http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxln7smPevE&feature=channel_video_title
Additional video by CCHR: http://www.youtube.com/cchrcambodia
Showing posts with label Land confiscation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Land confiscation. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
CCHR's public forum in Kampong Cham on Feb 16, 011
Additional video by CCHR: http://www.youtube.com/cchrcambodia
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Cambodia urged to reverse sugar land concessions
By Prak Chan Thul
The Cambodian government was believed to have allowed foreign investors involved in joint ventures to do business on land larger than 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres), which is against the law, said Ny Chakrya, chief investigator for rights group Adhoc, at a briefing.
World sugar prices surged to a 29-year high of 30.40 U.S. cents per lb in February, encouraging sugar millers to move into Cambodia, hitherto a net importer of sugar, to produce for export to the European Union.
They can take advantage of a scheme known as "Everything But Arms", which lets developing countries export certain products tariff-free to the EU.
In a bid to attract foreign investment, Cambodia has awarded big concessions to companies, mainly from China, Vietnam and South Korea, to run mines, power plants and lately sugar plantations.
But the rights groups say the land concessions have hurt communities and damaged the environment.
"We lost farmland, animals, ponds, lakes, fishes, forestry resources, wild animals and roads," said villager An Haiya.
At the start of 2010, Cambodia launched its first sugar factory in 40 years in the southern province of Koh Kong, worth $90.6 million. It is a joint venture between Cambodia's Koh Kong Sugar Industry Company Limited, Thailand's Khon Kaen Sugar and Taiwan's Vewong Corp.
Cambodia's Mong Reththy Group is in talks to build the country's second-biggest sugar factory, worth $100 million, as part of a joint venture with a French company that would further help revive an industry that collapsed during the country's lengthy civil war.
The factory was expected to produce around 80,000 tonnes of sugar annually within three years, mostly for export to European markets.
(Editing by Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat and Alan Raybould)
"We lost farmland, animals, ponds, lakes, fishes, forestry resources, wild animals and roads" - An Haiya, a villagerPHNOM PENH, May 12 (Reuters) - Cambodian rights groups and villagers urged the government on Wednesday to reverse hundreds of land concessions awarded mostly to sugar companies, saying villagers were suffering.
The Cambodian government was believed to have allowed foreign investors involved in joint ventures to do business on land larger than 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres), which is against the law, said Ny Chakrya, chief investigator for rights group Adhoc, at a briefing.
World sugar prices surged to a 29-year high of 30.40 U.S. cents per lb in February, encouraging sugar millers to move into Cambodia, hitherto a net importer of sugar, to produce for export to the European Union.
They can take advantage of a scheme known as "Everything But Arms", which lets developing countries export certain products tariff-free to the EU.
In a bid to attract foreign investment, Cambodia has awarded big concessions to companies, mainly from China, Vietnam and South Korea, to run mines, power plants and lately sugar plantations.
But the rights groups say the land concessions have hurt communities and damaged the environment.
"We lost farmland, animals, ponds, lakes, fishes, forestry resources, wild animals and roads," said villager An Haiya.
At the start of 2010, Cambodia launched its first sugar factory in 40 years in the southern province of Koh Kong, worth $90.6 million. It is a joint venture between Cambodia's Koh Kong Sugar Industry Company Limited, Thailand's Khon Kaen Sugar and Taiwan's Vewong Corp.
Cambodia's Mong Reththy Group is in talks to build the country's second-biggest sugar factory, worth $100 million, as part of a joint venture with a French company that would further help revive an industry that collapsed during the country's lengthy civil war.
The factory was expected to produce around 80,000 tonnes of sugar annually within three years, mostly for export to European markets.
(Editing by Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat and Alan Raybould)
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
They got maimed fighting for a regime that took away their homes and lands, and abandoned them to begging in the street
Beggars near the National Museum in this 22 October 1999 file photo (Photo: RFA)Disabled war veterans are becoming beggars in drove
10 Feb 2009
By Sophorn
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Click here to read the article in Khmer
Along various Phnom Penh city restaurants and sidewalks, a large number of handicapped people can be seen begging for money from Cambodians and foreigners. Among these handicap people, some of them are disabled war veterans.
Sophorn: How did you become disabled?
Beggar: I fought against the Khmer Rouge in Battambang. When I lost my legs, I went to protest because they took away my house and my land.
A number of disabled war veterans who are begging along the streets in Phnom Penh have expressed their displeasure, claiming that they were disabled in the frontline and, on top of that, they lost all their homes and farmlands. This is the reason why they have to beg for a living.
A 50-year-old blind man who also lost his legs, accompanied by his 7-year-old daughter, is begging along the sidewalk in Phsar Thmei market. He told RFA that in 1985, he became disabled when he was fighting the KR in Svay Sisophon (Sereysophorn) in Banteay Meanchey province. He then had to sell all his farmlands in Kampong Thom province to get medical care and to buy rice to eat: “I was a soldier, a soldier under the Heng Samrin regime. I was fighting in Svay Sisophon, during the fight with the KR, I stepped on a landmine.”
