French school evicts Cambodian locals [-Did the French learn eviction from Hun Sen and his cronies? Bravo la France?!?!]

The existing residents say they have nowhere to go
Limsreang and his family face eviction after living in their home for 30 years
"It's a horrible feeling because they say they're doing this for us - for us the students" - Raimondo Pictet, student at the lycee and protester

Wednesday, 13 May 2009
By Guy De Launey
BBC News, Phnom Penh

San Limsreang knew it was over when the "green screen of death" arrived.

These corrugated metal fences are a common sight in Phnom Penh, encircling communities destined for eviction.

At least two dozen police accompanied the workmen sent by City Hall as they dug holes, banged in fence-posts and erected the screen in front of the grocery stalls and coffee shops at the rear of the Lycee Rene Descartes.

Limsreang and his neighbours looked on fearfully as their homes were cut off from the street. They knew all too well what usually happens to communities marked in such a manner.

The 68-year-old had been hoping for a peaceful retirement after a varied working life.

He had worked as a banker, a vet and a civil servant - and for 30 years his ever-expanding family made their home on the fourth floor of a building behind what is now one of Cambodia's elite schools.

Now the Lycee Rene Descartes wants to expand.

And along with its landlord, the French embassy, it has asked the local authorities to clear Limsreang's building so that it can be used for the school.

The lycee insists that the building belonged to the school before the Khmer Rouge arrived in 1975; now it is merely taking back its rightful property.

The residents, however, say they were ordered to live behind the lycee after Vietnamese-backed forces ousted Pol Pot's government in 1979.

Labelled 'squatters'

"We wanted to go back my old house but other people were occupying it," Limsreang says.

"After 1979 everyone ended up living in different houses. At that time all the houses belonged to the government - that's why we had to do that."

The new regime did not allow much flexibility. As well as being directed to live in the building behind the lycee, many were told to work in the school which took over the site.

Later the residents took jobs with the local government or the civil service.

They lived rent-free, but were officially registered by the authorities, and took their right to live in their homes for granted.

That turned out to be overly-optimistic. When peace returned to Cambodia in the 1990s, so did the Lycee Rene Descartes.

At first the school co-existed with the residents, but an expanding demand inspired the lycee to seek the removal of the community.

"This site belonging to the embassy must go back to the school," says Pierre Olivieri, the co-ordinator of a parents' committee pressing for the move.

"We're the only French school in the world with a squat - even nations at war like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan don't have that.

"It's not good for the image of France or Cambodia."

The residents resent being labelled as "squatters", and they were unwilling to leave for the compensation on offer - a few thousand dollars and a plot of undeveloped land on a reclaimed lake on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

Limsreang says that City Hall made a series of threats to evict his community - and said it would give them nothing if they did not accept the terms.

Fearing the worst, some families signed the deal and moved out.

The only ray of hope for the residents was the support of some of the students at the Lycee.

'Regularly criticised'

A student demonstration before Khmer New Year in April brought much-needed publicity to the community's plight.

"It's a horrible feeling because they say they're doing this for us - for us the students," says a 17-year-old protester, Raimondo Pictet.

"For security reasons and for our well-being, these people are being evicted. Well they're human beings too - and they also have a well-being.

They have children who are also going to school - and if they're evicted they won't be able to finish their school year."

Raimondo's efforts have not been appreciated universally.

He says he has been insulted by some students' parents, and a local newspaper published a disparaging comment from the school principal.

But the residents behind the lycee say they are grateful for the students' involvement.

"I'm really excited that teenage students understand about human rights," says Limsreang, before he is interrupted by his son Vichet, a medical student.

"Yes, but it's not good for the French government. Maybe they don't give a damn about human rights issues in Cambodia.

"But we're living here legitimately, and we want to leave here with a fair amount of compensation. We don't want to get rich or anything."

The French embassy did not respond to several requests for an interview.

