14 May 2007
By Or Phearith
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
“The entire village cannot go out to earn a living because they have to stay home, they are afraid that people (from the rubber plantation company) would come and bulldoze their homes. We are prepared to demonstrate or to do something to prevent them from doing anything they want.” These are the concerns expressed by villagers living on Chamcar Andoung commune, Chamcar Leu district, Kompong Cham province, after they received a letter ordering their evictions out of their homes so that their lands can be used to build a school.
Villagers in No. 2 Village, Chamcar Andoung commune, said that the director of the Chamcar Andoung rubber plantation company issued a letter to all the villagers who are not working for the plantation and who live on a plot of land facing the No. 2 village elementary school to vacate the location.
The villagers claimed that they were all former workers at the plantation since 1980, and they lost their jobs in 1995 when the plantation company decided to uproot the old rubber trees and plant new ones. The villagers say that they do not oppose the development (for the school) but that they need a solution for their cases.
A villager said: “We do not oppose the construction of a school, but they must have a solution for us, either in terms of monetary compensation, or land exchange. But they don’t want to do any land exchange for us, they only want us to get out, please help us find justice.”
Other villagers demand that land ownership titles be given to them for the land they occupied from 1980 until now, which is more than 20 years already. “We protest so that housing is provided for us to live. The order issued by Samdech [Hun Sen] states that whoever work (for the plantation), they must be provided with 5 years of housing, all of this has expired … They want us to get out, if we don’t, they will bulldoze (our houses).”
The villagers have gathered 458 thumbprints for a protest petition to be sent to Hun Sen for intervention.
However, Lim Sun Leang, the director of the Chamcar Andoung rubber plantation company, said over the phone on 14 May, that he will take this land to build a school which will include elementary school and all the way to a high school. This school is needed for the education of the villagers’ children and for the workers’ children, and these children will have access to a nearby school. He also said that according to the law, people who are not working for the plantation cannot live in the workers villages.”
An anonymous NGO official whom the villagers handed their letter and ask for his help to intervene in this case, said that for lands located within the plantation zone, the plantation company has full right to take any plot it wants by claiming that it needs them for development, and in doing so it can avoid all problems. Furthermore, the NGO official said that based on Por Try, the former director of the plantation company, the workers have already paid off the purchase price to the plantation company for the lands they occupied.
Villagers in No. 2 Village, Chamcar Andoung commune, said that the director of the Chamcar Andoung rubber plantation company issued a letter to all the villagers who are not working for the plantation and who live on a plot of land facing the No. 2 village elementary school to vacate the location.
The villagers claimed that they were all former workers at the plantation since 1980, and they lost their jobs in 1995 when the plantation company decided to uproot the old rubber trees and plant new ones. The villagers say that they do not oppose the development (for the school) but that they need a solution for their cases.
A villager said: “We do not oppose the construction of a school, but they must have a solution for us, either in terms of monetary compensation, or land exchange. But they don’t want to do any land exchange for us, they only want us to get out, please help us find justice.”
Other villagers demand that land ownership titles be given to them for the land they occupied from 1980 until now, which is more than 20 years already. “We protest so that housing is provided for us to live. The order issued by Samdech [Hun Sen] states that whoever work (for the plantation), they must be provided with 5 years of housing, all of this has expired … They want us to get out, if we don’t, they will bulldoze (our houses).”
The villagers have gathered 458 thumbprints for a protest petition to be sent to Hun Sen for intervention.
However, Lim Sun Leang, the director of the Chamcar Andoung rubber plantation company, said over the phone on 14 May, that he will take this land to build a school which will include elementary school and all the way to a high school. This school is needed for the education of the villagers’ children and for the workers’ children, and these children will have access to a nearby school. He also said that according to the law, people who are not working for the plantation cannot live in the workers villages.”
An anonymous NGO official whom the villagers handed their letter and ask for his help to intervene in this case, said that for lands located within the plantation zone, the plantation company has full right to take any plot it wants by claiming that it needs them for development, and in doing so it can avoid all problems. Furthermore, the NGO official said that based on Por Try, the former director of the plantation company, the workers have already paid off the purchase price to the plantation company for the lands they occupied.
9 comments:
Build school for the poor? What a joke. In Cambodia, if you want to send your kid(s) to school, you need to pay the school. The only free school you get in Cambodia is from generous donations from outside the country and some local individuals. But never from a local investors and from the CPP.
Hey, with what we got now, we can
certainly kick Ah Khmer-Gringoes'
asses in Long Beach who are backed
by their stupid space-aged
education.
Cambodia is the only country in the world that the rich people are really the robbers and drugs traffickers !!!!
Wrong, rich pimps, crooks, and
drug dealer are everywhere.
I agree with you because you are one of them. We should kick your skinny ass to hell, instead.
SO AH HUN XEN IS A PIMP AND DRUG DEALER!
HIS FIVE AND DAUGTHERS ARE PROTITUDE TO THE VIETNAMESE?
Sorry to dissapoint you, 8:49, but
I need not to be filty rich like
your Bill Gate who has asset about
2.5 times Cambodia GDP.
I wish there will be a revolution, so that all the evicted farmer will kill all of the corrupt officials as their revenge.
Yep, and don't forget to get rid
of Ah evil Khmer-Yuons and Ah evil
Khmer-gringoes along with the
corrupted officials as well.
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