Showing posts with label Dey Kraham evictions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dey Kraham evictions. Show all posts
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Former Dey Krahorm Residents oppose football match on Dey Krahorm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6H8d0xc1Y4&feature=player_embedded
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Dey Krahorm Land Eviction Victim
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| Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com and also at http://sacrava.wordpress.com) |
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Hor 5 Hong lambastes Dey Krahorm evictees ... while keeping silence on the illegal land-grabber: Hun Sen's no rights-no law rule?
Minister Lambastes ‘Professional Squatters’
By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
18 May 2009
By Taing Sarada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
18 May 2009
While rights groups seek to find fair deals for families displaced in Phnom Penh developments, the foreign minister says many of the capital’s squatters are “professionals,” moving from place to place to demand money when they are expelled.
In remarks at the opening ceremony of a consulate in Lowell, Mass., last month, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said residents of the Dey Krahorm community, who were evicted earlier this year, were squatters living on state land that had been granted to a private company for development.
“Nowadays, there are many squatters in Phnom Penh, and these squatters always grab people’s land,” he said. “When they push them out, the squatters always demand money. When they get the money, they go build another hut to live in, then demand money again. They are professional squatters.”
In fact, the situation is more complicated, and, critics say, indicative of the abuses suffered by many of the displaced.
Rights and opposition officials objected to the minister’s portrayal of the displaced.
The Dey Krahorm community was a cluster of shacks on 4 hectares of land in Phnom Penh’s Tonle Basaac commune, Chamkarmon district. Around 6,000 people had lived in the neighborhood before they were gradually pushed out, starting from 2003 and ending in January 2009.
Residents, many of whom were resettled on 3 hectares of land outside the city, claimed they had lived in the area since the 1980s.
Land was granted to development company 7NG as a social land concession, a move opposed by Dey Krahorm residents.
In July 2003, ahead of national elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen granted rights to some families in the neighborhood to live on the land. 7NG, however, continued with evictions, and many families were forced to settle in Choam Chao commune, in remote Dangkor district.
Residents complained they were being compensated below market price for their land. Protesters were evicted by Phnom Penh security forces, military police and soldiers, armed with electric batons, rifles and bulldozers, tractors and water trucks. Several were injured.
Meanchey District Governor Kouch Chamroeun told VOA Khmer he has never experienced forcible evictions and prefers peaceful negotiations.
Rights groups claim the evictions were a contradiction of a 2001 land law and blamed the government for a lack of responsibility.
Lao Monghay, a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission, in Hong Kong, questioned Hor Nahmong’s accusations.
The authorities had been careless, and the ownership of the land was questionable, he said.
“Whose land is this?” he said. “How did they grant the land to the company? Was there any transparency? Any bid? How much did the company pay to the government? So the top government officials who have big houses and land in Phnom Penh, did they really build them by themselves? Don’t you think they also took someone’s house and someone’s land after the Khmer Rouge regime?”
If the people of Dey Krahorm were illegal, under which law was it, he asked. When people began to return to the city following the Khmer Rouge, no one in the country possessed a thing, he said.
“The Khmer Rouge revoked all land and house possession,” he said. The people of Dey Krahorm lived freely after into the 1990s under the State of Cambodia.
“If they first moved to live in that area, why didn’t the government immediately prohibit this?” he said. “So this is the authority’s mistake, not the people’s mistake. The people did nothing wrong.”
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Hor Namhong’s remarks “are to protect the big, evil companies and businessmen who depend on the dictator leader in order to steal and rob the Khmer people of their property.”
“The people can’t accept such language, because the people are the owners of the country,” he said.
Thun Saray, president of the rights group Adhoc, told VOA Khmer the people in Dey Krahorm were not to blame, but the company had taken their land away.
“People lived there for a long time before the company existed,” he said. “When the people oppose the company’s policy, it is their right to do so because they have their own plot of land in the Dey Krahorm community. They should respect their land rights.”
Resources watchdog Global Witness has reported that 45 percent of Cambodian land belongs to private companies or powerful individuals, while millions of dollars from land concessions disappear from national coffers.
The UN, meanwhile, has urged Cambodia to cease forced evictions across the country, warning that such policies do not meet international rights standards and are against UN conventions.
In remarks at the opening ceremony of a consulate in Lowell, Mass., last month, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said residents of the Dey Krahorm community, who were evicted earlier this year, were squatters living on state land that had been granted to a private company for development.
“Nowadays, there are many squatters in Phnom Penh, and these squatters always grab people’s land,” he said. “When they push them out, the squatters always demand money. When they get the money, they go build another hut to live in, then demand money again. They are professional squatters.”
In fact, the situation is more complicated, and, critics say, indicative of the abuses suffered by many of the displaced.
Rights and opposition officials objected to the minister’s portrayal of the displaced.
The Dey Krahorm community was a cluster of shacks on 4 hectares of land in Phnom Penh’s Tonle Basaac commune, Chamkarmon district. Around 6,000 people had lived in the neighborhood before they were gradually pushed out, starting from 2003 and ending in January 2009.
Residents, many of whom were resettled on 3 hectares of land outside the city, claimed they had lived in the area since the 1980s.
Land was granted to development company 7NG as a social land concession, a move opposed by Dey Krahorm residents.
In July 2003, ahead of national elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen granted rights to some families in the neighborhood to live on the land. 7NG, however, continued with evictions, and many families were forced to settle in Choam Chao commune, in remote Dangkor district.
Residents complained they were being compensated below market price for their land. Protesters were evicted by Phnom Penh security forces, military police and soldiers, armed with electric batons, rifles and bulldozers, tractors and water trucks. Several were injured.
Meanchey District Governor Kouch Chamroeun told VOA Khmer he has never experienced forcible evictions and prefers peaceful negotiations.
