Croc Tears Cheated Koh Khloong (កោះឃ្លង់) Tragedy

29/11/2010
Comment by Kok Sap
Originally posted at: http://khamerlogue.wordpress.com

Following the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements and the UN administered national elections; a free-market economy was introduced. The 1992 Land Law first introduced the concept of legal possession. Legal recognition of possession rights was updated by the 2001 Land Law.

According to this law, anyone who settled on, or began using their land at any time before the 2001 Land Law was passed, is a legal possessor as long as they meet the five conditions set out in the Land Law. These five conditions are that the possession must be continuous, peaceful, in good faith, unambiguous and known to the public. In addition, at the time that the possession commenced, the land could not have been State public property, privately owned by someone else, indigenous land or monastery land.

If all conditions are met, legal possessors have the right to request a title of ownership. The possession constitutes a right in rem meaning that while the possessor is waiting for the possession to be converted to ownership he/she has the right to live on and use the land, exclude others from the land, and transfer it to others. The procedure for issuing title to legitimate possessors is in theory straight forward. It can be done through systematic registration, initiated and conducted by the Government, or through sporadic registration initiated on the application of the land-holder. Upon proving that they meet the conditions of legal possession, all legal possessors should be issued with titles.

However, there is repeated evidence of the Government denying land titles to those with valid possession rights. In many instances, households that have strong possession rights claims are unable to engage Government in any dialogue as to the legitimacy of those claims. Instead, households seeking to advance their possession rights claims and obtain title are simply told they have no rights, with no underlying explanation, no process of examining evidence or presenting a justification for the denial of title, or any other mechanism that might allow for a standardized and transparent process.

Possession rights were formalized by the Land Law in recognition of the fact that many millions of Kampuchean do not have legal title to their land and as such should provide a means of tenure security to these households until formal titling is conducted in their area. The arbitrary and non-transparent manner in which possession rights are recognized or denied renders this legislative attempt to provide security meaningless.”

Due to past history Koh Pich is not the original name. Under the French rule, it said one of the Kings had the lepers rounded up from across the kingdom then sent them to an isolated tiny isle across from his palace compound in Phnom Penh. The lepers were banished from mainland, Kampuchea. No outside contact allowed. The visitor must bribe the officials to visit the leper relatives lived on the isle. The king’s order was absolute and placed upon the lepers not to leave but to live and die on the isle. Any one attempted to leave, if caught, the offender would be charged with lèse- majesté offense and summarily execution. Thereafter, it has come to be known as Koh Khloong (កោះឃ្លង់).

After going through Hanoi perpetuated wars and incursions, 1979 Yuon occupied Kampuchea. During the interim, Koh Khloong was a home to hundreds of poor since 1982. The 1991 Paris Peace Agreements and the UN administered national elections; a free-market economy was introduced. Then in 1992 Land Law was first introduced the concept of legal possession.

But for Koh Khloong‘s 302 families, land law seems ambiguous and ludicrous in defending their rights. Per USAID project PILAP,” When they received an eviction order (from Angkar Leu)in 2004, residents of a lush 68-hectare river island minutes from downtown Phnom Penh, Cambodia had no idea their plight would become a symbol for a larger struggle. The order came shortly after local officials and a major financial institution began pressing residents to leave the island to make way for its redevelopment as a “satellite city,” complete with luxury villas and hotels. The residents, many of whom are illiterate farmers, were easily intimidated by threats and misinformation. Many accepted a paltry sum of less than $2 per square meter of their land to relocate to a crude resettlement site outside the city, far from the farms that sustained them. The project seeks out cases that generate public debate and demand accountability and respect for legal norms. In an environment where illegal land-grabbing occurs with impunity, the Koh Pich island dispute presented an opportunity to uphold and publicize important legal principles. The Cambodian Constitution and the Land Law grant rights to people residing on unregistered land. The law also establishes the principle of “fair and just compensation” prior to any government “taking” of land for a public interest. Armed with a clear understanding of these principles, the lawyers analyzed the residents’ claims. To strengthen their position, they conducted an appraisal of land values on different parts of the island. The highly publicized, high-impact approach has enabled a community to assert its legal rights in one of the first collective legal actions in Cambodia. In the process, the case has laid a foundation for the principle of “fair and just compensation” for the increasing number of victims of land-grabbing throughout the country.

To avoid public scrutiny a so called Overseas Cambodia Investment Company (OCIC) belongs to a Chinese born 1946 in Phnom Penh but lives in Canada was fronted for the whole deal.

” In 2006, OCIC signed a $50 million 99-year lease with the city of Phnom Penh to develop and manage Koh Pich. Sales of apartments, villas and houses began in late 2008. At the same time the developers also began building a bridge to the island. With units priced at $1,500 per square metre initial sales were poor and OCIC offered various promotions, including discounts of up to 35 per cent on villas and houses in the first phase of the project, and payment period incentives. Units are available from $200,000 to $1 million. When completed in 2017, Diamond Island City will occupy 75-hectares of the island overlooking Phnom Penh. The project was originally planned to be completed by 2016, but work was delayed because of the downturn in the economy.”In term of the stampede incident, the OCIC owner donated $1,000 for the dead and $200 for the injured.

