Former residents of Koh Pich remind of their eviction

24 Nov 2010
By Den Ayuthyea
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Soch
Click here to read the article in Khmer

Former residents who were evicted from Koh Pich claimed that they used to put a curse on the Phnom Penh city authority and the development company which evicted them out by ignoring their tears and without providing them with a decent resolution.

The Koh Pich entertainment center where almost one thousand people were killed and injured in the evening of 22 Nov was known as Koh Klung (Leper Island). The residents claimed that they settled there since 1982 and more than 300 families lived there. Between 2002 and 2005, the Phnom Penh city authority evicted them by force and moved them to a new location under the pretext that the land is earmarked by the government for development.

An aging woman, who was a former resident in Koh Pich and who declined to provide her name to RFA, indicated on 24 Nov that, between 2002 and 2005, the residents suffered constantly and they shed their tears almost on a daily basis because the authority forced them out of their homes where they used to live without providing them with a reasonable explanation.

The same lady added that when the eviction started, the residents put a curse on the authority and the development company, wishing that they cannot progress their work smoothly because the development of Koh Pich brought hardship on several hundreds of families.

Hun Samnang, another former resident, said that he settled on family’s land and farm in 1982, but he lost everything when the city forced him to dismantle his home and it also prevented him from protesting to ask for compensation. He said that because his family had no choice, he accepted the $8,000 compensation imposed by the city.

Hun Samnang added that when reminiscing about the house he used to live in on Koh Pich, he regrets very much that the authority forced the Koh Pich residents to dismantle their houses and move out under the pretext of providing the island as a concession to a private company for development.

He also said that during the eviction, his family, as well as other residents on Koh Pich, used to pray to the magic spirits and the land guardian spirit to punish those who evicted the residents, and they also prayed to God to provide them with justice. However, he said that he never prayed for the death of innocent people just because they came to Koh Pich for leisure.

Sao Hak, a former Koh Pich resident, told RFA on 24 Nov. that his house and 2-hectare of land in Koh Pich were dismantled and confiscated under the pretext of development, and the city did not provide proper compensation to his family. He said that he brought his complaint to the court, but the Supreme court decided on 06 August 2010 that he would receive $6 of compensation per square meter only whereas the actual market in 2004 was already at $20 per square-meter.

Sao Hak said that this extreme injustice for the former residents in this community who were evicted, and then the authority gave the ownership of this land to a private company while evicting by force the former island residents.

Morn Vuthy, an official for the Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) which provided help to the residents who were evicted from Koh Pich, said that the eviction of the Koh Pich residents by the government was very unfair for the resident because the government compensated them with $1.50 per square-meter only, but after the residents protested, the development company and the authority raised the compensation to $6.75 per square-meter.

RFA could not reach Pung Kheav Se, the CEO of the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corp. (OCIC) which received the right to develop the Koh Pich entertainment center, in the afternoon of 24 Nov as his aide told us that he was busy in a meeting. Nevertheless, his aid said that Koh Pech is currently developed to become an exposition center to sell local and foreign products, as well as an entertainment center. However, there is no high rise building or hotel in the island yet.

Regarding this development, Hun Xen used to ask developers to plan for the construction of a 555-m high rise building, the tallest of its kind in Asia. The construction of this building is planned to take place on Koh Pich.

On 25 June 2004, the Cambodian Development Council (CDC) gave the right to the partnership of Canadia Bank and the OCIC to develop and change Koh Pich island and turn into a satellite city. Koh Pick is located next to the Tonle Bassac, in Bassac commune, Chamcar Mon district, Phnom Penh city.