Rights groups claim the evictions were a contradiction of a 2001 land law and blamed the government for a lack of responsibility.
Lao Monghay, a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission, in Hong Kong, questioned Hor Nahmong’s accusations.
The authorities had been careless, and the ownership of the land was questionable, he said.
“Whose land is this?” he said. “How did they grant the land to the company? Was there any transparency? Any bid? How much did the company pay to the government? So the top government officials who have big houses and land in Phnom Penh, did they really build them by themselves? Don’t you think they also took someone’s house and someone’s land after the Khmer Rouge regime?”
If the people of Dey Krahorm were illegal, under which law was it, he asked. When people began to return to the city following the Khmer Rouge, no one in the country possessed a thing, he said.
“The Khmer Rouge revoked all land and house possession,” he said. The people of Dey Krahorm lived freely after into the 1990s under the State of Cambodia.
“If they first moved to live in that area, why didn’t the government immediately prohibit this?” he said. “So this is the authority’s mistake, not the people’s mistake. The people did nothing wrong.”
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Hor Namhong’s remarks “are to protect the big, evil companies and businessmen who depend on the dictator leader in order to steal and rob the Khmer people of their property.”
“The people can’t accept such language, because the people are the owners of the country,” he said.
Thun Saray, president of the rights group Adhoc, told VOA Khmer the people in Dey Krahorm were not to blame, but the company had taken their land away.
“People lived there for a long time before the company existed,” he said. “When the people oppose the company’s policy, it is their right to do so because they have their own plot of land in the Dey Krahorm community. They should respect their land rights.”
Resources watchdog Global Witness has reported that 45 percent of Cambodian land belongs to private companies or powerful individuals, while millions of dollars from land concessions disappear from national coffers.
The UN, meanwhile, has urged Cambodia to cease forced evictions across the country, warning that such policies do not meet international rights standards and are against UN conventions.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Massive relocation displaces Phnom Penh's poor
Monday, March 02, 2009
ABC Radio Australia
ABC Radio Australia
As the price of land has soared in Cambodia in recent years, tens of thousands of urban and rural poor have been evicted from their land and their homes.
Human rights groups and civil society say that - despite the passing of a Land Law in 2001 - the situation continues to worsen as the powerful indulge in a scramble for land at the expense of the poor.
Presenter: Robert Carmichael
Speakers: "Channy", Village Six evictee; Kek Galabru, founder of human rights group Licadho; Peter Jipp, land special with the World Bank in Phnom Penh
CARMICHAEL: Phnom Penh has changed markedly over the past decade. Where there were once large slums providing homes and work for tens of thousands of people in central locations, there are now tracts of fenced off, empty land, or freshly-painted modern buildings. It's all part of what the municipality calls its 'beautification' programme - but it has come at a price, often paid by the poorest. I am standing at Village Six in the north of Phnom Penh. It's part of the latest threatened area - a low to middle-income suburb surrounding the city's Boeung Kak Lake. Last year, in a multi-million dollar land deal that local human rights groups say was crafted illegally, a powerful politician was granted the right to fill in the lake and develop the land on and around it.
The Boeung Kak lake development will see 30,000 people evicted in the coming months in what will be one of South-East Asia's largest land evictions in decades. Some families have lived in the area since the Khmer Rouge were driven out of power in 1979. One of the residents faced with eviction is Channy. She is using a false name for fear of retribution. Channy moved here in 1990 and has raised a family in her home - a respectable two-storey building, tiled and well maintained. She says the municipality and the company haven't bothered to come and discuss the development with residents. Instead, they heard about it through the media.
She is angry that the compensation offered is so meagre - around eight thousand US dollars per house, no matter what its real value. Channy says that residents aren't being greedy - they simply want a fair deal.
CHANNY: What we can accept is this: We have to get the price that our houses are worth on the open market. The government and the company have to do this exchange for a reasonable price so we can buy another house in the city, not twenty kilometres outside the city in the countryside.
CARMICHAEL: Amnesty International says at least 150,000 people are at risk of eviction in Cambodia - that's one per cent of the population. Dr Kek Galabru is the founder of human rights group Licadho. She says the Boeung Kak Lake case is the latest in a long line of land grabs and evictions that generally target the poor and powerless.
She says the problem is getting worse.
GALABRU: I don't think this is better - we don't see the sign. Because we see the number of the victims that come to us, come from the province, everywhere.
CARMICHAEL: The World Bank is involved in a program to issue land title documents. The Bank's land specialist, Peter Jipp, says almost one million land title documents have already been distributed to people across the country. The target is to issue 1.5 million land titles before the program closes at the end of this year.
JIPP: This is really the first time since the Khmer Rouge that formal titles are being issued. And there have already been almost a million titles that have been issued to land owners in Cambodia under the program. I would have to say that this is a very significant step for Cambodians to have formal title. This is a long process and with almost a million titles having been issued, there still are another 11 million parcels out there that need to be titled, so there is still a long way to go.
CARMICHAEL: But while legal title may be important, the courts that were specially created to hear land disputes are widely seen to have failed. Licadho's Dr Kek Galabru.
GALABRU: It didn't work because most of the people who are in the conflicts - you know, the ones that want to grab the land of the poor - they have power. And in Cambodia if you have power and you have money, you always win.
CARMICHAEL: For its part the government denies accusations that it is working against its own poverty alleviation strategy. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith acknowledges there have been high-profile cases where things have gone wrong, but maintains that the situation is not as bad as is sometimes painted. That is cold comfort to Channy and her neighbours at Village Six - they stand little chance of resisting eviction in the coming months.
The only certainty is that Channy and her family will soon be forced to leave their home, which will then be demolished to make way for offices and expensive houses. At that point she will become just the latest in a long line of powerless Cambodians who have been evicted in the country's unending scramble for land.