To fool the potential voters for next election, on 25/11/2010 Comrade Xen put on a spectacular show for the public and press corps. But today he insulted the nation, “no one is responsible for the fatal stampede. This incident could be preventable with proper management. It is the poor management and negligence that had cost hundreds of death. No one is to be punished.” Not bad politic for a flunk out eighth grader proletarian foot soldier from Yuon supported Khmer Rouge regime turned five diamond star general who rules country likes his own rice paddy.

The weeping prime minister daughter and owner of Bayon TV appeared to be one of the owners. Instead of expending her own money for the victims, she has collected large sum of donation via her television station from the public to pay for her own liability and responsibility. Following by Comrade Sok An, the chief operator of the council of ministers and the apparent co-owner of the isle too, used his most powerful position in Kampuchea to hastingly announce and conclude the investigation. The death toll was reduced from over 400 to 351. Meanwhile Comrade Kong Sam Ol, the minister of Royal Palace and head of the festival committee offered to resign but he was assured no one knew the incident would happen and the number of spectator was larger than expected. Comrade Xen did not apologize to the nation. Also he did not accept Kong Sam Ol resignation and insinuated each dead receives $12,000 that‘s enormous amount as opposed to $700 annual income per family. Other word no one was fired for the incident including the insensitive and insolent governor of Phnom Penh, Kept Chuy Taemae.

In all, the head of government is too incompetent to raise issues with his subordinates. Clearly his and relatives interest is above the laws. To his concern it’s all about who owns what, where and how much can be collected from. Now it is an outrage for Kampucheans to have faced fat crocodiles and starved hyenas in government when comes to law enforcement and responsibility.

Hundreds die in Phnom Penh bridge stampede

27 November 2010
By John Roberts
World Socialist Web Site

The Cambodian government of Prime Minister Hun Sen declared November 25 a national day of mourning for the lives lost on Monday night when a panicked stampede took place among thousands of people crowded onto a narrow bridge in the capital Phnom Penh. The tragedy occurred during the annual Water Festival, which celebrates the end of the wet season.

As of November 24, Ith Samheng, chairman of the committee set up by the government to investigate the catastrophic event, declared that 456 people were confirmed dead—109 who lost their lives at the scene and 347 who died in Phnom Penh’s overwhelmed public hospitals. Hundreds more were injured.

The 50-metre Diamond Gate suspension bridge is one of two bridges that connect the 100-hectare (250 acre) Koh Pich (Diamond) Island in the Bassac River to central Phomn Penh. The stampede on the bridge occurred as concerts were ending on both sides of the bridge. Survivors reported being trapped by surges of people pushing in both directions. Some reports state that the second bridge had been closed by organisers.

Paul Hurford, an Australian fire fighter who was working with the local emergency services, told the Financial Times that it took him at least 35 minutes to work his way through the crowd to get to the casualties. “It is fairly confronting to see 300-plus casualties in an area less than 100 metres square,” he said. “We were working on the worst ones, those with faint pulses. We worked on five or six who were borderline and unfortunately lost them all.”

Some survivors were trapped and unable to move their heads for an hour or more. Loeung, a woman from Svay Rieng province whose 24-year-old sister was crushed to death, told the Phnom Penh Post that she had been “stuck in the middle of the bridge among nearly 1,000 people for about two hours”.

Some people sought to escape from the crush by jumping into the river, leading to a number drowning.

Most of the dead were young people who had come to the capital from Cambodia’s rural areas for the festival. It appears the majority were women who found it more difficult to extract themselves from the pile of bodies, which were stacked four or five high in some places.

The government estimates that three million people crowded into the city for the Water Festival. The celebration centres on traditional boat races in the river, picnics, concerts and walking the river banks with families and friends. Government spokesman Phay Siphan estimated that there were one-and-a-half million people on the tiny Diamond Island when the disaster started.

There are conflicting reports about what caused the stampede. Some survivors said that a disturbance in the crowd by some men caused the panic. Others said that the push on the bridge began after some of the crowd fainted because of the heat.

A government report on the government-controlled Bayon television station blamed the panic on a slight swaying of the bridge. Some survivors, however, have claimed that it began when people were electrocuted when police used water cannons to either control or cool the crowd. Water allegedly made contact with exposed wiring from the festive lighting that covered the bridge. Government authorities have denied that anyone was electrocuted.

Hospitals have reported that most of the casualties died from asphyxiation, drowning or internal bleeding. Doctor Chhouy Meng of the Calmette Hospital’s technical office told the Phnom Penh Post on Wednesday that there was no evidence of electrocution. Only autopsies could determine the exact cause of death in some cases, he noted however, but no autopsies would be performed. Health services were so overwhelmed on the night of the tragedy that many of the dead were dealt with by ambulances in the field. Once bodies were identified by authorities, the government immediately released them to their families for burial. All of the corpses had been released by Wednesday.

Whatever the immediate cause of the disaster, it is clear that the national and city authorities were totally unprepared for any emergency. Given the scale of the Water Festival, the danger was always present. The Wall Street Journal noted that “many expatriates view the festival as a time to get out of Phnom Penh, which they say doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle such an influx of people”.