Another disabled man with only one leg is sitting on a wheelchair, begging for money in front of a restaurant along the (Tonle Sap) river bank. He said that he used to own a house in Russey Keo commune, Phnom Penh city, but after he was disabled during a fighting with the KR in 1987, he had to sell his house for his family needs. He then became a renter, and finally he had to beg everywhere just to feed his family: “I sold my house for 300 (dollars?) only so I can take care of my health, I received some help, I had to borrow money. I met with all sort of problems, I don’t have enough to eat. If I had enough to eat, I wouldn’t have to beg like this, I used to study agriculture in the army, but now I don’t own any farmland.”
Sim, a 45-year-old man with only one leg and one hand, is begging near Wat Phnom Park, is very displeased with the government. He claimed that in 1988, he was forced to join a special army unit to fight against the KR. Following his injuries, the government never took care or worried about his situation. Furthermore, the local authority in Snuol, Kratie province, his birthplace, confiscated all his farmlands. The situation turned him into a beggar to survive: “Disabled soldiers during my time, they confiscated everything from us, they used guns to point at us (to confiscate our belonging). I want to tell you the whole thing. The government should look into this situation, especially the country leaders. They should see that when they needed us, they took us away, but now that we are disabled, we have to sleep in the street.”
The Russey Keo district deputy governor indicated that in his district, there are 430 disabled war veterans, this includes both those who have a housing and those who do not.
Regarding the number of homeless and landless beggars on the street, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said that the situation is due to government corruption. Therefore, national budget for veterans does not actually reach actual veterans and disabled veterans, and in fact, lists of veteran names were sold out instead (to touch their pension).
He added: “We must account for all these disabled veterans, reorganize the statistics, organize centers and a system to guarantee a decent and honorable living condition for them because they served the country, they defended the nation before they were disabled. They should receive an honorable life. Therefore, we must maintain a good administration for these tens of thousands (disabled war veterans), we shouldn’t abandon all these disabled veterans as (the government) is currently doing.”
Sem Sokha, the under secretary of state for veterans social welfare, said that the government had built some housing for them in Kampong Speu province, and the government is planning to add some more: “There’s a plan to provide $1 million, or to build [more housing?] in Siem Reap province. [The government] ordered the ministry of [veterans] welfare to look for lands to build centers or housing for disabled veterans in all provinces. There is also a number of organizations that provide help for these disabled people.”
He also added: “From what I know, each army unit has a number (assigned to each veteran). This means that the lists of names from their units were transferred to the welfare department. There is a veteran department, and war veterans also have associations. Right now, Samdach Hun Sen is the president of the association of war veterans, so it is easy to contact the department. Furthermore, disabled veterans in each province should contact the veteran welfare department in their province, because they have branches there already.”
According Chiv Lim, the chairman of the information program for disabled veterans from landmines in Cambodia which operates under the Cambodian Red Cross, there are 2,705 disabled war veterans in the entire country. According to the statistics, the number of registered soldiers in Cambodia is 130,000.
Sophorn: How did you become disabled?
Beggar: I fought against the Khmer Rouge in Battambang. When I lost my legs, I went to protest because they took away my house and my land.
A number of disabled war veterans who are begging along the streets in Phnom Penh have expressed their displeasure, claiming that they were disabled in the frontline and, on top of that, they lost all their homes and farmlands. This is the reason why they have to beg for a living.
A 50-year-old blind man who also lost his legs, accompanied by his 7-year-old daughter, is begging along the sidewalk in Phsar Thmei market. He told RFA that in 1985, he became disabled when he was fighting the KR in Svay Sisophon (Sereysophorn) in Banteay Meanchey province. He then had to sell all his farmlands in Kampong Thom province to get medical care and to buy rice to eat: “I was a soldier, a soldier under the Heng Samrin regime. I was fighting in Svay Sisophon, during the fight with the KR, I stepped on a landmine.”
Another disabled man with only one leg is sitting on a wheelchair, begging for money in front of a restaurant along the (Tonle Sap) river bank. He said that he used to own a house in Russey Keo commune, Phnom Penh city, but after he was disabled during a fighting with the KR in 1987, he had to sell his house for his family needs. He then became a renter, and finally he had to beg everywhere just to feed his family: “I sold my house for 300 (dollars?) only so I can take care of my health, I received some help, I had to borrow money. I met with all sort of problems, I don’t have enough to eat. If I had enough to eat, I wouldn’t have to beg like this, I used to study agriculture in the army, but now I don’t own any farmland.”
Sim, a 45-year-old man with only one leg and one hand, is begging near Wat Phnom Park, is very displeased with the government. He claimed that in 1988, he was forced to join a special army unit to fight against the KR. Following his injuries, the government never took care or worried about his situation. Furthermore, the local authority in Snuol, Kratie province, his birthplace, confiscated all his farmlands. The situation turned him into a beggar to survive: “Disabled soldiers during my time, they confiscated everything from us, they used guns to point at us (to confiscate our belonging). I want to tell you the whole thing. The government should look into this situation, especially the country leaders. They should see that when they needed us, they took us away, but now that we are disabled, we have to sleep in the street.”
The Russey Keo district deputy governor indicated that in his district, there are 430 disabled war veterans, this includes both those who have a housing and those who do not.