Human rights groups and civil society say that - despite the passing of a Land Law in 2001 - the situation continues to worsen as the powerful indulge in a scramble for land at the expense of the poor.
Presenter: Robert Carmichael
Speakers: "Channy", Village Six evictee; Kek Galabru, founder of human rights group Licadho; Peter Jipp, land special with the World Bank in Phnom Penh
CARMICHAEL: Phnom Penh has changed markedly over the past decade. Where there were once large slums providing homes and work for tens of thousands of people in central locations, there are now tracts of fenced off, empty land, or freshly-painted modern buildings. It's all part of what the municipality calls its 'beautification' programme - but it has come at a price, often paid by the poorest. I am standing at Village Six in the north of Phnom Penh. It's part of the latest threatened area - a low to middle-income suburb surrounding the city's Boeung Kak Lake. Last year, in a multi-million dollar land deal that local human rights groups say was crafted illegally, a powerful politician was granted the right to fill in the lake and develop the land on and around it.
The Boeung Kak lake development will see 30,000 people evicted in the coming months in what will be one of South-East Asia's largest land evictions in decades. Some families have lived in the area since the Khmer Rouge were driven out of power in 1979. One of the residents faced with eviction is Channy. She is using a false name for fear of retribution. Channy moved here in 1990 and has raised a family in her home - a respectable two-storey building, tiled and well maintained. She says the municipality and the company haven't bothered to come and discuss the development with residents. Instead, they heard about it through the media.
She is angry that the compensation offered is so meagre - around eight thousand US dollars per house, no matter what its real value. Channy says that residents aren't being greedy - they simply want a fair deal.
CHANNY: What we can accept is this: We have to get the price that our houses are worth on the open market. The government and the company have to do this exchange for a reasonable price so we can buy another house in the city, not twenty kilometres outside the city in the countryside.
CARMICHAEL: Amnesty International says at least 150,000 people are at risk of eviction in Cambodia - that's one per cent of the population. Dr Kek Galabru is the founder of human rights group Licadho. She says the Boeung Kak Lake case is the latest in a long line of land grabs and evictions that generally target the poor and powerless.
She says the problem is getting worse.
GALABRU: I don't think this is better - we don't see the sign. Because we see the number of the victims that come to us, come from the province, everywhere.
CARMICHAEL: The World Bank is involved in a program to issue land title documents. The Bank's land specialist, Peter Jipp, says almost one million land title documents have already been distributed to people across the country. The target is to issue 1.5 million land titles before the program closes at the end of this year.
JIPP: This is really the first time since the Khmer Rouge that formal titles are being issued. And there have already been almost a million titles that have been issued to land owners in Cambodia under the program. I would have to say that this is a very significant step for Cambodians to have formal title. This is a long process and with almost a million titles having been issued, there still are another 11 million parcels out there that need to be titled, so there is still a long way to go.
CARMICHAEL: But while legal title may be important, the courts that were specially created to hear land disputes are widely seen to have failed. Licadho's Dr Kek Galabru.
GALABRU: It didn't work because most of the people who are in the conflicts - you know, the ones that want to grab the land of the poor - they have power. And in Cambodia if you have power and you have money, you always win.
CARMICHAEL: For its part the government denies accusations that it is working against its own poverty alleviation strategy. Information Minister Khieu Kanharith acknowledges there have been high-profile cases where things have gone wrong, but maintains that the situation is not as bad as is sometimes painted. That is cold comfort to Channy and her neighbours at Village Six - they stand little chance of resisting eviction in the coming months.
The only certainty is that Channy and her family will soon be forced to leave their home, which will then be demolished to make way for offices and expensive houses. At that point she will become just the latest in a long line of powerless Cambodians who have been evicted in the country's unending scramble for land.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The 7NG Co. took away their land, demolished their homes, and it even brought them to court: Justice Hun Sen regime-style?
Chan Vichet appearing in front of the court room (Photo: KK, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)Dey Kraham: Chan Vichet faces the court
12 Feb 2009
By Kang Kallyan
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French
Chan Vichet, the representative of the residents who were evacuated on 24 January, and two other activists appeared in front of the municipal court on Wednesday. The trio is accused of violent acts perpetrated on 3 December 2007.
Chan Vichet, the spokesman of the former residents of Dey Kraham, showed up at the Phnom Penh municipal court on Wednesday 11 Feb. He was accompanied by two other activists: Ly You Leng and Khieu Bunthoeun. The trio is accused by the 7NG Co. of “destruction of other people’s belonging” and of “fighting and hurting” on 03 Dec 2007.
On that 03 Dec 2007 day, Dey Kraham residents attacked workers of the 7NG Co. who brought in bulldozers to their area. They pelted the workers with rocks, the 7NG Co. alleged, and three of the 7NG workers were allegedly injured, one of them on the head.
At the dock, Chan Vichet was not allowed to discuss the details of the event, he was only allowed to tell his wish in regards to the court decision. Chan Vichet asked the court to dismiss this case, saying that he used a loudspeaker to call on the angry residents not to pelt rocks.
Ly You Leng, who is currently living in the Borey Santepheap II village located in Damnak Trayoeung where the 7NG dumped the former Dey Kraham residents, indicated also that, on the day of the incident, she told the residents that the 7NG was looking to provoke them, and that the residents should not go near the company’s bulldozers.
Seven witnesses confirmed the claims made by the activists, whereas the 7NG Co., which was not present in the audience, produced the depositions provided by 17 of its own witnesses consisting mainly of its own workers and security officers employed by the company. None of the 7NG witnesses were present in the court room.
The company brought up the lawsuit following the incident, and it asks for $10,000 in compensation for the damages incurred on the bulldozer and for the injuries inflicted on its workers.