On Wednesday, as relatives began to demand an explanation for the loss of family members, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith admitted the government had not been prepared to deal with crowd control issues. “We were concerned about the possibilities of boats capsizing and pick-pocketing,” he said. “We did well, but we did not think about this kind of incident.”

The Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission has called for a more thorough investigation. Its statement declared that the Cambodian government was clearly unprepared for “any large-scale disaster” and that it had failed to “control and limit the damage.”

From the time of the disaster, both Prime Minister Hun Sen and Canadia Bank PLC, the financier of the private developers who own Diamond Island, have sought to placate public anger over the hundreds of deaths.

Hun Sen has promised $1,250 to cover the funeral expenses for each of the families of those killed and $250 for those injured.

Canadia Bank executive Charles Vann stated: “This can’t be blamed on anybody. This is an accident nobody expected.” As he toured the main hospital in Phnom Penh, Vann reportedly handed out cash payments of $1,000 to relatives of the dead and $200 to injured people. According to the Wall Street Journal, Vann said more bridges linking the island with the city would be built in the future.

The developers, the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation, are currently constructing a $US300 million, 75-hectare building complex on the island, which includes housing, a convention centre and other facilities. A spokesman for the company, Susi Tan, insisted that the government was responsible for “public security”. Denying the owners of the island had any responsibility for the conditions that led to the tragedy, she claimed that while it had happened “near the Diamond Island”, it had not occurred “on the island”.

A death to make tragedy for a man in poverty, but an opportunity to make profit for a man in business

Pung Sovann aliased Pung Kheav Se,

born 1946 in Phnom Penh turned a

merchant of deaths in Koh Pich

24/11/2010
By Kok Sap
Originally posted at http://khamerlogue.wordpress.com/

“I am not surprised with Pung Kheav Se’s generosity; it’s all about business as usual in Cambodia nowadays.”

Today Radio Free Asia reported the stampede casualties are higher. Officially the total death is 456 and injured 395. Let’s hope it is the number with no more changes. In light of such tragic event on 22/11/2010 including the officials and relevant authorities seemed to focus on the aftermath and none would raise the concern on the bridge liability and responsibility to the mass. Also it appears folks are quick to focus on the results of the events rather than the relativities. So far the public believe the causes are:

• The bridge is too narrow to hold hundreds of people in same time,
• The bridge is in the suspending mode which it could move without warning due to the speed of the wind and impact of the mass,
• The bridge designed for quick commute not as a platform to hold immobile weight for extensive duration,
• The bridge provided no emergency safety and evacuation path.

For Cambodia society not to say there is no proper insurance regulatory, but insurance coverage for anything sounds as strange as the globe is round consisted of more than 70% liquid and spinning on its own axis. But in modern commercial investment regardless of size, in international common practice, the owner or responsible party must and shall have the liability and owner casualty insurance secured before it can fully operate. To ensure public safety and trust in commerce, the government regulatory and compliance must also be accountable in regulations. So for a shrewd and cunning man like Pung Kheav Se, for sure he is not risking his businesses without proper insurance coverage. First it is to protect his personal assets from unwanted lawsuit and inadvertent business liability and second it is to safeguard him from relevant tax entities in his domicile abroad. However, no one knows for sure how much the owner of Koh Pich Bridge and bridge is insured for? If all insured, with whom, what and which company from where?

To date, people know only the owner of Canadia Bank Plc of Cambodia is Mr.Pung Kheav Se who owns Koh Pich Bridge and the inlet land. Strangely before the final casualties confirmed, Koh Pich owner offers $1,000 to each dead victim beneficiary. In total it would amount to $456,000. But no one knows whether he would pay the same amount to the injured ones. Presumably let’s say he would pay the same and the amount would be $395,000. Until now it’s unclear, he doesn’t say he will pay for the several hospitals emergency cares and funeral services provided for the victims. That not to mention what will be the fine and penalty fees that may be deemed by the public safety ordinance violations.

So far in grand total he would pay $815,000. That will be a lot of money for the Cambodia’s $0.50 per day standard. But for the owner of a bank chain that is especially backed by government and known international bodies, the amount is insignificant. It is also not quite right to assume Pung Kheav Se is giving his own money to the victims.

To begin with, he is in the banking business is to make profit, not donation. Beside given the degree of support and collaboration from relevant and corruptive government officials, we don’t know to what exactly figures that he will put in claim for damage and casualty for Koh Pich Bridge and land holder business loss for the reimbursement from the insurance coverage. He has Cambodia government in his under pant pocket for 24/7. Nevertheless for certain at the end of the day so many officials in the finance and economy or commerce ministries will receive a share in kick back pay when the business transaction is a done deal.

The government official included prime minister did not raise concern to account the financial liability and responsibility of the bridge owner. The families of victims immediate concern is how they can afford the funeral and transporting the dead home. Other hands the victims, in despair, would accept and take anything that made available to them.

