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| Arrest of Boeung Kak Lake protesters (Photo: Reuters) |
Some 150,000 people are expected to be evicted this year. Each week, families are in the streets to protest, without success. The government focuses on trade with Beijing, which does not demand political reforms or improvements in human rights. Sources tell AsiaNews that politicians speculate on ...
Friday, April 08, 2011
By Asia News
Phnom Penh – The boom of Chinese investments in Cambodia promises to transform the national economy and improve the lives of millions of poor. However, behind the slogans, which the government is fond of repeating, there is the tragedy of farming families thrown off their land for paltry compensation to give way to luxury housing estates and more. Sources in Phnom Penh told AsiaNews that “farmland is being seized and transformed across the country” after it was “bought by politicians on the cheap and resold at much higher prices to companies and developers.”
Just around Boeng Kak Lake, in Phnom Penh, more than 2,600 families have been evicted from their homes. Of these, about 1,500 refused the offer of US$ 8,500 in compensation, plus a flat, by the authorities.
The South China Morning Post has reported that families are protesting in the streets every week, only to meet a wall of silence. Some analysts warn that “the government could one day have a rebellion on its hands”.
China's Inner Mongolia Erdos Hongjun Investment Corp wants to invest US$ 3 billion in property development, metal processing and power generation. It is one of the many projects planned by Chinese companies in Cambodia.
China, which is Cambodia's biggest source of foreign direct investment (FDI), is expected to spend US$ 8 billion in 360 projects in the first seven months of this year.
Human rights activists and donor counties have threatened to withhold aid if steps are not taken in favour of the population.
According to Housing Rights Task Force, a Cambodian group monitoring forced evictions, 30,000 people were moved off their land last year, up from 27,000 in 2009. An estimated 150,000 more evictions are expected this year, 70-80,000 in Phnom Penh alone.
However, threats from activists or Western nations do not worry the government, which has opted for Chinese investments without strings attached, like human rights or democratic reforms.
Trade with China climbed 42.1 per cent in 2010 to US$1.12 billion. In exchange, Cambodia showed its unwavering support for China in December 2009 by defying international pressure and deporting 20 Muslim Uyghurs who sought asylum after fleeing ethnic violence in China. Two days later, Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping visited Phnom Penh and signed 14 trade deals.
Sources in Phnom Penh told AsiaNews that “entire areas of the country once covered in water are being drained and expropriated from farmers. This is happening to thousands of people.”
The problem is that there are “no official land registers”. In the past, a lot of farmland “was taken over without authorisation”. Only in the last two years has the land registry started to map out land ownership.
At the same time, “politicians have been buying up hectares of land”, the source said, and are now into speculation, selling them to companies and developers.
“The country’s economy is expanding and economics, more than social and cultural factors, are fuelling its engine.” (DS)
25 comments:
So shameful for government Hun Sen go traid poor people land.
WHERE IS KHMER FREEDOM
Khmer people always obey the law or have always been respected the rule of laws ever since, trying to do the right things and being afraid of the higher-up leaders or what so ever.
Khmer population is not small. It combines with Khmer Krom (Southern Vietnam), Khmer Surin (Northern Thailand) and Khmer Kandal (Cambodia today).
If Khmer people don't care about Buddha or did not show respects, Khmer could be very aggressive like Thai and Vietnam or China, and would have more power and become a very developed nation in the world. The enemies like SIAM (Thailand) and Die Viet (Vietnam) are betrayal and hypocrite races when Khmer people have been so soft and so kind to the neighbors (like Vietnam, Thailand, Laos/Hmong, China, etc) until the neighbors (Thailand and Vietnam) took for grants and stole things and destroyed Khmer people. What on earth the Vietnam and Thailand are doing to Khmer (Cambodia) until today?
It is sad that the Thailand and Vietnam have been using Khmer people as unthinking and forgotten people as their strategies to destroy the real Khmer history to regain their rewritten and false histories. They plan to brainwash their young generations to act very weird and rude until today as you know. Many young people of Thailand and Vietnam have learned their false histories on earth and then their histories will not have the values to learn.
Thailand and Vietnam compare themselves to be like the U.S., British Empire, etc. That is stupid.
People can't just come and clearing lands and taken lands that belonged to state! The lands belonged to state, and government has the rights to take it back and rebuilding our country, people should take government's offer $8000! Why people so greedy? You gave them a gold, they asking for diamond too..?? These people got to understand that they came and clearing, taken lands that belonged to state!!
People are lucky that this Govts willing to give them something..?? What's happen,if they kick you out and give you nothing..??
All around Boeung Tonle Sap Lake, people clering the forest and takne lands that belonged to STATE! People greedy and want to take advantage on Govts, you can't do whatever you want man..? You must understand, things are not free for you to become millionair overnight??
correction=clearing
4:08 AM, 4:10 AM and 4:13 AM,
What are you thinking, guys? Can you go down there to find out what is going on? Don't just judge people like that.
