mondol Keo
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
7 families living in a village community located in Sangkat Boeng Kak 2, Khan Tuol Kok, Phnom Penh, have accused the authority of colluding with a company to grab a road belonging to them.
Som Sovuthy, the representative of the 7 families, claimed that he lived in this area since 1992. He said that the land he lived on used to belong to soldiers’ families, and he bought the land from them when it was just still a swampy area without any road for traveling. The villagers proceeded to build a road and they have already installed sewers, but currently, the authority, in collusion with the owner of the Canadia Bank, dug the road to install new sewers, and removed all the old severs, and turn the sewer alignment into a road which now owned by the owner of the Canadia Bank instead.
Som Sovuthy said: “People live here peacefully and even the people living in Village No. 1 were allowed to (settle and) develop on the spot they occupied. When the Canadia Bank company purchased all the lands from in front and behind the army base, they started stirring up people, and they do not allow people to live peacefully.”
Seng Chanthy, a woman living there, chimed in: “The people have no objection, but the people ask that they reinstall back the sewers along the old alignment.”
The Canadia Bank company could not be contacted on 14 May.
Huong Sreng, the deputy district governor of Tuol Kok, declined to answer RFA question over the phone on 14 May afternoon, but, Man Choeun, the deputy governor of the city of Phnom Penh explained that all of this issue is not like what the villagers accused, and he also said that there was no collusion with the company. He said that the installation of sewers is purely a technical issue, and the city only wants to avoid having the city flooded during rainy seasons.
Man Chhoeun said: “These are directives for the development of the city, I do not know much (about the technical issue), I only listen to the experts in public works. They went to school and they told us what to do in order to prevent the city from flooding, so they just did that.”
Nhem Saron, the director of the public works department of the city of Phnom Penh, turned off his phone when he was contacted by RFA in the afternoon 14 May, and when RFA asked him about the problem of sewer installation. However, an anonymous official involved with sewer technical issues, said that the sewer installation in the Village No. 1 community, Sangkat Boeng Kak 2, is somewhat murky and mysterious because the new sewers can be installed along the old alignment as well.
Som Sovuthy, the representative of the 7 families, claimed that he lived in this area since 1992. He said that the land he lived on used to belong to soldiers’ families, and he bought the land from them when it was just still a swampy area without any road for traveling. The villagers proceeded to build a road and they have already installed sewers, but currently, the authority, in collusion with the owner of the Canadia Bank, dug the road to install new sewers, and removed all the old severs, and turn the sewer alignment into a road which now owned by the owner of the Canadia Bank instead.
Som Sovuthy said: “People live here peacefully and even the people living in Village No. 1 were allowed to (settle and) develop on the spot they occupied. When the Canadia Bank company purchased all the lands from in front and behind the army base, they started stirring up people, and they do not allow people to live peacefully.”
Seng Chanthy, a woman living there, chimed in: “The people have no objection, but the people ask that they reinstall back the sewers along the old alignment.”
The Canadia Bank company could not be contacted on 14 May.
Huong Sreng, the deputy district governor of Tuol Kok, declined to answer RFA question over the phone on 14 May afternoon, but, Man Choeun, the deputy governor of the city of Phnom Penh explained that all of this issue is not like what the villagers accused, and he also said that there was no collusion with the company. He said that the installation of sewers is purely a technical issue, and the city only wants to avoid having the city flooded during rainy seasons.
Man Chhoeun said: “These are directives for the development of the city, I do not know much (about the technical issue), I only listen to the experts in public works. They went to school and they told us what to do in order to prevent the city from flooding, so they just did that.”
Nhem Saron, the director of the public works department of the city of Phnom Penh, turned off his phone when he was contacted by RFA in the afternoon 14 May, and when RFA asked him about the problem of sewer installation. However, an anonymous official involved with sewer technical issues, said that the sewer installation in the Village No. 1 community, Sangkat Boeng Kak 2, is somewhat murky and mysterious because the new sewers can be installed along the old alignment as well.
5 comments:
All these fucken Vietcong slave don't want to leave Cambodian people in peace? I don't give a fuck about sewer installation as long as it doesn't effect Cambodian people way of life!!
What if somebody cut these fucken Vietcong slave from using the damn road to the market or to the lake or the river for the water supply or to the temple to worship and how would these Vietcong slave feel?
Just connect the fucken road so Cambodian people can have easy access to all the necessity of life!!
We are watching all of you Vietcong slave!!!
Land grabbing and selling on behalf of national property and high rank officers are worse and worse in Cambodia.
Hun Sen has no will to deal with it. If he has, the law and court must be fair and adjusted...but in reality not, he just tried to bark with useless cruel intimidation.
Land problem in Cambodia is the lossing of identity and sovereignty. When lands have been grabbed or sold, the Cambodian people will have their destiny like the parasites to those giant companies and powerful officials.
Population of Cambodian will become minority in their ancestral territory when their lands have been sold or grabbed.
WTF, I don't see anyone evicted
here. Those people constructed
things on the state property that
is sold to a bussiness man and
they lost some of their investment.
That is all. It would have happened
anywhere, AU, UK, UK, ..., you name
it.
business men or companies, they are own by the rich Vietnamese. another way of stealing land from Cambodian people.
Well, no foreigner can owned
khmer's land, but lease.
Post a Comment