Chan Vichet, Ly You leng and Khieu Bunthoeun appeared in court accompanied by two lawyers provided by the human rights group Licadho, Ham Sunrith and Sann Sokunthea, as well as by Ke Chamnan, the private lawyer for Khieu Bunthoeun.
The lawyers indicated that the 7NG Co. did not provide any details on the damage compensation, nor did the injured workers and the 7NG Co. representatives came to the court. Therefore, short of tangible proof, the case should be dismissed. “The victim (7NG) claimed that more than 200 people have pelted rocks … If this was true, how could they (7NG workers) get away with just a simple head injury?” Ke Chamnan asked.
On the other hand, Phlan Sophal, the prosecutor, asked the court to sentence the trio.
In the court room, numerous human rights activists were present and they can be distinguished by the blue krama (scarf) around their neck.
The court will issue its decision in the morning of Monday 16 Feb.
Chan Vichet, the spokesman of the former residents of Dey Kraham, showed up at the Phnom Penh municipal court on Wednesday 11 Feb. He was accompanied by two other activists: Ly You Leng and Khieu Bunthoeun. The trio is accused by the 7NG Co. of “destruction of other people’s belonging” and of “fighting and hurting” on 03 Dec 2007.
On that 03 Dec 2007 day, Dey Kraham residents attacked workers of the 7NG Co. who brought in bulldozers to their area. They pelted the workers with rocks, the 7NG Co. alleged, and three of the 7NG workers were allegedly injured, one of them on the head.
At the dock, Chan Vichet was not allowed to discuss the details of the event, he was only allowed to tell his wish in regards to the court decision. Chan Vichet asked the court to dismiss this case, saying that he used a loudspeaker to call on the angry residents not to pelt rocks.
Ly You Leng, who is currently living in the Borey Santepheap II village located in Damnak Trayoeung where the 7NG dumped the former Dey Kraham residents, indicated also that, on the day of the incident, she told the residents that the 7NG was looking to provoke them, and that the residents should not go near the company’s bulldozers.
Seven witnesses confirmed the claims made by the activists, whereas the 7NG Co., which was not present in the audience, produced the depositions provided by 17 of its own witnesses consisting mainly of its own workers and security officers employed by the company. None of the 7NG witnesses were present in the court room.
The company brought up the lawsuit following the incident, and it asks for $10,000 in compensation for the damages incurred on the bulldozer and for the injuries inflicted on its workers.
Chan Vichet, Ly You leng and Khieu Bunthoeun appeared in court accompanied by two lawyers provided by the human rights group Licadho, Ham Sunrith and Sann Sokunthea, as well as by Ke Chamnan, the private lawyer for Khieu Bunthoeun.
The lawyers indicated that the 7NG Co. did not provide any details on the damage compensation, nor did the injured workers and the 7NG Co. representatives came to the court. Therefore, short of tangible proof, the case should be dismissed. “The victim (7NG) claimed that more than 200 people have pelted rocks … If this was true, how could they (7NG workers) get away with just a simple head injury?” Ke Chamnan asked.
On the other hand, Phlan Sophal, the prosecutor, asked the court to sentence the trio.
In the court room, numerous human rights activists were present and they can be distinguished by the blue krama (scarf) around their neck.
The court will issue its decision in the morning of Monday 16 Feb.
'Economic progress' in Cambodia compromises human rights
Demolition in Dey Krahorm by the evil 7NG company with the complicity of the Phnom Penh city hall (Photo: Reuters)Feb 11, 2009
Peter Frankental
The Telegraph (UK)
What price "progress"? It is a question that has plagued politicians for generations. Do government policies which aim to create jobs and stimulate economic growth make some abuses of people's rights along the way acceptable?
Amnesty International's line is solid. Economic progress is fine with one caveat - human rights should never be compromised. Every company has a responsibility to respect human rights - especially for the people affected by its operations.
A few business leaders have argued that such protections impinge on free trade and competitiveness, but the two need not be at odds. Indeed Amnesty International has been working hard for years with a number of states, multinationals and global bodies to show the benefits of adopting a human rights approach to business.
Companies from Unilever to Sony and from Nokia to GlaxoSmithKline now have a human rights dimension in their codes of conducts.
Meanwhile, here in the UK we now have the Corporate Manslaughter Act - the result of concern that companies were not being held accountable for their negligence, even when this resulted in injuries and deaths
The problem is that a large number of companies and countries still have a lot of catching up to do. Take the case of a construction and mining company and its collaboration with the country of Cambodia. It is a collaboration where so-called "economic progress" has led to thousands of residents of Dey Krahom in central Phnom Penh losing their homes.
The incident centres around the ownership of the land. The company 7NG say it belongs to them, having struck a deal with the local authorities back in 2005. However, they failed to inform or consult the villagers about the change in ownership. And the whole matter is further complicated by the villagers' own strong claims to the land under Cambodia's 2001 Land Laws - claims which have been routinely ignored by the authorities.
But the bottom line is that irrespective of who does or does not own the land, the abuse of human rights that followed is unacceptable.
On 24 January this year, 7NG, supported by the Phnom Penh authorities, forcibily evicted 152 poor urban families in Dey Krahom.
At around 3am, an estimated 250 police, military police and workers hired by 7NG blocked access to the community before dispersing the population with tear gas and threats of violence.
Three hours later bulldozers moved in and levelled the village, while officials from the Phnom Penh municipality looked on. Some of the families were not able to retrieve belongings from their homes before the demolition, and a vast majority of them were left with nowhere to go and no adequate compensation afterwards.
Can this be called "progress"?
The two sides had been in dialogue about a compensation package and seemed to be edging closer to a settlement. The talks stalled in early January and the forced eviction followed within days.
Since then only 30 of the families have been offered alternative accommodation by the authorities and even that is over 10 miles from the city centre where most of them work as street vendors. The housing in the new site also has no clean water, no electricity, sewerage or basic services.