After weeks of pressure, the remaining residents have now agreed to go.

They say they are sympathetic to the needs of the school, but frightened that their relocation might turn into another forced eviction in which they could lose everything.

Lycee residents ask for reprieve

Rattana, 17, tears down the remains of a ground-floor home in the community next to the Lycee Rene Descartes. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Monday, 11 May 2009
Written by May Titthara and Christopher Shay
The Phnom Penh Post

Families living near the French school plead with authorities for a bit more time.

IN San Lim Soreng's home on the fourth floor of the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes building, residents urged students and members of the French community to ask the French embassy for more time in their homes.

The residents urged the largely French audience to ask the French embassy to extend their eviction deadline, at least until their children's school year is finished at the end of July.

Last week, the remaining three families in the 30-year-old community agreed to government compensation.

Many families, however, have not had time to construct new homes and do not want to pull their students from school before the year is out.

Raimondo Pictet, 17, a student at the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes, said the event was designed for people to "say goodbye to the people who have lived next to us" and as an opportunity for people "to ask questions to the people who live here directly".

"I have signed the agreement for compensation already, but they put the deadline for us to go on Friday. I would like to tell French people about our situation and ask them to ask the French ambassador to intervene and help us delay our deadline until my child's school holiday," In Daravuth said.

In 2001, the French and Cambodian governments signed an agreement regarding land. In return for 1,000,000 French francs (about US$205,000), Cambodia transferred land and occupied apartments to the French secondary school, according to documents received by the Post.

"Now, we have to start our lives again like after the Khmer Rouge in 1979.... They report to the French embassy that residents are happy to get their compensation, but in fact we agreed to it with tears," resident Meak Sina said with tears in her eyes.

Residents brace for evictions

Residents of the Rene Descartes community destroy their businesses in compliance with a City Hall eviction notice. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Wednesday, 06 May 2009
Written by May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

ONE community facing eviction on Tuesday watched its deadline pass quietly and heard they will have a chance in court to defend their claims to the land, while another had their businesses shut down by authorities, in what residents say is an attempt to force them to accept the government's relocation terms.

Daun Penh district authorities put up additional fences around the community living next to the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes, Cambodia's oldest international school, blocking access to ground-floor businesses.

Residents of Group 78, however, saw their eviction deadline come and go, and even received a court date when they will have a chance to present evidence explaining that they should be allowed to stay.

"Now, we have a court warrant to show our evidence to them on May 18 at 8am. It is a good chance for us," said Lim Sambo, a Group 78 representative.

Yin Savat, a lawyer for the Community for Legal Education Centre, said the court warrant should put off a forced eviction until after the decision.

"According to the law, City Hall cannot implement their eviction letter because we have filed a complaint to the Court already to cancel it," he said.

"I have a court warrant. If tomorrow they come to pull our houses down, it means they did not respect to the law."

Meanwhile, across the city near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes, 37 families say they are being squeezed out of their homes and have no power to fight back.

The district deputy governor said the eviction deadline for the community has been extended to May 15, but residents say authorities have closed down the community's businesses.

In Daravuth, a resident of the Descartes community, said "[District authorities] said they will allow us to live inside the fences, but we cannot do business. We will only have a small gate to go in and out," said In Daravuth, a resident of the Descartes community.

He said the community still wanted to negotiate with City Hall, even though authorities said they had ceased discussions on April 29.

"I do not react to the authorities because they have guns and power. We're simple people. We can only stand and watch them do anything they want," In Daravuth said.

Kem Vichet, a village representative, said that the new green fences were just a tactic to force the community to accept the government's relocation terms.

"They did this to force us to accept their compensation because we are impoverished," he said, adding that now they can only "wait for an intervention from the French embassy".

Sok Penh Vuth, Daun Penh district deputy governor, said, "We just came to put a fence to close this area. We did not use violence against them.

"They can live inside their house," he said, "but I hope everything will be finished by this week. There are only 10 families [who have not agreed to relocation terms] left."