From his interview with Cambodia News on 23/6/2010, Pung Kheav Se is no patriotic sentimental fool. He said,” In 1993 the Governor of the Bank of Cambodia approached me requesting me to formally transform my trust company into a bank as it was growing so fast. Although our initial capital was not enough, the Governor (who?) told me we could start already with 1.5 million USD. As we had a lot of depositors and also plenty of Cambodians from overseas trusting in our bank, we managed to grow and currently my bank’s total assets amounting of 174 million USD. In deposits we have 150 million and our reserve in 2002 totals 18 million USD. Currently my deposits are about 26% of the whole country’s deposits and our loans are about 32% of country’s total.”

Read more at: http://cambodianews.tv/messages/view/5TFWJ93BWQGYZJV5

Presently with his partners Mrs. Lim Sophany, Mr. Phuong Khinh Hoa, Mr. Mao Khan, Mr. Tol Hak and he hold more than $230 million in assets and cash. Canadia oversees numerous projects in the kingdom.

In essence unlike others, his return in 1991 to Cambodia is driven by the profit to be made out of Cambodia Central Bank and those ex-pats living abroad. To the ears, it’s clear like a bell. With that in mind, it would be a surprise in such a tragic event that Mr.Pung Kheav Se will not reap benefits from it. I would also wonder if his insurance claim will not reflect all of his cash offering to victims. His insurance company in Canada or any place else will have no easy time to not justify his reimbursement. As we know Mr. Pung Kheav Se is no extra-ordinaire humanitarian whose interests driven by the benevolence to protect Cambodia poor peoples.

Phnom Penh government let Canadia Bank signed agreement with IFC and USAID in its behalf then to be a legitimate conduit in money transferring from overseas accounts. Simply say, Pung Kheav Se is no small potato in the kingdom. He was dining and wining among top government officials in Phnom Penh. Many of them receive profits from his business deals. Koh Pich evicted landowners remember him well. With the help from the Council of Ministers Koh Pich is cleared and developed into his fiefdom.

The Canadia Bank reputation was not positive around 1994’s or so. Investors in Phnom Penh said Canadia Bank owner had fronted as foreign stocks exchange broker to lure merchants from local markets to short buy or sell stocks without guaranty. Because Canadia Bank claimed losses in stocks trade subsequently many of them lost capital over night. Then they can’t fight the Canadia illegal manipulation because it had the Cambodia’s Central Bank protection. In US and Canada, many stocks brokers from that era were faced many class action suits. By this time the settlements were in distribution to the plaintiffs. Oddly no way to tell if Pung Kheav Se was not one of the beneficiaries and plaintiffs since his home is also in Canada.

For all the concerns, the truth and rights advocates may need to look into this Cambodian investor from Canada obscure background. From what made known, this man entered Canada under Pung Sovann, a Khmer identity. He left Cambodia for Canada in 1980. No one knew under what status he entered Canada then. Whether the status is legal or questionable it is only the Canadian immigration agency would know. Better yet, all the victims and relevant interests shall challenge Koh Pich bridge owner in court. They shall demand the court to withhold insurance coverage payment from the bridge owner. The insurance compensatory reward shall go straight to each victim’s beneficiary. This is to see how independent the judicial systems in Cambodia are , thereby class action suits shall be filed by the victim families against the bridge owner for failing to provide sufficient emergency safety and evacuation paths on the bridge. The ownership of the bridge shall be reverted to the government appropriate authority controlling the toll collection to maintain the bridge.

====================

According to Phnom Penh Post, in 1993 the National Central Bank was under Comrade #100 of KPP Thor Peng Leath management, an infidel of Sino-descent, who was later fired from his job in mid 1995 due to his involvement in scandals and money laundering.

$1,000 for each dead victim and $200 for injured victim: Pung Kheav Se

The head of Canadia Bank, Pung Kheav Se, speaks to protesters from the Rik Reay community outside the bank's Phnom Penh headquarters in April 2009. The community has refused to accept compensation for the loss of their city-centre land to a housing development project. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Cambodia stampede victims get donations from bridge owner

November 24 2010
Source: Xinhua

The victims of the major stampede, occurring Monday night on a bridge in Phnom Penh, got donations from the owner of the bridge on Tuesday.

"Nobody expected a tragedy like this would happen, and the control of pedestrian flow will be the main preventive measure we take in the future," said the president of Canadia Bank Pung Kheau Se, who is also the owner of Diamond Island and its bridge, as he came up at Calmette Hospital to show his condolences to the victims there.

The households of the dead each got 1,000 US dollars in cash while those injured in the accident got 200 US dollars each.

Pung said the rescue work taken by the government were timely and well-organized. He also showed his gratefulness to the charity groups and volunteers who came to the hospitals overwhelmed by hundreds of inpatients to help.

According to an anonymous personnel of the hospital, the largest one in the Cambodian capital, they had admitted more than 140 injured people and seen another 140 death cases since late Monday night after the stampede occurred on the bridge of Diamond Island in the last day of the Cambodian Water Festival.

The tragedy killed at least 375 people and wounded another 755 as the overcrowded bridge connecting main-land Phnom Penh to Diamond Island saw a sudden panic. Many were drowned, suffocated or were trampled to death as they tried to flee over the bridge.