Sadly, this story is not an isolated one. Forced evictions are one of the most widespread human rights violations in Cambodia, and those affected are almost exclusively marginalised people living in poverty, in both urban and rural areas.
In 2008, at least 27 mass forced evictions affecting over 20,000 people were reported in the media and by local organisations. Some of these were made homeless; others were relocated to inadequate resettlement sites with poor infrastructure, lacking basic amenities including sanitation, and with very limited access to work opportunities.
Last year, 150,000 Cambodians were known to live at risk of being forcibly evicted in the wake of land disputes, land grabbing, and agro-industrial and urban redevelopment projects.
It is a similar tale across South East Asia and beyond.
If "progress" is to be made then the business world needs to begin to open its eyes to the communities it operates in and acknowledge their responsibilities to uphold fundamental human rights.
If some companies can do this in some countries, then why not all companies everywhere? Isn't it time for the business community to demand a level-playing field, where all companies are required to operate within a framework of acceptable standards? Otherwise those companies and states that abuse human rights will gain a competitive advantage. This is a nettle that needs to be grasped by business and government alike.
Amnesty International's line is solid. Economic progress is fine with one caveat - human rights should never be compromised. Every company has a responsibility to respect human rights - especially for the people affected by its operations.
A few business leaders have argued that such protections impinge on free trade and competitiveness, but the two need not be at odds. Indeed Amnesty International has been working hard for years with a number of states, multinationals and global bodies to show the benefits of adopting a human rights approach to business.
Companies from Unilever to Sony and from Nokia to GlaxoSmithKline now have a human rights dimension in their codes of conducts.
Meanwhile, here in the UK we now have the Corporate Manslaughter Act - the result of concern that companies were not being held accountable for their negligence, even when this resulted in injuries and deaths
The problem is that a large number of companies and countries still have a lot of catching up to do. Take the case of a construction and mining company and its collaboration with the country of Cambodia. It is a collaboration where so-called "economic progress" has led to thousands of residents of Dey Krahom in central Phnom Penh losing their homes.
The incident centres around the ownership of the land. The company 7NG say it belongs to them, having struck a deal with the local authorities back in 2005. However, they failed to inform or consult the villagers about the change in ownership. And the whole matter is further complicated by the villagers' own strong claims to the land under Cambodia's 2001 Land Laws - claims which have been routinely ignored by the authorities.
But the bottom line is that irrespective of who does or does not own the land, the abuse of human rights that followed is unacceptable.
On 24 January this year, 7NG, supported by the Phnom Penh authorities, forcibily evicted 152 poor urban families in Dey Krahom.
At around 3am, an estimated 250 police, military police and workers hired by 7NG blocked access to the community before dispersing the population with tear gas and threats of violence.
Three hours later bulldozers moved in and levelled the village, while officials from the Phnom Penh municipality looked on. Some of the families were not able to retrieve belongings from their homes before the demolition, and a vast majority of them were left with nowhere to go and no adequate compensation afterwards.
Can this be called "progress"?
The two sides had been in dialogue about a compensation package and seemed to be edging closer to a settlement. The talks stalled in early January and the forced eviction followed within days.
Since then only 30 of the families have been offered alternative accommodation by the authorities and even that is over 10 miles from the city centre where most of them work as street vendors. The housing in the new site also has no clean water, no electricity, sewerage or basic services.
Sadly, this story is not an isolated one. Forced evictions are one of the most widespread human rights violations in Cambodia, and those affected are almost exclusively marginalised people living in poverty, in both urban and rural areas.
In 2008, at least 27 mass forced evictions affecting over 20,000 people were reported in the media and by local organisations. Some of these were made homeless; others were relocated to inadequate resettlement sites with poor infrastructure, lacking basic amenities including sanitation, and with very limited access to work opportunities.
Last year, 150,000 Cambodians were known to live at risk of being forcibly evicted in the wake of land disputes, land grabbing, and agro-industrial and urban redevelopment projects.
It is a similar tale across South East Asia and beyond.
If "progress" is to be made then the business world needs to begin to open its eyes to the communities it operates in and acknowledge their responsibilities to uphold fundamental human rights.
If some companies can do this in some countries, then why not all companies everywhere? Isn't it time for the business community to demand a level-playing field, where all companies are required to operate within a framework of acceptable standards? Otherwise those companies and states that abuse human rights will gain a competitive advantage. This is a nettle that needs to be grasped by business and government alike.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Dey Krohorm Evictees: Khmerization vs. KJE
![[1991_04_02_headshot.jpg]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZ54Am_dG9n3lJuoZqnQKncHBqVxLUH7FzhTE_jL_m7bgl61zFk6A87FgPA5Vm6PvBLgPLlFsxcBd8oBuLn0R8tlB-pFreHEipxWm-YYPlaFLDEAI5QZKGs_QwMhuYo0I6RQ/s220/1991_04_02_headshot.jpg)
A picture of KJE as posted at his blog.
2nd February, 2009
Opinion by Khmerization
The inhuman evictions of the Dey Krohorm slum-dwellers have generated emotions and heated debates among Khmers who supported the Cambodian People’s Party on the one hand and Khmers who viewed the inhuman treatments and the injustices perpetrated toward these hapless people as human right abuses, on the other hand.
The media, the UN and local as well as international human right organisations have condemned these gross violations of human rights. Many sensible people, who highly appreciate human decency, are disgusted at the scenes and images of the evictions that splashed around the globe. The foreigners, especially the white people, abhorred the despicable actions perpetrated by Oknha Srey Sothea, a close associate of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
But the behaviours and the comments of a particular white man named KJE, or Klaus J. Engelhardt, have attracted my attention greatly. This gentleman, the self-described entrepreneur who, in his blog, has claimed to have owned many businesses and a rubber plantation in Cambodia, has not only condoned the actions of Oknha Srey Sothea, but has attacked the Dey Krohorm evictees as some sort of villains and greedy land-grabbers.