You need to know who are behind all the corruptions. I assume you guys have money and live more comfortable and then look down on those people like that. I don't know about all three of you, but I think you are Yuon and CPP Yuon folks who are illegal residents from Vietnam and act so selfish and ignorant in my country, Cambodia. How about that?
I have said many times and again and again. All investments are good for the country regardless from any country and from any source. Therefore we shall not blame these investment by names. This action of the media is no different from the action taken by our loverly Theary into Khmer Rouge tribunal. As a lawyer, she cannot make public for any alleged criminal she has complained because it would confused to the public that alleged criminals are already charged with crimes. This same media for blaming country origin of investments is also to confuse the public.
THe eviction is a crime committed by authorities of local level and National level.
In all democracy Nations, all government officials are not allowed to act as a commercial broker of any business. This commercial business is the business of all businessmen and women and they have to pay their taxes on their profit. Therefore, any failure to settle any disputes, we have to call off for the dealt and the buyers have to come up with appropriated amount to satisfy the sellers. No way, we can use force sales and use public police to evict people from their lands. This action is a daylight robberies. The victims and their descendants can make their claim to other party any time i the future for all their sufferings when the country has a good justice system.
In New Zealand, many Maori people have lodged their claims for their lands lost by their ancestors about 200 years ago and the government has to pay ten of thousands of billions of dollars to settle these claims.
Areak Prey
It seems to me that Cambodian Government (under CPP ruling party) has no track records to keep the people in order or no legal listing of those people.
The systems of CPP, a communist ruling party Government in Cambodia has been so corrupted. Cambodia and Cambodian people have not been legally organized and legally well documents to keep track and identify every Cambodian citizen, birth, place or about who they are legally instead of misplacing people like that under messy systems - no way to keep track those people and property and so on. That is why Cambodian government is so so so corrupted under CPP ruling party and Hun Sen
Therefore, CPP and Hun Sen could make this corrupted systems to be unidentified for every Cambodian citizen and easier for the heap of illegal Vietnamese people coming from Vietnam.
I hope SRP Democratic party will do something about it to organize and make life of individual Cambodian citizen easier and easier to keep track on those people.
This is how Yuon CPP bastards and idiot Hun Sen to make Cambodia country to be unrecognized in the world under Communist Vietnam influence. Very very very bad Communist Yuon/Vietnam!
As long as Ah Hun Sen in the power Cambodian people will be in the misery more and more day by day. You will see the coming day, the land grabbing will be worsen until all real khmer have no more land proprety. This is a youn plan. Khmer Kandal will live in the same situation as khmer krom today. Ah hun sen will keep on close his eyes in front khmer miseries. This guy deserves to have the head cut off by khmer people one day.
All Khmer political party must not involve an election never win, waste time and money.
All Khmer political party needed to spend those money to improve Khmer people living and housing instead wasting it on an election that never win.
Next election HUN Sen will get at least 5 million vote or forfeit the vote to a landslide win from Vietnamese people living in Cambodia.
savecambodian.blogspot.com
UN (United Nations)- mean nothing in Khmer
UNable to protect Cambodia
UNable to save Cambodia from the Vietnamese expansion
UNable to stop Khmer suffering
UNable to remove Hun Sen silence mass murderer from Cambodia
United Nations must be deaf, blind, UNable to do anything to saving and protecting Cambodia, Kashmir and Tibet.
United Nations must never be existed in the first place.
China hurry up and take over Cambodia! Jesus christ what are you waiting for! We open our legs and arms to you! Fuck whorenam!
KAMPUCHEA KROM AT A GLANCE
Kampuchea Krom is composed of 68,965 square kilometers, 21 provinces and municipalities, two large islands - Koh Tral and Koh Tralach, 171 districts, 1,368 communes, 14,778 villages, more than 13 million Khmers, more than 567 Buddhist pagodas and more than 20,000 Theravada Buddhist monks.
99% of populations are Theravada Buddhists.
The Khmer kings, governments, regimes and citizens have never relinquish (give up) this part of their country to foreigners.
Kampuchea Krom has been under an ongoing colonial control since her division from motherland, Cambodia.
June 4, 1949 is the date that the Khmer Kampuchea Krom citizens grieve. The Khmer Kampuchea Krom people have organized Buddhist Service annually to honor the fallen Khmer Buddhist monks and heroes, who sacrificed their lives for Kampuchea Krom and Theravada Buddhism.
Colonial France divided, ceded and transferred Kampuchea Krom to colonial Vietnam on this date. The freedom of Khmer Kampuchea Krom has been mostly stripped by the Vietnamese ruling regimes and governments since. The French colonial administration committed injustice upon the more than 13 million Khmers of this beautiful fertile land.
Justice remains elusive for Cambodia, Kampuchea Krom and her citizens.
And...The struggle to regain freedom and human rights by the Khmers in Kampuchea Krom continues as long as injustice commits by the ruling Vietnamese regime(s) has not produced a fruitful result.