Regarding the number of homeless and landless beggars on the street, opposition leader Sam Rainsy said that the situation is due to government corruption. Therefore, national budget for veterans does not actually reach actual veterans and disabled veterans, and in fact, lists of veteran names were sold out instead (to touch their pension).
He added: “We must account for all these disabled veterans, reorganize the statistics, organize centers and a system to guarantee a decent and honorable living condition for them because they served the country, they defended the nation before they were disabled. They should receive an honorable life. Therefore, we must maintain a good administration for these tens of thousands (disabled war veterans), we shouldn’t abandon all these disabled veterans as (the government) is currently doing.”
Sem Sokha, the under secretary of state for veterans social welfare, said that the government had built some housing for them in Kampong Speu province, and the government is planning to add some more: “There’s a plan to provide $1 million, or to build [more housing?] in Siem Reap province. [The government] ordered the ministry of [veterans] welfare to look for lands to build centers or housing for disabled veterans in all provinces. There is also a number of organizations that provide help for these disabled people.”
He also added: “From what I know, each army unit has a number (assigned to each veteran). This means that the lists of names from their units were transferred to the welfare department. There is a veteran department, and war veterans also have associations. Right now, Samdach Hun Sen is the president of the association of war veterans, so it is easy to contact the department. Furthermore, disabled veterans in each province should contact the veteran welfare department in their province, because they have branches there already.”
According Chiv Lim, the chairman of the information program for disabled veterans from landmines in Cambodia which operates under the Cambodian Red Cross, there are 2,705 disabled war veterans in the entire country. According to the statistics, the number of registered soldiers in Cambodia is 130,000.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Lake Residents Request Money for Move
By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 August 2008
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 August 2008
Hundreds of residents of the Boeung Kak lake area met with Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema in a conference room at City Hall Monday to request compensation for moving to make way for a massive development project.
About 450 residents asked the city for $13,000 each in order to move from the area, which is slated for the development of commercial, residential and entertainment property.
City officials and developers have made plans for commercial buildings, supermarkets, a meeting hall, an entertainment center, night clubs, hotels, a university, a hospital and residences on the site where now sits a wide pond full of water lilies encircled by makeshift homes of the poor.
Residents have complained in the past they were not being given enough money to move away from the development site, but the city maintains most people living along the lakeside, in makeshift wooden homes, are there illegally.
Some residents have requested new housing on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, in Dangkao district, while others are seeking payment.
Kep Chuktema told the crowd of residents he would take their monetary request under consideration, requesting cooperation from the developer, Shukaku, Inc.
A Shukaku representative was present at the meeting, but declined to speak to the crowd. Shukaku has a 99-year lease with the government, for an estimated $79 million project.
One plan for the development would require filling in the lake.
About 450 residents asked the city for $13,000 each in order to move from the area, which is slated for the development of commercial, residential and entertainment property.
City officials and developers have made plans for commercial buildings, supermarkets, a meeting hall, an entertainment center, night clubs, hotels, a university, a hospital and residences on the site where now sits a wide pond full of water lilies encircled by makeshift homes of the poor.
Residents have complained in the past they were not being given enough money to move away from the development site, but the city maintains most people living along the lakeside, in makeshift wooden homes, are there illegally.
Some residents have requested new housing on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, in Dangkao district, while others are seeking payment.
Kep Chuktema told the crowd of residents he would take their monetary request under consideration, requesting cooperation from the developer, Shukaku, Inc.
A Shukaku representative was present at the meeting, but declined to speak to the crowd. Shukaku has a 99-year lease with the government, for an estimated $79 million project.
One plan for the development would require filling in the lake.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Unrest and Unresolved After Thirty Three Years of Land Confiscation
May 9th, 2008
Khmer Krom Network
Khmer Krom Network
On 30th April every year since 1975, the Vietnamese Communist (VC) government has celebrated the victory of the Vietnam War and brought “peace” to the country. This so called victory has caused millions of people in Vietnam to flee its borders to seek freedom and thousands of hectares of the Khmer-Krom farmers’ lands in Kampuchea Krom. Much of the lands were confiscated by the VC government.
In Swaiton (renamed Tri Ton) and Kra Bao (renamed Tinh Bien) districts of Motr Chrouk (An Giang) province, the Khmer-Krom farmers were forcefully evacuated to Khleang (renamed to Soc Trang) province as early as 1979. When they were allowed to come back to their villages by the end of 1980, they found that most of their farmlands were stolen by the local Vietnamese authorities. Those confiscated farmlands were either sold or distributed to its ethnic Vietnamese people by the local Vietnamese authority leaders.
Since 1975, the Khmer-Krom farmers have tried to file complaints to demand for the return their confiscated farmlands but the local Vietnamese authorities have ignored and in some cases have threatened to imprison them if they kept complaining.
The VC government also has been successful in installing Khmer Krom individuals as their puppets pretending to be the representatives for the Khmer-Krom in each province in Kampuchea Krom. Unfortunately this meant that these Khmer Krom individuals were used as a tool to further to oppress their own people while serving only for the benefits of the VC government.