Sok Penh Vuth denied that the residents were being compelled to take the money and leave.

"We do not force them to take the compensation. They volunteer to take it, and now City Hall is thinking about their demands for more money," he said.

Chan Soveth, a monitor at the rights group Adhoc, disagrees and warned that a forced eviction could become violent.

"First, they [the authorities] put the fences surrounding the area. Later on, they will stop them from entering and cut off the electricity, and then the violence comes," he said.

The government says it will pay US$10,000, $7,000 or $5,000 to each family living near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes depending on how long they have been on the land, as well as supply a 4-metre-by-8-metre empty lot in Thnot Chrum village, Boeung Tumpum commune - an area that residents say is often flooded.

Last month, housing rights group Sahmakum Teang Tnaut said about 120,000 people had been displaced or evicted in the last two decades ago, working out to about one in 10 residents of Phnom Penh.

Lycée Descartes: Ultimatum deadline

One of the residents shows his lodging papers (Photo: A.N., Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

24 April 2009
By A.N.
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French

Commune officials want to resolve this conflict quickly, the families involved want to pursue the negotiations.

On Monday 27 April, families residing inside and around Building C of the French high school could be evicted. In a letter dated 20 April and sent to the families involved, Sok Sambath, the Daun Penh district governor, indicated that: “the district authorities will take severe measures” against families who will not accept the housing offer, i.e. a plot of land of 8-by-4-meter located 10 kilometers away from their current home and a compensation varying between $5,000 and $10,000.

For now, 24 of the 37 families involved still hope to find for a better agreement.

With looming evictions, families haunted by an uncertain future

Suon Davy, who has HIV, stands by her home in Borei Kelia. She worries how she will survive at a relocation site far from the city. (Photo by: CHRISTOPHER SHAY)

Thursday, 23 April 2009
Written by May Thittara And Christopher Shay
The Phnom Penh Post

"We are so sad.... now they will move us again to a faraway place."

Hundreds of families across Phnom Penh say they will be forcibly relocated soon, and unanswered questions about their future have left many frightened and depressed.

MORE than 228 Phnom Penh families whose homes were burned down in a suspected arson near Sovanna Market on the night of April 15 say they are not being allowed to rebuild their homes - a clear sign, they say, the city will be kicking them off their land.

These families are not alone in their predicament. At least 37 families living near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes, 32 families in the Borei Keila community, 219 families in the Rik Reay community and 475 families in Trapaing Chhook village in Russey Keo district all say their evictions are imminent.

The nearly 1,000 families facing eviction in these areas represents only a fraction of the total number, a local rights group says.

Since 2004, Cambodia has evicted 15,000 families, said Ouch Leng, an investigator at rights group Adhoc.

Community members from each of the five villages say the uncertainty of their future has left their communities dejected and frightened.

"We are so sad because they have moved us three times already, and now they will move us again to a faraway place," said Penh Sim, the deputy chief of the community in Borei Keila where at least one person in every family requires anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS.

Sok Chenda, 54, who expects to be forced off her land near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes in the next few days, said, "I am really worried about the situation at the new place because we don't know about the conditions of the land."

Many villagers facing eviction say they are willing to start over but only if they can be sure they will be safe, healthy and able to make a living in their new location. In Tomnup Toek commune near the Sovanna Market, even some residents who have lived there since 1996 said they would be happy to move under the right conditions.

So Vor, 37, estimated "70 percent of residents would volunteer to move if the authorities gave them a new place with a house".

Residents admit that the living conditions in some of these communities are bad. The area of Borei Keila with the HIV-affected community, for example, periodically floods with over 40 centimetres of polluted water, say villagers.

But at the moment, no one is sure their new homes will be any better.

In a similar case to last week's fire, the day before Khmer New Year in 2008, a fire destroyed an entire community in Russey Keo district. After moving to nearby Trapaing Chhook - a makeshift ghetto of shelters made from rubbish and leftover construction material - the community remains in limbo.