Koh Tral (Tral Island)
in Vietnamese - Phu Quoc island
circa 1939 Vietnamese encroached and conquered
Koh Tral Island has an area of 567 square kilometers; about 62 kilometers long and between 3 kilometers and 28 kilometers wide. The island physically is located closest to Cambodia's Kep seaside city. Visitors can see Koh Tral Island from the coastline of Kep. It is about a 30-minute motorized boat ride.
By Smart Khmer Girl, Ms. Rattana Keo
Why some blogger and Khmer people are still ignoring what happening in
Cambodia? Have they been to visit Cambodia? Have they eyes to see,read the news,watch TV,Radio or something
else in the world and around them?
How about their ears what could they
use them?
There are so many Cambodians who went
to visit Cambodia back and forth;they
talked and talked what happened in Cambodia.
Does Cambodia govt rule her people
with justice?If Hun Sen has the word justice out of his mouth and
his good heart,Khmer people never complain about his government.
The Chinese investors never care what happening to Khmer people what they care are money .
What should Cambodia govt these people?
The Khmer govt should build apartments for them some place in Phnom Penh,build schools,build hospitals,markets,and water to provide them.
All of these what they need for their daily lives.
But does Hun Sen want to do that for Khmer poor people?
Does Hun Sen love his people? No.
Who does he love?Vietnamese.
Hun Sen rules Cambodia for life.
Why?Because Vietnam govt and Vietnamese support and vote for him,even Khmer people won't for him,he still wins the election.
Cambodians
Koh Tral Island must not be forgotten
By Ms. Rattana Keo
Why do Koh Tral Island, known in Vietnam as Phu Quoc, a sea and land area covering proximately over 10,000 km2 [Note: the actual land size of Koh Tral itself is 574 square kilometres (222 sq miles)] have been lost to Vietnam by whose treaty? Why don’t Cambodia government be transparent and explain to Cambodia army at front line and the whole nation about this? Why don't they include this into education system? Why?
Cambodian armies are fighting at front line for 4.6 km2 on the Thai border and what's about over 10,000km2 of Cambodia to Vietnam. Nobody dare to talk about it! Why? Cambodian armies you are decide the fate of your nation, Cambodian army as well as Cambodian people must rethink about this again and again. Is it fair?
Koh Tral Island, the sea and land area of over 10,000 square kilometres have been lost to Vietnam by the 1979 to 1985 treaties. The Cambodian army at front line as well as all Cambodian people must rethink again about these issues. Are Cambodian army fighting to protect the Cambodia Nation or protecting a very small group that own big lands, big properties or only protecting a small group but disguising as protecting the Khmer nation?
The Cambodian army at front lines suffer under rain, wind, bullets, bombs, lack of foods, lack of nutrition and their families have no health care assistance, no securities after they died but a very small group eat well, sleep well, sleep in first class hotel with air conditioning system with message from young girls, have first class medical care from oversea medical treatments, they are billionaires, millionaires who sell out the country to be rich and make the Cambodian people suffer everyday.
Who signed the treaty 1979-1985 that resulted in the loss over 10,000 km2 of Cambodia??? Why they are not being transparent and brave enough to inform all Cambodians and Cambodian army at front line about these issues? Why don't they include Koh Tral (Koh Tral size is bigger than the whole Phom Phen and bigger than Singapore [Note: Singapore's present land size is 704 km2 (271.8 sq mi)]) with heap of great natural resources, in the Cambodian education system?
Look at Hun Sen's families, relatives and friends- they are billionaires, millionaires. Where did they get the money from when we all just got out of war with empty hands [in 1979]? Hun Sen always say in his speeches that Cambodia had just risen up from the ashes of war, just got up from Year Zero with empty hands and how come they are billionaires, millionaires but 90% of innocent Cambodian people are so poor and struggling with their livelihood every day?
Smart Khmer girl Ms. Rattana Keo,
4:08 AM, 4:10 AM,
You have no brain, you mother fucker, the way you talk, there is no sense, one day you'll you mom for real mother fucker. As a person, you are trash!
Same people posting the same Shit! Hey I like your site! ok..ok.ok..ok..! AH HENG SOY! WHY ARE YOU SO ANTI-CHINESE?
Khmer's tears become a river, Hoon Xen would not care but if Yourns cry, Hoon Xen would react right away because he' s scared that His Ho Chi Ming master would be upset.
AND THAT'S THE END.
khmer news @ 10:45 AM
You look so sexy for my dog. Can you come over and give him a blowjob.
He will give you one back by the rear end.
Sarun Y.
on the next election please vote!
UN used to be rich. Not any more now. They are as poor as Cambodia. UN is going to help a nation which it be of some benefit of, give and get. With Cambodia, it only GET and never give anything back. No more help shit Cambodia again when its leaders of full of shitty head.
If someone is really serious it is a good opportunity to sponsor or adopt the children of those victims people and train them for suicide bomb on Hunsen and his families.
It will never happen if you do nothing.
I don't care !!!some of them voted to HUN SEN, so the result is their houses...Hun Sen offer them so sweet!!!
Begger Phsar thmey
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