The loss of land due to land grabs by VC authorities ensured that Khmer Krom people were further entrenched in poverty. Finding themselves with little alternative to survive, in recent years, the Khmer-Krom farmers in Swaiton and Kra Bao districts have tried to file their complaints seeking the return their confiscated farmlands.
The Vietnamese authorities have tried to employ various tactics to stop the Khmer-Krom farmers from filing complaints, even in some recent cases resorting to the use of violence. The Vietnamese authorities have accused the Khmer-Krom farmers for “disturbing the society”, so they had a legal excuse to imprison these farmers.
More disturbing still is the rare cases that land has been returned, hidden conditions have been attached. For example in the case of Ms. Ly Thi Huong, whose land was returned but not without horrifying double agenda conditions attached. With the return of her land, her brother was beaten, imprisoned once and once again earlier this year. Her rice fields, ready for harvesting was cruelly taken from her fields twice after local Vietnamese authorities claimed that the land still belonged to the State.
According to the Khmer-Krom farmers from Swaiton district, on April 28 and 29, the VC government ordered Mr. Son Song Son and the “113” Special Forces of the Police of An Giang province to summon Khmer-Krom farmers to listen to their lectures at Chy Eng Krom temple and a Khmer-Krom boarding school in Dom Puel (Chau Lang) Village, Swaiton (Tri Ton) district. They started off by threatening the Khmer-Krom farmers and said that if the Khmer-Krom farmers kept demanding for the return of their confiscated farmlands, they will be imprisoned for “disturbing the society.” They claimed that they will imprison Mr. Chau Son, Mr. Chau In, Mr. Chau Hen and Mr. Chau Ut who have been leading other Khmer-Krom farmers to demand their confiscated farmlands.
In the meeting, the Khmer-Krom farmers were told clearly that the Vietnam authorities were very powerful and that they can imprison Khmer-Krom farmers anytime. They even can imprison any Khmer-Krom, even in Kampuchea, just like the case of Venerable Tim SaKhorn.
At this time, Mrs. Neang Don and Mrs. Neang Donn are currently in prison for participating in a peaceful protest to demand for return their confiscated farmlands. Mr. Chau Hen and Mr. Chau Ut are also currently missing after the Vietnamese authorities came in the middle of the night in a massive military attempt to arrest them. Random shots were fired, some hitting Mrs. Neang Phon who is Mr. Chau Hen’wife, on April 7 2008.
The local Vietnamese authorities in Swaiton and Kra Bao districts have and continue to ignore the issue of confiscated lands because the leaders of the local authorities took the Khmer-Krom farmlands and sold it to the Vietnamese people. Thus, even if the Vietnamese Prime Minister ordered the local Vietnamese authorities to return the confiscated farmlands back to the farmers; the local authorities have no lands to return because they already sold those lands. Instead of trying to find a workable solution, the local Vietnamese authorities have tried to accuse the Khmer-Krom farmers for “disturbing the society” to silence the Khmer-Krom farmers.
Every year, Vietnam profits greatly from extracting crude oil from Khmer Krom’s natural land and resources at O-Cap (renamed Vung Tau) province. If Vietnam truly wants to eradicate the poverty of the Khmer Krom people, it needs to put money back to the Khmer Krom community. Even with 1% of the money made from the crude oil, Vietnam has more than enough money to buy back the lands that corrupted local authorities have sold to its ethnic Vietnamese people.
Instead of attempting to deny that problems are occurring at the local level or attempting to suppress unrest, the Vietnam government must start looking at conflict resolution and immediately resolve land confiscation issue. With the returned of their lands, the Khmer Krom farmers will start to do what they do best, planting and harvesting rice, sustaining their very mean of survival for centuries.
In Swaiton (renamed Tri Ton) and Kra Bao (renamed Tinh Bien) districts of Motr Chrouk (An Giang) province, the Khmer-Krom farmers were forcefully evacuated to Khleang (renamed to Soc Trang) province as early as 1979. When they were allowed to come back to their villages by the end of 1980, they found that most of their farmlands were stolen by the local Vietnamese authorities. Those confiscated farmlands were either sold or distributed to its ethnic Vietnamese people by the local Vietnamese authority leaders.
Since 1975, the Khmer-Krom farmers have tried to file complaints to demand for the return their confiscated farmlands but the local Vietnamese authorities have ignored and in some cases have threatened to imprison them if they kept complaining.
The VC government also has been successful in installing Khmer Krom individuals as their puppets pretending to be the representatives for the Khmer-Krom in each province in Kampuchea Krom. Unfortunately this meant that these Khmer Krom individuals were used as a tool to further to oppress their own people while serving only for the benefits of the VC government.
The loss of land due to land grabs by VC authorities ensured that Khmer Krom people were further entrenched in poverty. Finding themselves with little alternative to survive, in recent years, the Khmer-Krom farmers in Swaiton and Kra Bao districts have tried to file their complaints seeking the return their confiscated farmlands.
The Vietnamese authorities have tried to employ various tactics to stop the Khmer-Krom farmers from filing complaints, even in some recent cases resorting to the use of violence. The Vietnamese authorities have accused the Khmer-Krom farmers for “disturbing the society”, so they had a legal excuse to imprison these farmers.