In his comments in Details Are Sketchy blog, KJE wrote:
“I am probably the only dissenting voice in this. These people were squatters - it was a slum, infested with criminals and prostitutes; I know for a fact that they had no title to the land. They were offered $30,000, a lot of money these people will probably never see again in their lifetimes. They wanted $4000/m2 each, for land they couldn’t even define. I don’t condone violence, and I believe the city government should have given them appropriate housing, but holding out until it was too late was clearly not good advice they had received.”
KJE's somewhat unconventional comments which described the Dey Krohorm dwellers as "criminals and prostitutes" deserved a very strong response which I gave below:
"I am disgusted to read KJE's comments above. These squatters, as KJE termed them, have settled in Dey Krohorm since before 2001, some even since 1979, when the land laws give title to anyone who settled on a particular plot of lands for more than five years. If these people do not have the titles then no one else has the land title, Hun Sen and Chea Sim included. The Khmer Rouge regime has annulled all property titles in Cambodia. After 1979, all the people just occupy any houses and lands they could and claimed as their own. Hun Sen occupied many houses belong to rich people from previous regimes. Chea Sim occupied Mr. Son Sann’s house who was a former govt. minister and resistance leaders. Immediately after 1979, no one has the titles. Titles were only issued later on to govt. officials and those fortunate enough to pay for them.
In fairness, the Dey Krohorm dwellers, who settled there since 1979 or before 2001, should be automatically entitled to own the lands because they cannot afford to get the titles. They are demanding $4000/m2 because that’s what the lands are worth. KJE is siding with this heartless entrepreneur named Srey Sothea because KJE himself is a plantation owner who is probably guilty of land-grabbing as well. One would wonder if he had come to Cambodia to help Cambodia or to exploit Cambodia and her people."
And in Ka-Set.info, KJE has further revealed his inner self with these comments:
“As deplorable as the fate of the evicted people is, Khmer, both at home and abroad, obviously don't care too much about this as this is something that doesn't happen in their backyard. Likewise the 'barangs' who don't really care too much about the plight of the poor in their own countries but who are so vociferous in their indignation about events in Cambodia. One of the most outspoken ones lately has been the director from Bridges Across Southeast Asia, David Pred. But one is left to wonder what these people really want to accomplish with their protests, or whether those public outcries only serve to further their own agenda, whatever that may be. BASA is such a small operation, effectively a two-man show, that they really can't hope to have much impact. This is not to say that there shouldn't be any protests and people should be resigned to these events, but one would hope for a little more local participation besides the affected evictees. Even the opposition parties more or less pay only lip service. Maybe the local population secretly think that Dey Krahom needed to be erased?”
KJE’s comments touched my nerves that prompted my somewhat irritated response below:
“Equally, it is deplorable to see a 'barang' such as KJE, Klaus J.Engelhardt to be exact, condemning those who condemned the inhuman evictions of the hapless Dey Krohorm dwellers. KJE, who described himself as a rubber plantation owner, is probably guilty of land-grabbing himself. He is a known supporter of the Cambodian People's Party as he is a beneficiary of its policy of robbing from the poor to give to the rich. He has gone as far as defending the corruption and human right abuses such as the evictions at Dey Krahorm. It is a shame really.
Most of barangs, KJE being the exception, are disgusted to see the hapless dwellers being inhumanly evicted by a heartless so-called entrepreneur the like of Srey Sothea. In the eyes of KJE, David Pred, Amnesty International and the UN are enemies of progress due to their oppositions to forced evictions. One would wonder if KJE, who owned businesses and plantation in Cambodia, has done a good service to Cambodia and her people or he has come to Cambodia to exploit Cambodia and her people. I think he falls into the latter category.”
As not to be outsmarted by my comments, KJE retorted by calling me an “ultra-nationalist” and a “revanchist” who knows nothing. He further attacked me and Ki-Media for distorting the truth and engaging in libelous slanders. Here is his angry response to my comments:
“Khmerization's comment is one fine example of how many overseas, arch-conservative Khmer, especially the ones represented on KI-Media, distort and slant their 'reports' and comments on the internet, even resorting to baseless and libelous accusations. Nothing is further from the truth than what is claimed in his comment. It is clear this ultra-nationalist (revanchist in old left wing 'politico speak') doesn't know reality from fiction. How can he, observing matters and events from 2,000 or 3,000 miles away? Objectivity is an unknown term to him. Questioning the veracity of certain NGOs is legitimate as experts consider 95% of them to be superfluous. Please refer the article in Asia Times Online of Nov. 14, 2008. Nobody questions the work of AI, Oxfam, TI, or other reputable organizations. What this Khmerization, however, fails to address is the fact that obviously homeland Khmer don't pay
much attention to these matters, which after all was the subject of my comment.”
KJE has accused my writings as lacking objectivity which is absent in his writings, as one can see in his blog. His last paragraph in the above statement has proved my arguments from all along that Cambodia is what it is today- poor and dictatorial - because the “homeland Khmer” - the present leaders of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), including Prime Minister Hun Sen, never pay any attentions to any critiques or ideas. The egotistical and self-centred CPP leaders, abetted and supported by the likes of KJE, only care about their power, money and the rich and neglected the poor like the slum-dwellers of Dey Krohorm.
