A government in denial: from the top (Hun Xen - Left) to the bottom (Baby Hor 5 Hong - Center, and Xea Koxal - Right)
The government’s Rectangular Development Strategy to develop Cambodia Dey Krahorm eviction site - 24 January 2009
Addressing the issues? How the Cambodian Government responded to a Global Witness report on extractive industriesExcerpt from "Land Grabbing & Poverty in Cambodia: The Myth of Development"
Published by Licadho
In recent years it has become a tragic cliché to say that Cambodia is suffering from an “epidemic” of land-grabbing by the rich and powerful – an epidemic which is resulting in the loss of residence and livelihoods by the poor and vulnerable on a massive scale.
The statistics, which have become more alarming year by year, speak for themselves. In the 13 provinces in which LICADHO works – roughly half the country – more than a quarter of a million people have been affected by land-grabbing and forced evictions since 2003.
There is little doubt that the appropriation of land in Cambodia has been a very positive development for the powerful individuals and private companies who have acquired prime real estate at little or no cost – as well as government officials who profited from the transactions.
There is little evidence, however, that ordinary Cambodians are benefiting from the mass confiscation of their land. On the contrary, those who are displaced are explicitly excluded from any benefits, and instead find themselves facing loss of income, poor health, lack of education and other dire consequences that are directly opposed to the government’s public commitment to development, expressed through targets such as the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDG).
There is no sign of the Cambodian authorities slowing down the pace of land grabbing and forced evictions, usually committed in flagrant contravention of their own laws. Economic Land Concessions continue to be granted in unlawful secrecy, concealed from the public, and sometimes in sizes far exceeding the legal limit of 10,000 hectares.
Social Land Concessions continue to be established illegally – in fact, not a single one has been completed in accordance with the relevant laws – and perversely have been used to steal land from the poor rather than provide it to them. The Cambodian military continues to be involved in evictions, in contravention of the law, as well as heavily implicated in landgrabbing for their own benefit. The Cambodian courts continue to act on behalf of rich and powerful interests, ignoring the evidence, the Land Law and other relevant legislation, enforcing eviction where ownership remains undecided and imprisoning those who dare to protest. And to underline the fact that these evictions are really about grabbing valuable land – rather than actual development – many sites from which people have been evicted in recent years remain largely untouched by their new owners.
The government, meanwhile, says there is no problem.
A Government in Denial
Despite a mounting tide of concern and criticism from both Cambodian civil society and the international community, the Cambodian government has so far adopted a policy of blanket denial that any problem exists – even going so far as to deny that any forced evictions take place – and of attacking those who point out otherwise.
Typical was the government’s reaction to Miloon Kothari, the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing Rights, who visited Cambodia in 2005 and found a “frenzy now across the country by the rich and powerful in Cambodia to acquire land”. Instead of addressing the valid concerns raised, Prime Minister Hun Sen launched a personal attack on the Special Rapporteur, saying in a public speech that “One guy, a UN representative… He came just for money. He regarded Cambodians as thieves.”
When in 2008 Amnesty International released a detailed report on forced evictions in Cambodia, the government responded by denying that any “unlawful and forcible evictions” take place. Bizarrely, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited the under-threat communities of Borei Keila and Dey Krahorm in Phnom Penh – where human rights workers have documented countless violations of land rights in recent years – as being “happy” with the government’s approach. (Within a year of the ministry’s statement, the remaining families of Dey Krahorm would be violently evicted in yet another example of forced evictions which the government claims do not occur). Meanwhile Hor Nambora, Cambodia’s Ambassador in London, attacked the messenger, accusing Amnesty International of “sensationalism” and its researcher of being an “adventurist”, and instead of addressing the report’s detailed criticisms boasted of the international donor community’s praise and support for the government’s policies.
Ambassador Hor continued in a similar vein in 2009, when he responded to a Global Witness report on Cambodia’s extractive industries – which also highlighted the widespread allocation of land to private companies – by ridiculing the report as “rubbish”, claiming that the organization was “naïve” and stating that Cambodia’s donors were “fully aware of the way the Royal Cambodian Government’s conducts its affairs and its commitment to demonstrating the highest possible standards.”