More disturbing still is the rare cases that land has been returned, hidden conditions have been attached. For example in the case of Ms. Ly Thi Huong, whose land was returned but not without horrifying double agenda conditions attached. With the return of her land, her brother was beaten, imprisoned once and once again earlier this year. Her rice fields, ready for harvesting was cruelly taken from her fields twice after local Vietnamese authorities claimed that the land still belonged to the State.
According to the Khmer-Krom farmers from Swaiton district, on April 28 and 29, the VC government ordered Mr. Son Song Son and the “113” Special Forces of the Police of An Giang province to summon Khmer-Krom farmers to listen to their lectures at Chy Eng Krom temple and a Khmer-Krom boarding school in Dom Puel (Chau Lang) Village, Swaiton (Tri Ton) district. They started off by threatening the Khmer-Krom farmers and said that if the Khmer-Krom farmers kept demanding for the return of their confiscated farmlands, they will be imprisoned for “disturbing the society.” They claimed that they will imprison Mr. Chau Son, Mr. Chau In, Mr. Chau Hen and Mr. Chau Ut who have been leading other Khmer-Krom farmers to demand their confiscated farmlands.
In the meeting, the Khmer-Krom farmers were told clearly that the Vietnam authorities were very powerful and that they can imprison Khmer-Krom farmers anytime. They even can imprison any Khmer-Krom, even in Kampuchea, just like the case of Venerable Tim SaKhorn.
At this time, Mrs. Neang Don and Mrs. Neang Donn are currently in prison for participating in a peaceful protest to demand for return their confiscated farmlands. Mr. Chau Hen and Mr. Chau Ut are also currently missing after the Vietnamese authorities came in the middle of the night in a massive military attempt to arrest them. Random shots were fired, some hitting Mrs. Neang Phon who is Mr. Chau Hen’wife, on April 7 2008.
The local Vietnamese authorities in Swaiton and Kra Bao districts have and continue to ignore the issue of confiscated lands because the leaders of the local authorities took the Khmer-Krom farmlands and sold it to the Vietnamese people. Thus, even if the Vietnamese Prime Minister ordered the local Vietnamese authorities to return the confiscated farmlands back to the farmers; the local authorities have no lands to return because they already sold those lands. Instead of trying to find a workable solution, the local Vietnamese authorities have tried to accuse the Khmer-Krom farmers for “disturbing the society” to silence the Khmer-Krom farmers.
Every year, Vietnam profits greatly from extracting crude oil from Khmer Krom’s natural land and resources at O-Cap (renamed Vung Tau) province. If Vietnam truly wants to eradicate the poverty of the Khmer Krom people, it needs to put money back to the Khmer Krom community. Even with 1% of the money made from the crude oil, Vietnam has more than enough money to buy back the lands that corrupted local authorities have sold to its ethnic Vietnamese people.
Instead of attempting to deny that problems are occurring at the local level or attempting to suppress unrest, the Vietnam government must start looking at conflict resolution and immediately resolve land confiscation issue. With the returned of their lands, the Khmer Krom farmers will start to do what they do best, planting and harvesting rice, sustaining their very mean of survival for centuries.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Excerpt from Human Rigths Watch - World Report 2008
Human Rights Watch
Report, January 31, 2008
Report, January 31, 2008
Cambodia
Events of 2007
Events of 2007
Ten years after the 1997 coup, in which Prime Minister Hun Sen ousted his then co-Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh, impunity for human rights violations in Cambodia remains the rule. 2007 was marked by ongoing illegal confiscation of farmers’ land, forced evictions of urban poor, and attacks on rights defenders, as well as the murders of a trade union leader, a community forestry activist, and a monk. The continued to operate at the behest of the executive, and no progress was made to address judiciaryrampant corruption or widespread plundering of natural resources. More than halfway through its three-year mandate, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal faced serious allegations of corruption and government interference.
Commune council elections, held in April with less political violence than in the past, were won by Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP). Ranariddh remained abroad, and in March was sentenced in absentia to 18 months’ imprisonment for breach of trust over the sale of his former party’s headquarters.
Suppression of Freedom of Expression, Association, and Assembly
The government continues to control all television and most radio stations, with media that criticized the government subject to suspension or threats of legal action. In June 2007 the government banned dissemination of a report by the international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Global Witness that alleged complicity of top government officials in illegal logging. Journalists who covered the report and people who helped prepare it received anonymous death threats. The French-language newspaper Cambodge Soir suspended publication in June after a staff strike protesting a reporter’s dismissal for covering the report.
In August a reporter in Pursat was the victim of two attempted arson attacks on his home, which the commune police chief attributed to the reporter’s logging coverage. Community activists involved in forest protection who came under attack included Seng Sarom, murdered in July in Stung Treng, and Sath Savuth, forced to flee his Oddar Meanchey home after a grenade was thrown at it in July.
In July the government-controlled Cambodian Bar Association claimed that lawyers cannot be legally employed by NGOs or provide legal services unless the NGO has signed an agreement with the Association. In June Finance Minister Keat Chhon’s sister, Keat Kolney, filed a complaint with the Association against nine legal aid lawyers, accusing them of “inciting” villagers to file complaints against her in a Ratanakiri land dispute.