The three-day Water Festival, the largest annual festival in the Southeast Asian nation, this year attracted over 3 million Cambodians, many from rural areas, converging to the capital city to enjoy the regatta.

Khmer Intelligence News - 29 October 2009

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

29 October 2009

Government reduces soldiers and policemen’ bonuses (1)

Because of a fall in state revenue due to the economic recession the government is reducing bonuses usually paid to some 200,000 soldiers and policemen. The government normally pays the armed forces “basic salaries” and “bonuses for function fulfillment” on a monthly basis. Bonuses, which had been markedly increased in 2008, can be much higher than salaries. They are now being reduced by 30 percent to 50 percent.

Government withholds councilors’ salaries (1)

Over 3,000 district, provincial and municipal councilors elected last May have yet to receive their salaries. The government has been withholding their salaries for five months allegedly because of “administrative problems” and “budget constraints”. But in fact, the government also wants to slow down the decentralization process whereby the ruling CPP would have to share some power at the local level with the opposition SRP which controls approximately 20 percent of the commune, district, provincial and municipal councilors.

Canadia Bank now controlled by Hun Sen’s family (2)

Partly as a result of bad loans linked to the collapsing property sector, Canadia Bank, Cambodia’s largest commercial bank, has recently come under the control of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s family (wife and children). The information is not made public because of concerns about corruption probe and Canadia Bank is involved in several cases of land grabbing.

The Hun Sen family has also taken control of several large development projects abandoned by South Korean firms, such as the 42-storey Gold Tower.

Hun Sen’s brother Hun Neng to be appointed Phnom Penh governor (2)

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s elder brother Hun Neng, currently Kampong Cham province governor, will soon be appointed Phnom Penh governor, replacing Mr. Kep Chuptema.

Foreclosures expected by the end of the year (2)

The government finds it more and more difficult to prevent several nearly bankrupt commercial banks ridden with property-linked bad loans (Canadia Bank, Foreign Trade Bank) from conducting foreclosures. A large number of properties will be seized by the end of the year from the banks’ defaulting clients and sold at auction. Observers expect a further drop in property prices in the next few months.

Sam Rainsy in Cairo (1)

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy is currently in Cairo to attend the 56th Congress of Liberal International (LI). The SRP is a member of the center-oriented LI, the world’s third largest international political grouping behind those formed by the Conservative and the Socialist. Sam Rainsy who had received the prestigious LI Freedom Award in 2006 in Marrakech (Morocco), will be the main speaker in a ceremony to present a book covering 25 consecutive LI Prizes for Freedom whose recipients included Corazon Aquino (Philippines, 1987), Vaclav Havel (Czekoslovakia, 1990), Mary Robinson (Ireland, 1993), Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma, 1995) and Martin Lee (Hong Kong, 1996).

CPP rejected by Socialist International (2)

The CPP candidacy to be a member of Socialist International (SI) has been continuously rejected in spite of Mr. Hun Sen’s repeated demand to join the powerful left-wing international political grouping. The reason for the rejection is related to the CPP’s poor human rights records including the Cambodian government’s repressive policy against trade unions. Both the CPP and its partner Funcinpec are currently members of the right-wing Christian/Centrist Democrat International (CDI).

King informed about seriousness and complexity of land issues (1)

Since his accession to the throne in 2004, King Norodom Sihamoni has been officially informed about the country’s situation only by Prime Minister Hun Sen. For the first time, a group of opposition National Assembly members on October 27 shared with the Monarch the people’s concerns as perceived at the grassroots level. The most serious concerns are related to land issues with citizens increasingly and unfairly losing their lands all over the country because of rampant corruption undermining the whole government including the judicial system. The King was also informed about Cambodian farmers continuously losing their rice fields along the border with Vietnam. In a recent past, King-Father Norodom Sihanouk had expressed very strong reservations about the way the Hun Sen government “works” on border delineation with neighboring countries.

[End]

Rik Reay squares off with Canadia Bank

The head of Canadia Bank, Pung Kheav Se, speaks to protesters from the Rik Reay community outside the bank's Phnom Penh headquarters on Tuesday morning. The community has refused to accept compensation for the loss of their city-centre land to a housing development project. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)
The remaining residents of Rik Reay community turn out in force Tuesday to confront Pung Kheav Se, the head of Canadia Bank, over the ongoing work on the land they call home. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Written by May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

Talks focus on newly installed fence, compensation options.

MORE than 60 Rik Reay community residents and 30 students from Russey Keo High School staged a demonstration outside Canadia Bank's Phnom Penh headquarters Tuesday, drawing the bank's head into a sometimes tense streetside meeting with villagers claiming they were unfairly losing their homes.

The demonstrators gathered at the headquarters at 9:30am, some holding signs that stated, "Canadia Bank and Bassac Garden City have robbed the Rik Reay community of its land".

The students were there in support of their teacher, Pen Thay, a resident representative and member of one of 54 families who have yet to leave the site so that high-end residential villas can be built on it.

A government directive dated January 30 instructed the community's 219 families to vacate the site and offered them one of two compensation options: US$10,000 and a house in Dangkor district, or onsite housing, in which Bassac Garden City, the company developing the site, vowed to invest between $5 million and $6 million.