But perhaps the most telling response was that of Dr Sea Kosal, Cambodian Ambassador to the UN, following the visit of UN Special Representative Yash Ghai to Cambodia in December 2007. During his visit, which focused on land and housing rights issues, Professor Ghai warned of the social instability which Cambodia risked because of such uncontrolled “development”. Dr Sea responded with a furious letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon accusing Professor Ghai of having “incited the people in Cambodia to revolt” against the government (ironically echoing the spurious criminal “incitement” charges that are frequently brought against the representatives of communities fighting evictions and land grabbing).
The government ignores such warnings at its peril. Numerous local and international human rights organizations have supported Professor Ghai’s observations. The links between land alienation and conflict are well-documented. And the dangers for Cambodia have been repeatedly highlighted, most recently in a report issued by a British think-tank in March 2009 on risks posed by the global financial crisis, which analyzed factors such as social inequality and economic distress, and concluded that Cambodia is currently one of the very most vulnerable nations in the world to social and political unrest.
Such willful disregard of the problems facing the country does no favors to the Cambodian people and, in the long run, will do no favors to the Cambodian authorities. While there is no doubt about the complexities of economic management – and that the country is affected by many factors outside its control – Cambodia is in the fortunate position that there are steps which could be taken immediately to address the hardships faced by its people. First and foremost among these would be to stem the tide of land-grabbing and other economic pillage in the name of “development”.
The statistics, which have become more alarming year by year, speak for themselves. In the 13 provinces in which LICADHO works – roughly half the country – more than a quarter of a million people have been affected by land-grabbing and forced evictions since 2003.
- In the capital, Phnom Penh, 133,000 people – more than 10% of its population – are believed to have been evicted since 1990.
- In 2008, according to Amnesty International, a further 150,000 Cambodians were at risk of forced relocation nationwide.
- As of 2004, it was estimated that 20-30% of landowners held 70% of the country’s land, while the poorest 40% occupied only 10%; in the countryside, 45% of families were landless or near landless.
There is little doubt that the appropriation of land in Cambodia has been a very positive development for the powerful individuals and private companies who have acquired prime real estate at little or no cost – as well as government officials who profited from the transactions.
There is little evidence, however, that ordinary Cambodians are benefiting from the mass confiscation of their land. On the contrary, those who are displaced are explicitly excluded from any benefits, and instead find themselves facing loss of income, poor health, lack of education and other dire consequences that are directly opposed to the government’s public commitment to development, expressed through targets such as the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDG).
There is no sign of the Cambodian authorities slowing down the pace of land grabbing and forced evictions, usually committed in flagrant contravention of their own laws. Economic Land Concessions continue to be granted in unlawful secrecy, concealed from the public, and sometimes in sizes far exceeding the legal limit of 10,000 hectares.
Social Land Concessions continue to be established illegally – in fact, not a single one has been completed in accordance with the relevant laws – and perversely have been used to steal land from the poor rather than provide it to them. The Cambodian military continues to be involved in evictions, in contravention of the law, as well as heavily implicated in landgrabbing for their own benefit. The Cambodian courts continue to act on behalf of rich and powerful interests, ignoring the evidence, the Land Law and other relevant legislation, enforcing eviction where ownership remains undecided and imprisoning those who dare to protest. And to underline the fact that these evictions are really about grabbing valuable land – rather than actual development – many sites from which people have been evicted in recent years remain largely untouched by their new owners.
The government, meanwhile, says there is no problem.
A Government in Denial
Despite a mounting tide of concern and criticism from both Cambodian civil society and the international community, the Cambodian government has so far adopted a policy of blanket denial that any problem exists – even going so far as to deny that any forced evictions take place – and of attacking those who point out otherwise.
Typical was the government’s reaction to Miloon Kothari, the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing Rights, who visited Cambodia in 2005 and found a “frenzy now across the country by the rich and powerful in Cambodia to acquire land”. Instead of addressing the valid concerns raised, Prime Minister Hun Sen launched a personal attack on the Special Rapporteur, saying in a public speech that “One guy, a UN representative… He came just for money. He regarded Cambodians as thieves.”