On February 24 Hy Vuthy, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC ) at the Suntex factory in Phnom Penh, was shot dead. He was the third FTUWKC official to be killed in three years. In May riot police dispersed 1,000 striking workers from a factory in Kandal protesting the firing of workers organizing a union there.
Authorities continue to disperse or reject requests for many demonstrations. In October the government approved a demonstrations law that requires organizers to give local authorities five days’ notice and holds organizers responsible for any misconduct that occurs.
Crackdown on Kampuchea Krom Monks
On February 27, 2007, heavily armed police dispersed a demonstration near the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh by Kampuchea Krom (ethnic Khmer originally from Vietnam) monks. They were protesting religious and ethnic persecution in Vietnam. That night one of the protesting monks, Eang Sok Thoeun, was found dead in his pagoda. Police labeled it a suicide, ordered his immediate burial, and prohibited monks from conducting funeral proceedings. On April 20 Phnom Penh police forcefully dispersed another Kampuchea Krom protest in which counter-demonstrators physically attacked the monks. In June Cambodia’s Supreme Buddhist Patriarch Tep Vong and the Ministry of Cults and Religion issued an order banning monks from participating in demonstrations.
On June 30, Cambodian officials defrocked Kampuchea Krom monk Tim Sakhorn, a Cambodian citizen who was the representative of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation (KKF) in Takeo, and escorted him to the border. Tep Vong alleged that Sakhorn had conducted propaganda harming Cambodia-Vietnam friendship by allegedly distributing leaflets about the KKF. In November Sakhorn was sentenced in a Vietnamese court to one year’s imprisonment on charges of undermining national unity.
Rule of Law
In June 2007 the National Assembly passed a long-awaited Criminal Procedures Code, but it lacked safeguards regarding pretrial detention, rights of suspects after arrest, and extradition. In July the Constitutional Council ruled that Cambodia should consider its commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child when sentencing children.
Despite new eyewitness statements, in April the Appeals Court upheld the conviction of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun for the murder of labor leader Chea Vichea in 2004. The original trial and appeals court decision were criticized for failing to meet fair trial standards by United Nations officials and rights groups.
Land Confiscation
The rural and urban poor continue to lose their land to illegal concessions awarded to foreign firms, government officials, and those with connections to government officials. Hun Sen failed to implement a public pledge made in March 2007 to dismiss CPP members involved in land grabs. On several occasions police used excessive force in evictions, such as in November when soldiers and police shot dead two unarmed villagers during a forced eviction of 317 families in Preah Vihear.
Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Five senior Khmer Rouge (KR) officials were placed in a detention facility at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal during 2007: Kaing Khek Iev (Duch), the former chief of S-21 (Tuol Sleng) prison; Pol Pot’s deputy, Nuon Chea; former KR Foreign Minister Ieng Sary; former KR Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith; and former KR head of state Khieu Samphan. They were all charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, except for Ieng Thirith, who was charged only with crimes against humanity.
Problems with the work of the tribunal included serious allegations of mandatory kickbacks by Cambodian staff to government officials in exchange for their positions. In February, after the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) called for an investigation of these corruption allegations, government officials threatened to bar OSJI staff from the tribunal’s premises and expel their international staff from Cambodia. International pressure caused the government to back down.
The tribunal has yet to establish satisfactory victims’ support and witness protection units. Trials are expected to start in April 2008.
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Cambodia continues to violate its obligations under the Refugee Convention by forcibly returning dozens of Vietnamese Montagnards before they could apply for asylum with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As of September 2007 there were 360 Montagnards under UNHCR protection. In April three Cambodians in Ratanakiri who helped Montagnard asylum seekers make contact with UNHCR were arrested on human trafficking charges for allegedly accepting money from Montagnards. Charges were later dropped.
Key International Actors
In June 2007 international donors, whose aid covers half Cambodia’s national budget, increased their annual pledge to US$690 million, with China’s pledge for the first time included as part of the formal donor package. Top donors were Japan, China, and the European Union. In June the International Monetary Fund criticized Cambodia’s “high cost of informal fees” and failure to pass an anti-corruption law. In August the World Bank, which froze some funding for Cambodia in 2006 because of corruption by Cambodian officials, pledged $70 million for poverty reduction projects.
In August an announcement by the United States that it would increase its counterterrorism cooperation with Cambodia coincided with Cambodia awarding US petroleum giant Chevron an offshore mining contract. In February the US lifted a ban on aid to the Cambodian government instituted after the 1997 coup. New aid included Foreign Military Financing for the Cambodian military to purchase non-lethal “excess defense articles” and International Military Education and Training funds. In April the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) hosted National Police Chief Hok Lundy for counterterrorism discussions in Washington, despite Lundy’s alleged involvement in political violence, drug smuggling, and human trafficking.
In March Cambodia endorsed the Oslo Declaration, which bans cluster munitions.
Commune council elections, held in April with less political violence than in the past, were won by Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP). Ranariddh remained abroad, and in March was sentenced in absentia to 18 months’ imprisonment for breach of trust over the sale of his former party’s headquarters.