Shortly after the demonstrators gathered, Pung Kheav Se, the Canadia head who is also chief executive officer of the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation, appeared and told the students to go home. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"Don't waste your time. Go back to study. Let me negotiate with your teacher and the residents," Pung Khean Se said.

At the meeting

He then met with the residents, led by Pen Thay and Chan Bunthol, who is also a resident representative and teaches at Phnom Penh's Preah Sisowath High School.

Pen Thay said the meeting focused in part on Bassac Garden City's decision to install a fence on Saturday night behind some of the residents' homes.

"The owner said he would take the fence down after no more than one week if it was impacting the residents," Pen Thay said, referring to Pung Kheav Se.

Kong Sareth, a 50-year-old Rik Reay resident, said the installation of the fence had reduced the length of his plot of land from 62 metres to 12 metres. "I will stay here until I meet the owner," he said before Pung Kheav Se appeared, "because I don't know what I would do if I went back home."

Pen Thay said compensation was also discussed at the meeting.

"Some of the residents asked for compensation of $30,000," he said.

He noted that 12 of the 54 families asked to develop buildings on the site themselves, a request that Pung Kheav Se reportedly said he could not accommodate because there were not enough families who wanted to participate in the scheme.

"[Pung Kheav Se] said we would need 20 to 30 families to [justify onsite development of alternative housing]," Pen Thay said.

Pung Kheav Se told the crowd that Canadia, which provided a loan to Bassac Garden City to fund the development, "had never done anything illegal" in facilitating the development of the centrally located site.

"I want to have a balanced negotiation, so residents should come to speak directly to me," he said. "I will find justice for all of you."

Land dispute in Phnom Penh

28 April 2009
By Nhim Sophal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Tola Ek
Click here to read the article in French

A group of about 50 people coming from the Reak Reay community were received by the boss of the Canadia Bank on Tuesday morning. The group was protesting in front of the bank headquarters. However, the meeting did not reach any agreement because Pung Kiev Se, director of the Canadia Bank, said that he couldn’t make any decision without prior approval of the administration council.

The construction site involved – known under the name of “Bassac Gardens” – is a real estate development project on a plot of land occupied by 222 families from the Reak reay community.

Currently, 54 families are still protesting. They demand for $30,000 in compensation before leaving the location, whereas the Canadia Bank was only willing to offer $20,000.

“We suggested to the [Bank] management to remove the fence built around the plot without authorization, and to continue to negotiate directly with the residents without resorting to the local authorities,” said Bunthat, one of the residents received by Pung Kiev Se.

The Canadia Bank management promised to think about the problem caused by the fence which disturbs the daily life of the residents. Am Sam Ath, an investigator for the Licadho human rights group, believes that the Reak Reay case is not that different from other land dispute cases, and he said that the residents will have a hard time protecting their land.

Not-so-happy community [... thanks to the Canadia Bank]

A resident of Phnom Penh's Rik Reay, or Happy Community, Hang Sochi Ao, 9, stands in the wreckage of his house on Sunday. Sixteen houses out of the original 219 in the community were torn down and zinc fences were put up around the area Sunday as the community is set for relocation by Bassac Garden City, which plans to develop the area. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Resident Khin Sreang, 40, in front of the fence. The Khmer text warns people that the fence is electrified and that it could kill them. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Monday, 16 March 2009
Written by Chhay Channyda and May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

Several villagers at Rik Reay commune forced to demolish homes to make way for fencing around development project, following protest at Canadia Bank.

HOUSES belonging to several residents at Phnom Penh's Rik Reay community along the Bassac River in Chamkarmon district Sunday were torn down and residents and journalists threatened with violence.

Villagers and journalists were barred from entering the area by police and staff of the developer, Bassac Garden City, which has - with the municipality's help - begun to fence off some land. Bassac Garden City has been linked in the past to Canadia Bank.

A villager representative, high school teacher Chan Bunthol, said he had received a death threat and could not risk going to work at Preah Sisowath High School in case the company tore down his house while he was away.

"This mistreatment is to force us to agree to their compensation package," he said. "I am now worried for my personal security because I heard a company staffer on the walkie-talkie saying they would kill me because I am a community leader. I want to tell you that if I die, it was not at the hands of anyone else but because I was murdered by the staff of Bassac Garden City."

Residents were forced to pull down 16 houses out of the 219 on the land. Bassac Garden City staff and police intimidated villagers and members of the press to prevent them entering the area and sprayed coloured dye on camera equipment.

Another representative, Heng Samphos, who has lived at Rik Reay since 1990, said the company had planned to develop the area since 2007.
He said some families had lived there since the 1980s. Sixty families have not agreed compensation.

"The company used violence as a negotiation tactic, and now they come to destroy our houses without warning," he said. "At 6:30 this morning, the chief of Tonle Bassac commune came and ordered us to demolish our houses so they could erect a fence. He said they have a government order but he didn't show us."

Last Thursday residents protested outside Canadia Bank's main office in Phnom Penh to demand the bank stop erecting fences around the community. But the bank denied it was involved and said it had simply provided the developer with a loan.