I, like many other justice lovers, am convinced that Dey Krohorm residents are the rightful owners of their lands and homes as some of them have settled there since 1979. The lands at Dey Krohorm is worth between $3,500-$4,000/m2. One would imagine that each family in Dey Krohorm would own from between 20-50 square metres. If they own 50m2, they should receive $200,000 (50m2*$4,000/m2) in compensation, not the pittance $15,000-$20,000 offered by 7NG. Now it appears that they will end up with nothing or just a house 16km outside of Phnom Penh that is worth around $3,000-$4,000 each. As a result the 7NG’s eviction of the Dey Krohorm slum-dwellers is the grand theft of the century.
2nd February, 2009
Opinion by Khmerization
“The 7NG’s eviction of the Dey Krohorm slum-dwellers is the grand theft of the century.”
The inhuman evictions of the Dey Krohorm slum-dwellers have generated emotions and heated debates among Khmers who supported the Cambodian People’s Party on the one hand and Khmers who viewed the inhuman treatments and the injustices perpetrated toward these hapless people as human right abuses, on the other hand.
The media, the UN and local as well as international human right organisations have condemned these gross violations of human rights. Many sensible people, who highly appreciate human decency, are disgusted at the scenes and images of the evictions that splashed around the globe. The foreigners, especially the white people, abhorred the despicable actions perpetrated by Oknha Srey Sothea, a close associate of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
But the behaviours and the comments of a particular white man named KJE, or Klaus J. Engelhardt, have attracted my attention greatly. This gentleman, the self-described entrepreneur who, in his blog, has claimed to have owned many businesses and a rubber plantation in Cambodia, has not only condoned the actions of Oknha Srey Sothea, but has attacked the Dey Krohorm evictees as some sort of villains and greedy land-grabbers.
In his comments in Details Are Sketchy blog, KJE wrote:
“I am probably the only dissenting voice in this. These people were squatters - it was a slum, infested with criminals and prostitutes; I know for a fact that they had no title to the land. They were offered $30,000, a lot of money these people will probably never see again in their lifetimes. They wanted $4000/m2 each, for land they couldn’t even define. I don’t condone violence, and I believe the city government should have given them appropriate housing, but holding out until it was too late was clearly not good advice they had received.”
KJE's somewhat unconventional comments which described the Dey Krohorm dwellers as "criminals and prostitutes" deserved a very strong response which I gave below:
"I am disgusted to read KJE's comments above. These squatters, as KJE termed them, have settled in Dey Krohorm since before 2001, some even since 1979, when the land laws give title to anyone who settled on a particular plot of lands for more than five years. If these people do not have the titles then no one else has the land title, Hun Sen and Chea Sim included. The Khmer Rouge regime has annulled all property titles in Cambodia. After 1979, all the people just occupy any houses and lands they could and claimed as their own. Hun Sen occupied many houses belong to rich people from previous regimes. Chea Sim occupied Mr. Son Sann’s house who was a former govt. minister and resistance leaders. Immediately after 1979, no one has the titles. Titles were only issued later on to govt. officials and those fortunate enough to pay for them.
In fairness, the Dey Krohorm dwellers, who settled there since 1979 or before 2001, should be automatically entitled to own the lands because they cannot afford to get the titles. They are demanding $4000/m2 because that’s what the lands are worth. KJE is siding with this heartless entrepreneur named Srey Sothea because KJE himself is a plantation owner who is probably guilty of land-grabbing as well. One would wonder if he had come to Cambodia to help Cambodia or to exploit Cambodia and her people."
And in Ka-Set.info, KJE has further revealed his inner self with these comments:
“As deplorable as the fate of the evicted people is, Khmer, both at home and abroad, obviously don't care too much about this as this is something that doesn't happen in their backyard. Likewise the 'barangs' who don't really care too much about the plight of the poor in their own countries but who are so vociferous in their indignation about events in Cambodia. One of the most outspoken ones lately has been the director from Bridges Across Southeast Asia, David Pred. But one is left to wonder what these people really want to accomplish with their protests, or whether those public outcries only serve to further their own agenda, whatever that may be. BASA is such a small operation, effectively a two-man show, that they really can't hope to have much impact. This is not to say that there shouldn't be any protests and people should be resigned to these events, but one would hope for a little more local participation besides the affected evictees. Even the opposition parties more or less pay only lip service. Maybe the local population secretly think that Dey Krahom needed to be erased?”
KJE’s comments touched my nerves that prompted my somewhat irritated response below:
“Equally, it is deplorable to see a 'barang' such as KJE, Klaus J.Engelhardt to be exact, condemning those who condemned the inhuman evictions of the hapless Dey Krohorm dwellers. KJE, who described himself as a rubber plantation owner, is probably guilty of land-grabbing himself. He is a known supporter of the Cambodian People's Party as he is a beneficiary of its policy of robbing from the poor to give to the rich. He has gone as far as defending the corruption and human right abuses such as the evictions at Dey Krahorm. It is a shame really.
Most of barangs, KJE being the exception, are disgusted to see the hapless dwellers being inhumanly evicted by a heartless so-called entrepreneur the like of Srey Sothea. In the eyes of KJE, David Pred, Amnesty International and the UN are enemies of progress due to their oppositions to forced evictions. One would wonder if KJE, who owned businesses and plantation in Cambodia, has done a good service to Cambodia and her people or he has come to Cambodia to exploit Cambodia and her people. I think he falls into the latter category.”
As not to be outsmarted by my comments, KJE retorted by calling me an “ultra-nationalist” and a “revanchist” who knows nothing. He further attacked me and Ki-Media for distorting the truth and engaging in libelous slanders. Here is his angry response to my comments:
“Khmerization's comment is one fine example of how many overseas, arch-conservative Khmer, especially the ones represented on KI-Media, distort and slant their 'reports' and comments on the internet, even resorting to baseless and libelous accusations. Nothing is further from the truth than what is claimed in his comment. It is clear this ultra-nationalist (revanchist in old left wing 'politico speak') doesn't know reality from fiction. How can he, observing matters and events from 2,000 or 3,000 miles away? Objectivity is an unknown term to him. Questioning the veracity of certain NGOs is legitimate as experts consider 95% of them to be superfluous. Please refer the article in Asia Times Online of Nov. 14, 2008. Nobody questions the work of AI, Oxfam, TI, or other reputable organizations. What this Khmerization, however, fails to address is the fact that obviously homeland Khmer don't pay
much attention to these matters, which after all was the subject of my comment.”