Suppression of Freedom of Expression, Association, and Assembly
The government continues to control all television and most radio stations, with media that criticized the government subject to suspension or threats of legal action. In June 2007 the government banned dissemination of a report by the international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Global Witness that alleged complicity of top government officials in illegal logging. Journalists who covered the report and people who helped prepare it received anonymous death threats. The French-language newspaper Cambodge Soir suspended publication in June after a staff strike protesting a reporter’s dismissal for covering the report.
In August a reporter in Pursat was the victim of two attempted arson attacks on his home, which the commune police chief attributed to the reporter’s logging coverage. Community activists involved in forest protection who came under attack included Seng Sarom, murdered in July in Stung Treng, and Sath Savuth, forced to flee his Oddar Meanchey home after a grenade was thrown at it in July.
In July the government-controlled Cambodian Bar Association claimed that lawyers cannot be legally employed by NGOs or provide legal services unless the NGO has signed an agreement with the Association. In June Finance Minister Keat Chhon’s sister, Keat Kolney, filed a complaint with the Association against nine legal aid lawyers, accusing them of “inciting” villagers to file complaints against her in a Ratanakiri land dispute.
On February 24 Hy Vuthy, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC ) at the Suntex factory in Phnom Penh, was shot dead. He was the third FTUWKC official to be killed in three years. In May riot police dispersed 1,000 striking workers from a factory in Kandal protesting the firing of workers organizing a union there.
Authorities continue to disperse or reject requests for many demonstrations. In October the government approved a demonstrations law that requires organizers to give local authorities five days’ notice and holds organizers responsible for any misconduct that occurs.
Crackdown on Kampuchea Krom Monks
On February 27, 2007, heavily armed police dispersed a demonstration near the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh by Kampuchea Krom (ethnic Khmer originally from Vietnam) monks. They were protesting religious and ethnic persecution in Vietnam. That night one of the protesting monks, Eang Sok Thoeun, was found dead in his pagoda. Police labeled it a suicide, ordered his immediate burial, and prohibited monks from conducting funeral proceedings. On April 20 Phnom Penh police forcefully dispersed another Kampuchea Krom protest in which counter-demonstrators physically attacked the monks. In June Cambodia’s Supreme Buddhist Patriarch Tep Vong and the Ministry of Cults and Religion issued an order banning monks from participating in demonstrations.
On June 30, Cambodian officials defrocked Kampuchea Krom monk Tim Sakhorn, a Cambodian citizen who was the representative of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation (KKF) in Takeo, and escorted him to the border. Tep Vong alleged that Sakhorn had conducted propaganda harming Cambodia-Vietnam friendship by allegedly distributing leaflets about the KKF. In November Sakhorn was sentenced in a Vietnamese court to one year’s imprisonment on charges of undermining national unity.
Rule of Law
In June 2007 the National Assembly passed a long-awaited Criminal Procedures Code, but it lacked safeguards regarding pretrial detention, rights of suspects after arrest, and extradition. In July the Constitutional Council ruled that Cambodia should consider its commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child when sentencing children.
Despite new eyewitness statements, in April the Appeals Court upheld the conviction of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun for the murder of labor leader Chea Vichea in 2004. The original trial and appeals court decision were criticized for failing to meet fair trial standards by United Nations officials and rights groups.
Land Confiscation
The rural and urban poor continue to lose their land to illegal concessions awarded to foreign firms, government officials, and those with connections to government officials. Hun Sen failed to implement a public pledge made in March 2007 to dismiss CPP members involved in land grabs. On several occasions police used excessive force in evictions, such as in November when soldiers and police shot dead two unarmed villagers during a forced eviction of 317 families in Preah Vihear.
Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Five senior Khmer Rouge (KR) officials were placed in a detention facility at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal during 2007: Kaing Khek Iev (Duch), the former chief of S-21 (Tuol Sleng) prison; Pol Pot’s deputy, Nuon Chea; former KR Foreign Minister Ieng Sary; former KR Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith; and former KR head of state Khieu Samphan. They were all charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, except for Ieng Thirith, who was charged only with crimes against humanity.
Problems with the work of the tribunal included serious allegations of mandatory kickbacks by Cambodian staff to government officials in exchange for their positions. In February, after the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) called for an investigation of these corruption allegations, government officials threatened to bar OSJI staff from the tribunal’s premises and expel their international staff from Cambodia. International pressure caused the government to back down.
The tribunal has yet to establish satisfactory victims’ support and witness protection units. Trials are expected to start in April 2008.
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Cambodia continues to violate its obligations under the Refugee Convention by forcibly returning dozens of Vietnamese Montagnards before they could apply for asylum with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As of September 2007 there were 360 Montagnards under UNHCR protection. In April three Cambodians in Ratanakiri who helped Montagnard asylum seekers make contact with UNHCR were arrested on human trafficking charges for allegedly accepting money from Montagnards. Charges were later dropped.
Key International Actors
In June 2007 international donors, whose aid covers half Cambodia’s national budget, increased their annual pledge to US$690 million, with China’s pledge for the first time included as part of the formal donor package. Top donors were Japan, China, and the European Union. In June the International Monetary Fund criticized Cambodia’s “high cost of informal fees” and failure to pass an anti-corruption law. In August the World Bank, which froze some funding for Cambodia in 2006 because of corruption by Cambodian officials, pledged $70 million for poverty reduction projects.