"Canadia Bank always says this development project has nothing to do with them, and that they merely loaned money to Bassac Garden City, but we do not believe them - in reality this belongs to Canadia Bank," Heng Samphos said.

Pung Kheav Se is the chief executive officer at the Overseas Cambodian Investment Corporation Ltd (OCIC) and is also the head of Canadia Bank. He confirmed Bassac Garden City is one of OCIC's projects but denied Canadia Bank was involved in the development.

"Canadia Bank provided a loan to Bassac Garden City, but we haven't built fences around the community. That is officials from the municipality and the commune, who are following the government's instruction," Pung Kheav Se said.

A government directive dated January 30 outlined two options for residents to leave what it referred to as their "temporary homes". The directive, which mentions Pung Kheav Se by name and refers to a January 24 letter from Prime Minister Hun Sen endorsing the development, was signed by Prak Sokhon, a secretary of state at the Council of Ministers, and was addressed to Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema.

One offer is a house in Damnak Trayoeng village and US$10,000, of which the municipality will provide US$1,000 and the developer the rest.
The second option is "onsite housing", which the company will build on 16,200 square metres of land in the community in the "amount of US$5 to $6 million".

Heng Samphos said they were being offered a price well below market value: "Just US$20,000 for one house - and if we agree to that they will give us one flat and US$10,000. We just want the fair market price."

Resident Meas Vanna, 37, agreed to take $20,000 and demolish her own house.

"They gave me $5,000 deposit, and once I have torn it down I can get the rest of the money from Canadia Bank," she said. "The reason I agreed to sell is because their staff said if I don't agree they will tear down my house without compensation. So it is better to sell than be forced to move without being paid, even though I know this money is insufficient to buy a new house."

A monitor for a local housing NGO, the Housing Rights Task Force, decried the fence-building as intimidation: "Residents have legal rights," said Bun Rachana.

Canadia Bank's land-grabbing tactic in Reek Reay community: Fenced in the residents and grab their lands

A house in Reek Reay community, Phnom Penh city, is being demolished by the workers hired by the Canadia bank on 15 March 2009 (Photo: Ouk Savborey, RFA)

Canadia Bank starts to demolish Reek Reay community in Phnom Penh city

15 March 2009
By Ouk Savborey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

On Sunday 15 March 2009, residents of the Reek Reay community, Group 46A, Village No. 8, claimed that workers for the Canadia Bank used force to demolish their homes, and the workers also fenced the residents, preventing them from leaving or coming into their homes if the residents refused to sell their lands to the Borey Bassac Park Villa company.

Bun That, a young man who resides in Village No. 8, Group 46A in the Reek Reay community, indicated that the bank set a price limit for each plot of land and the home on it to: either (1) $20,000 (in compensation) or (2) a row house measuring 4-meter-by-10-meter located in Dangkao distritct plus $10,000 if the residents agree to leave. If the residents refuse to leave, they will use force to demolish their houses, and they will fence in the residents’ houses to prevent them from leaving or coming into their houses. As of today, the bank’s workers have used force to demolish 9 homes already.

Bun That said: “The Cambodia Bank company fenced us in to grab our land, if we are involved in the sale of our land to other individuals.”

Chan Bunthol, a teacher at Sisowath high school who is protecting his home, said that the Canadia Bank’s workers act like thieves when they are using force to demolish people’s homes during a weekend: “ I don’t have time to go teach anymore now, because I am afraid they will come and demolish my home.”

Heng Samphoas, the president of the Reek Reay community, indicated that, up to now, some of the community residents have agreed to sell their homes to the Canadia Bank: “When they attack (to demolish) houses like this, we, as neighbors who are living nearby and we have not sold our homes yet, we have fear, then they (Canadia Bank) told us to go negotiate. They told us this or that date will be the end of the negotiations.”

Hor Vannak, chief of Village No. 8, Group 46A, Reek Reay community, said that in his village, there are more than 200 families living in more than 200 houses. Most of them are civil servants. He said that the village is connected to the road and the park of the Koh Pech development zone. Later on, the residents received offers to sell their lands and homes by the Canadia Bank and by a number of private groups.

He said that he is not certain about the number of residents who sold their lands to the Canadia Bank and the other private groups: “The region over the Reek Ray dike is located right on the city road, as well as on the path of the bridge crossing to Koh Pech, the second bridge (that is).”

Phal Sithon, the Tonle Bassac deputy commune chief, said that according the directive no. 157, dated 30 January 2009, issued by the Council of Ministers, decided that there will either be a development of the Reek Reay community at the same spot or the residents will receive another house measuring 4-meter-by-10-meter in the suburb as compensation plus $10,000 in cash.

Phal Sithon said: “A portion of the land belongs to Chumteav Hun Neng (Hun Sen’s sister-in-law), and on the other portion, people have built their homes to live on, but the Canadia Bank claimed that it was their land. I saw the development plan signed by Kep Chuktema (Phnom Penh city governor) in 2006, but the residents have been living here since the 90s.”

Regarding this issue, RFA could not reach a representative of the Canadia Bank on Sunday to obtain clarifications on this issue.