"What will they do for us?" Sour Menhour of Trapaing Chhook village asked.

"I want to ask permission from the authority to construct real houses. We cannot wait any longer because it is hard to live here during the rainy season," he said.

Chan Bunthol, a former high school teacher from Rik Reay community, said he lost his job as a result of the eviction process. He refused to leave home, fearing the development company would destroy it if he left.

Ouch Leng said when the Rik Reay community is moved, they will still face uncertainty, because they will continue to "live under the threat of eviction at the new site".

Mann Chhoeun, the deputy governor of the Phnom Penh Municipality, defended the city's relocation process, saying, "The city has succeeded so far in relocating people to the outskirts of the city, and [as a result] people have changed from drinkers to good men, from poor to rich and from homeless to homeowners with land titles."

The deputy governor said the city has relocated 43 communities and that all of them have good infrastructure and clean water.

But Sour Menghour from Trapaing Chhook says he has heard government assurances before and been disappointed.

"They promised us they would construct a new and wide road, drainage systems and divide the land for each family, but the government has so far kept quiet," he said.

Suon Davy, 41, who suffers from HIV and lives in Borei Keila, said that her community will be moved to Tuol Sambo village in Dangkor district and that it is worse than the squalid conditions she currently lives in.

"How can we live? It is about 25 kilometres from the city, doesn't have clean water, floods and lacks electricity," she asked.

In these communities, the uncertainty of relocation has left many constantly worrying about what comes next.

"We always think about our struggles in the future," Touch Yeum, the village chief of the community near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes, said, echoing the fears of hundreds of Cambodians in similar circumstances.

Residents afraid to leave city

Khun Malay, one of the residents living near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes who is facing eviction, prepares food on Monday. (Photo by: Heng Chivoan)

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Written by Chhay Channyda and May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

Families near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes say they will celebrate the New Year in Phnom Penh for fear of being evicted.

FAMILIES living near the Lycee Francais Rene Descartes say they are afraid to leave their homes for Khmer New Year for fear of being evicted in their absence.

Cambodian media Saturday quoted Daun Penh district Deputy Governor Sok Penh Vuth as saying that the families will be evicted on April 20, just after the New Year.

Now, 37 families living next to the French international school near Wat Phnom say they are worried something could happen even sooner.

"This year, I decided not to celebrate the New Year in my hometown, Kampong Cham province, because I fear that an eviction will take place," resident San Lim Sreang, 60, said Monday.

"Other neighbours are also gathering their families and celebrating the New Year in Phnom Penh," he added.

San Lim Sreang's family is one of four families offered of US$10,000 and a plot of land from the municipality in return for moving out of his current home.

But he said the compensation for his 167-square-metre house should be more in the vicinity of $40,000.

"I have lived here since 1979 and the government claims it is state land and that I cannot get a land title. I do not want to go against City Hall or the government, but the compensation must be acceptable so that we can have enough money to build new homes on the relocation site," he said.

Residents have been divided into three compensation categories depending on how many years they have lived there - $10,000, $7,000 and $5,000, all with a block of land.

San Lim Sreang said, however, that the plot of land offered to him, at only 32 square metres, was also much smaller than his current house.

"Waiting for the order"

Sok Penh Vuth could not confirm Monday when the residents near Lycee Descartes would be moved out from the area, but said he will "wait for the order from [City Hall] if there is a plan to clear people".

"Fifty percent of residents have been happy with their compensation deal," he added.

When asked about the eviction by reporters in an unrelated press conference Monday at City Hall, Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun said that the city has succeeded so far in relocating people to the outskirts of the city as it continues following its development master plan.

He added that City Hall has never moved people out of the city without making sure their living standards continued to be met.

"We have relocated 43 communities to relocation sites, all of which have good infrastructure," he said.