KJE has accused my writings as lacking objectivity which is absent in his writings, as one can see in his blog. His last paragraph in the above statement has proved my arguments from all along that Cambodia is what it is today- poor and dictatorial - because the “homeland Khmer” - the present leaders of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), including Prime Minister Hun Sen, never pay any attentions to any critiques or ideas. The egotistical and self-centred CPP leaders, abetted and supported by the likes of KJE, only care about their power, money and the rich and neglected the poor like the slum-dwellers of Dey Krohorm.
I, like many other justice lovers, am convinced that Dey Krohorm residents are the rightful owners of their lands and homes as some of them have settled there since 1979. The lands at Dey Krohorm is worth between $3,500-$4,000/m2. One would imagine that each family in Dey Krohorm would own from between 20-50 square metres. If they own 50m2, they should receive $200,000 (50m2*$4,000/m2) in compensation, not the pittance $15,000-$20,000 offered by 7NG. Now it appears that they will end up with nothing or just a house 16km outside of Phnom Penh that is worth around $3,000-$4,000 each. As a result the 7NG’s eviction of the Dey Krohorm slum-dwellers is the grand theft of the century.
Some Dey Krohorm took 7NG’s offer of compensation
Houses, located about 16km from the centre of Phnom Penh, that have been offered to the evicted families from Dey Krohorm.Radio Free Asia
By Mayarith
1st February, 2009
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization
Some families who were evicted from the Dey Krohorm slum have accepted the compensation package offered by 7NG even though most of them are not happy with the offer.
Mr. Chan Saveth, representative from the Dey Krohorm neighbourhood, said that some families have agreed to accept the offer because they have been traumatised by the forced evictions that have been carried on 24th January. They have accepted the ultimatum given by 7NG because they are afraid that they will not get anything and that they do not foresee any solution better than this offer.
Mr. Chan Saveth said that 7NG gave an ultimatum to the evicted families until 31st January to accept their offer or they will receive nothing. He said that all who accepted the offer were forced to do so by the company.
Mr. Chan Saveth said: “The company has given an ultimatum to the 85 families recognised by the company to accept the offer. If they don’t accept the compensation offered by the company after the ultimatum, all their claims will be invalid and the company will not make any other compensation offers. Because the company has strongly threatened them, they have to accept the offer under duress and some people who went to get their houses offered by the company have to pay bribes before they (company’s representatives) will give them the house.”
Mr. Chan Saveth said that there are about 50 more families who did not accept the compensation offered by the company as they have requested to be paid $20,000 in cash offered by the company before the evictions.
Mr. Chhim Savuth, an official from the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, said that, most of the evicted families complained that most of the houses offered by the company are uninhabitable.
He said: “The houses offered by 7NG at Borey Santepheap II, according to the complaints from the families, are substandard buildings. Some houses have leaks from the ceilings when it rains and most houses have no sewage system or other systems at all. For the houses to be habitable, the occupants have to pay at least between $2,000-$3,000 more out of their pockets to repair the houses.”
On 24th January, 7NG has carried out the forced evictions and demolitions of many houses from Dey Krohorm slum, among them, the evictions and the demolitions of the houses belonging to some of Cambodian comedians, including Grandpa Songsiss, Grandma Oeun and Mr. Songset.
In the evictions, 20 of the evicted people, including one pregnant lady, were injured.
By Mayarith
1st February, 2009
Translated from Khmer by Khmerization
Some families who were evicted from the Dey Krohorm slum have accepted the compensation package offered by 7NG even though most of them are not happy with the offer.
Mr. Chan Saveth, representative from the Dey Krohorm neighbourhood, said that some families have agreed to accept the offer because they have been traumatised by the forced evictions that have been carried on 24th January. They have accepted the ultimatum given by 7NG because they are afraid that they will not get anything and that they do not foresee any solution better than this offer.
Mr. Chan Saveth said that 7NG gave an ultimatum to the evicted families until 31st January to accept their offer or they will receive nothing. He said that all who accepted the offer were forced to do so by the company.
Mr. Chan Saveth said: “The company has given an ultimatum to the 85 families recognised by the company to accept the offer. If they don’t accept the compensation offered by the company after the ultimatum, all their claims will be invalid and the company will not make any other compensation offers. Because the company has strongly threatened them, they have to accept the offer under duress and some people who went to get their houses offered by the company have to pay bribes before they (company’s representatives) will give them the house.”
Mr. Chan Saveth said that there are about 50 more families who did not accept the compensation offered by the company as they have requested to be paid $20,000 in cash offered by the company before the evictions.
Mr. Chhim Savuth, an official from the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, said that, most of the evicted families complained that most of the houses offered by the company are uninhabitable.
He said: “The houses offered by 7NG at Borey Santepheap II, according to the complaints from the families, are substandard buildings. Some houses have leaks from the ceilings when it rains and most houses have no sewage system or other systems at all. For the houses to be habitable, the occupants have to pay at least between $2,000-$3,000 more out of their pockets to repair the houses.”
On 24th January, 7NG has carried out the forced evictions and demolitions of many houses from Dey Krohorm slum, among them, the evictions and the demolitions of the houses belonging to some of Cambodian comedians, including Grandpa Songsiss, Grandma Oeun and Mr. Songset.
In the evictions, 20 of the evicted people, including one pregnant lady, were injured.
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