Khmer Intelligence News - 2 March 2009

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS
2 March 2009

Canadia Bank heading for bankruptcy (2)

As a result of the world financial crisis and general credit crunch, Cambodia's most prominent bank, Canadia, is in serious trouble and may be heading for bankruptcy. The IMF had warned in a report last month: "The global financial crisis has exposed vulnerabilities among Cambodia's banks and is beginning to affect their financial soundness." A World Bank annual report published also in February also raised concerns about the Cambodian financial sector, which is suffering from falling deposits, declining foreign capital, plummeting property prices and increasing nonperforming loans.

According to the IMF, poor compliance with reporting rules could mean Cambodian banks are even worse off than thought. Both the IMF and the World Bank warned that a number of banks were especially at risk. According to the IMF, "several large [banks] could face a large deterioration in credit quality and a need for recapitalization." According to the World Bank, "two large banks" are at serious risk from nonperforming loans. Industry sources have identified Canadia as one of the two banks given its overexposure to the property sector. Panicked clients are reportedly making non-stop withdrawals.

Real reason behind decision to crackdown on gambling dens (2)

Last week Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a crackdown on sport and electronic gambling establishments. He condemned gambling as a social evil. But, since everybody fully knows that gambling is associated with rising crime, why has the government not only authorized but encouraged and promoted gambling activities in the first place? The gambling industry has been thriving in Cambodia since the early 1990's.

Actually the crackdown reflects Hun Sen's concern about who collects huge amounts of under-the-table money from gambling activities. It used to be Hok Lundy, the former National Police Director who died in a helicopter crash last November. Now the authority over the Police is in the hands of Interior Minister Sar Kheng who finds himself in a position to collect up to US$10 million a month of bribes from all sorts of gambling dens. Hun Sen's ongoing measures against gambling actually aim at reaching a new deal for the collection of illicit money from the gambling industry by different clans within the ruling CPP.

In a report titled "Casinos adapt to survive gaming ban" in today's Phnom Penh Post, the manager of a well-known gambling club, The Atlantic, said that his club contributed US$7,000 in taxes each month to the treasury [and] US$5,000 on under-the-table payments to the local authorities.

Read The Phnom Penh Post article at http://tinyurl.com/clbcy9

Bankrupt textile companies leave Cambodia without paying workers' salaries (1)

As a result of the global economic crisis an increasing number of foreign-owned textile companies have been declared bankrupt. They have abruptly laid off thousands of workers without paying their salaries. In order to defend workers' interest and to prevent social unrest, opposition members of parliament have written to the government suggesting that appropriate reserve funds be deposited by textile companies at the national treasury so as to secure payment of workers' salaries in case of bankruptcy.

Read the letter in Khmer at http://tinyurl.com/b9g6qu

Foreign expert implies Hor Nam Hong should be prosecuted (1)

In an interview in the February 19 edition of The Phnom Penh Post, foreign Khmer Rouge expert Raoul Jennar said: "The archives tell us that there were people, at the head of security centers, who ordered and supervised the massacre of hundreds and even thousands of Cambodians during the Democratic Kampuchea [Khmer Rouge] period. Some of these people live freely. Why do we only pursue the director of S-21 [Kaing Guek Eav alias Duch, the former chief of the Tuol Sleng notorious prison known as S-21] when there were 196 security centers across Cambodia? Justice is not choosing a few scapegoats to make an example of."

According to official Khmer Rouge documents from S-21, current Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong was the chief or "president" of another Khmer Rouge prison, the Boeng Trabek reeducation camp known as B-32. Hor Nam Hong publicly recognizes that he was the "president of a prisoner committee" at B-32.

Both S-21 and B-32 are listed among the 196 security centers.

Read full interview of Raoul Jennar at http://tinyurl.com/ap9srv

See the list of the 196 Khmer Rouge security centers (# 121 for S-21 and # 122 for B-32) at http://tinyurl.com/brfdvy

[End]

Cambodia's ATM networks grow despite crisis

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Despite concerns over the impact of the global credit crunch on local financial institutions, Cambodian banks are expanding their network of ATMs to provide customers with easier access to their money, national media reported Monday.

In Channy, president and chief executive of ACLEDA Bank, told the Phnom Penh Post that the growth of ATMs has boomed in the last few years as living conditions improve and greater progress is made in modernizing the kingdom's bank sector.

"In 2007, (we) had 20 ATMs. Now, we have 60 ATMs with plans to reach 100 by the end of this year," In Channy said.

"Our ATMs have been installed in all parts of Cambodia," he said.

"Our long term expansion strategy will include an expansion of our network to 500 ATMs and 240 branch offices nationwide," he added.

Meanwhile, Kunkanel Nong, a marketing manager at the Canadia Bank, said that Canadia currently operates 48 ATMs throughout Cambodia, up from 25 in 2007, and that the bank expects to reach 60 ATMs by the end of this year.

The first ATM in Cambodia was introduced by Canadia Bank in June 2004, according to the National Bank of Cambodia's (NBC) 2007annual report.

Grabbing of an access road in Boeng Kak 2

15 May 2007
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.