Student demonstration at Lycée Descartes in Phnom Penh

The side entrance to the high school during the morning of the demonstration. Lycée Descartes was a school frequented by children of Cambodian elite. Queen-Mother, Ranariddh and Sihamoni, as well as a few of Hun Sen's close subordinates (Cham Prasidh and Prak Sokhon) used to attend this school, but obviously, none of the above have stood up for the plight of poor Cambodians threatened by eviction. (Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

09 April 2009
By Maxime Revol
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French

About 50 students from Lycée Descartes, a French high school in Phnom Penh, held a demonstration this morning in front of their school. They wish to see the families occupying the fourth floor of the school building – who are threatened with eviction – be treated with dignity.

“Blockade” and “Freedom? Equality? Fraternity?” can be read on the banners blocking the access to the French high school in Phnom Penh. About 50 high school students have decided to go on strike. They fear that the Cambodian families living on the fourth floor of Building C in the high school would be evicted without dignity and without proper compensation. “There is a risk of eviction, and we know that here [in Cambodia], it is never done right. We are mobilizing ourselves so that the families receive a fair compensation and that all violence will be avoided” Timothée, a senior high school student, explained. He believes that all the families would agree to leave but the compensation amount offered by the city is not enough. “A meeting was recently held between the student parents and a representative of the [French] embassy, but there is no progress. The students want to see a good departure of the families, should they have to leave. Most of all, they should be fairly compensated,” said Nina, another senior student.

The students wrote an open letter to the French embassy, the Phnom Penh city hall and the school principal to explain their strike. They consider that an eviction under the present condition would violate human rights: “We ask that Lycée Descartes and the French embassy intervene to insure that the rights and the dignity of the residents on the fourth floor of Building C be respected, and that a sufficient compensation be given to them so that they can pursue their life in dignity. $10,000 in compensation and a small plot of land – far from the city center and in an area prone to flooding – are not acceptable.” A new discussion on this issue should take place this afternoon.

French Students Protest Eviction of Poor [-At least somebody has some conscience left in the corruption kingdoom]

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
09 April 2009

More than 60 French students at Phnom Penh’s Lycee Francais Rene Descartes international school held a peaceful demonstration Thursday against a city-ordered eviction of Cambodian families living on the school’s property or in shanty homes adjacent to it.

The students gathered in front of the school, near Wat Phnom, Thursday morning, some of them beating large drums or water buckets, others shouting in French, “Please give a fair solution for the eviction.”

Phnom Penh municipal authorities last year ordered the 37 families—many of whose members work at the school—to leave the adjacent property, which they plan to turn over to the French. The city fenced some of the families out of their homes on Tuesday and issued a 30-day eviction warning to them on Thursday.

Students said Thursday many of them had formed close relationships with the people living either in the school’s fourth floor or in an abutting plot of land.

“If the Cambodian government wants to evict them, they should pay a fair solution,” one of the students, who asked to be identified as Romando, said.

The city has offered each family from $5,000 to $10,000 in compensation and will give them 32 square meters of land in Boeung Tumpuon commune in the city’s Meanchey district.

Seng Vutha, 37, a security guard at the school who has lived in the compound since the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, said he was not against the move, but he needed higher compensation and a larger plot of land.

“With more land, it is easy for me to build a house,” he said. “If we compare the land prices today, they are very high. If the government pays me $5,000, I can’t buy anything for living.”

Tung Sok Lim, a spokesman for the French Embassy, said the French government plans to renovate the school, which has been in operation since 1951.

Daun Penh district’s deputy governor, Sok Penh Vuth, said he was not forcing an eviction on the families.

“Right now, 50 percent of the 37 families are happy to receive the compensation,” he said. “But there are still 50 percent more. We will try to persuade the people to understand the government policy.”

The compensation was a high price, he said, because some of the families were now living on just 2 square meters of land, sharing one bed, on the fourth floor of the school building.