When in 2008 Amnesty International released a detailed report on forced evictions in Cambodia, the government responded by denying that any “unlawful and forcible evictions” take place. Bizarrely, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited the under-threat communities of Borei Keila and Dey Krahorm in Phnom Penh – where human rights workers have documented countless violations of land rights in recent years – as being “happy” with the government’s approach. (Within a year of the ministry’s statement, the remaining families of Dey Krahorm would be violently evicted in yet another example of forced evictions which the government claims do not occur). Meanwhile Hor Nambora, Cambodia’s Ambassador in London, attacked the messenger, accusing Amnesty International of “sensationalism” and its researcher of being an “adventurist”, and instead of addressing the report’s detailed criticisms boasted of the international donor community’s praise and support for the government’s policies.
Ambassador Hor continued in a similar vein in 2009, when he responded to a Global Witness report on Cambodia’s extractive industries – which also highlighted the widespread allocation of land to private companies – by ridiculing the report as “rubbish”, claiming that the organization was “naïve” and stating that Cambodia’s donors were “fully aware of the way the Royal Cambodian Government’s conducts its affairs and its commitment to demonstrating the highest possible standards.”
But perhaps the most telling response was that of Dr Sea Kosal, Cambodian Ambassador to the UN, following the visit of UN Special Representative Yash Ghai to Cambodia in December 2007. During his visit, which focused on land and housing rights issues, Professor Ghai warned of the social instability which Cambodia risked because of such uncontrolled “development”. Dr Sea responded with a furious letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon accusing Professor Ghai of having “incited the people in Cambodia to revolt” against the government (ironically echoing the spurious criminal “incitement” charges that are frequently brought against the representatives of communities fighting evictions and land grabbing).
The government ignores such warnings at its peril. Numerous local and international human rights organizations have supported Professor Ghai’s observations. The links between land alienation and conflict are well-documented. And the dangers for Cambodia have been repeatedly highlighted, most recently in a report issued by a British think-tank in March 2009 on risks posed by the global financial crisis, which analyzed factors such as social inequality and economic distress, and concluded that Cambodia is currently one of the very most vulnerable nations in the world to social and political unrest.
Such willful disregard of the problems facing the country does no favors to the Cambodian people and, in the long run, will do no favors to the Cambodian authorities. While there is no doubt about the complexities of economic management – and that the country is affected by many factors outside its control – Cambodia is in the fortunate position that there are steps which could be taken immediately to address the hardships faced by its people. First and foremost among these would be to stem the tide of land-grabbing and other economic pillage in the name of “development”.
7 comments:
LOOKING THE HOR ACHKè 5 BORA FACE
he's really a THIEF and A YOURN .
HE MUST DIE.....
In Srok Khmer nowadays we can publicly find ourselves surrounded increasingly with signs of immorality and corruption...
Laws that are never enforced..
CPP's poliSickans are selfishly out for their own damned gain, and greedily trying to get ahead by taking advantage of the poor and miserable people.
If the anti-corruption will be eventually existed and the laws will be generally enforced, then Hun SenVarman and CPP will be undoubedly gone!
Those Star generals and Okhnas, and high ranking officials become billiondollars by stealing lands, khmer poors don't even have enough rice to feed their kids nowadays, they lived in huts, no running water or electricity....why Ah Kiet Choun said cambodian is growing??
Well Well,
Khmer leaders must do something with poors people in the rural area, that doesn't have running water and electricity, i'v been to vietnam countryside, at least their government can provide them with electricity in the rural area...
In camobodia, star generals and high ranking officials are growing, and becoming millionare$$, their son or daughter driving ROV RANGER, LEXUS, the economy is growing inside these officials pocket folks!
correction = range rover
The high official or current khmer government will have no mercy when khmer poor get their hands on their neck.
This cycle of mistreading one another is a repetition. It just a matter of time. Do to other as you wishes done unto you.
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