In August an announcement by the United States that it would increase its counterterrorism cooperation with Cambodia coincided with Cambodia awarding US petroleum giant Chevron an offshore mining contract. In February the US lifted a ban on aid to the Cambodian government instituted after the 1997 coup. New aid included Foreign Military Financing for the Cambodian military to purchase non-lethal “excess defense articles” and International Military Education and Training funds. In April the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) hosted National Police Chief Hok Lundy for counterterrorism discussions in Washington, despite Lundy’s alleged involvement in political violence, drug smuggling, and human trafficking.
In March Cambodia endorsed the Oslo Declaration, which bans cluster munitions.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Khmer Krom protesters forced into buses as VN authorities Attempts to stop peaceful demonstration
Khmer Krom people protest about land disputes in Prey Nokor (HCMC)
17 December 2007
By Mondul Keo Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
About 200 families of Khmer Krom people came to demonstrate in front of the Vietnamese Assembly in Prey Nokor (Ho Chi Minh City) to demand that the Vietnamese authority returns back their lands which were confiscated by the authority in 1978-1979. The authority forced the protesters into trucks and took them all home as of 16 December morning.
Chau In, a representative of the Khmer Krom people, told RFA by phone that, at 03:00 PM on the same day, the Vietnamese brought in several trucks, forced them to get into the trucks and took them home while promising that the resolution will be provided at the local level.
Chau In said that his group plans to continue the demonstration in front of their individual commune offices on Monday morning: “They broke us up, they forced us into the vehicles, and took us back to our villages. Tomorrow, my group will demonstrate in front of the An Ty commune office, because district and provincial officials will come to meet there.”
Vin Ba, a representative of the demonstrators, said that when they reached home, they were under the surveillance of the local police, and they cannot move freely anymore.
Vin Ba said: “Now, (where) I live in Khleang province (An Giang in Vietnamese), it’s full of cops who came to watch us, wherever we go, they follow us.”
Trinh Ba Cam, Hanoi’s mouthpiece in Cambodia, said that he does not know about this issue, therefore, he cannot provide any comment.
Nevertheless, Venerable Yoeung Sin, a representatice of the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Association in Cambodia, said that Khmer Krom people living in Cambodia and overseas, always support the demands made by Khmer Krom brothers and sisters who are currently living on their native lands (Kampuchea Krom), however, the venerable asked for Khmer Krom people to avoid using violence during the resolution of the disputes, and during their demands and protests.
Venerable Yoeung Sin said: “We decide to support (Khmer Krom people), we cannot remain still, and we are calling to the national and international communities to provide help to the victims. We cannot remain idle with all these issues.”
Up to now, 7 Khmer Krom laymen and 6 Khmer Krom monks disrobed by force the Vietnamese authority, are currently being jailed, and a number of other Khmer Krom people were stopped for questioning simply because they demand religious freedom rights to observe the Cambodian Buddhism faith according to Cambodian customs, and they are also demanding for a resolution in these land disputes.
17 December 2007
By Mondul Keo Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
About 200 families of Khmer Krom people came to demonstrate in front of the Vietnamese Assembly in Prey Nokor (Ho Chi Minh City) to demand that the Vietnamese authority returns back their lands which were confiscated by the authority in 1978-1979. The authority forced the protesters into trucks and took them all home as of 16 December morning.
Chau In, a representative of the Khmer Krom people, told RFA by phone that, at 03:00 PM on the same day, the Vietnamese brought in several trucks, forced them to get into the trucks and took them home while promising that the resolution will be provided at the local level.
Chau In said that his group plans to continue the demonstration in front of their individual commune offices on Monday morning: “They broke us up, they forced us into the vehicles, and took us back to our villages. Tomorrow, my group will demonstrate in front of the An Ty commune office, because district and provincial officials will come to meet there.”
Vin Ba, a representative of the demonstrators, said that when they reached home, they were under the surveillance of the local police, and they cannot move freely anymore.
Vin Ba said: “Now, (where) I live in Khleang province (An Giang in Vietnamese), it’s full of cops who came to watch us, wherever we go, they follow us.”
Trinh Ba Cam, Hanoi’s mouthpiece in Cambodia, said that he does not know about this issue, therefore, he cannot provide any comment.
Nevertheless, Venerable Yoeung Sin, a representatice of the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Association in Cambodia, said that Khmer Krom people living in Cambodia and overseas, always support the demands made by Khmer Krom brothers and sisters who are currently living on their native lands (Kampuchea Krom), however, the venerable asked for Khmer Krom people to avoid using violence during the resolution of the disputes, and during their demands and protests.
Venerable Yoeung Sin said: “We decide to support (Khmer Krom people), we cannot remain still, and we are calling to the national and international communities to provide help to the victims. We cannot remain idle with all these issues.”
Up to now, 7 Khmer Krom laymen and 6 Khmer Krom monks disrobed by force the Vietnamese authority, are currently being jailed, and a number of other Khmer Krom people were stopped for questioning simply because they demand religious freedom rights to observe the Cambodian Buddhism faith according to Cambodian customs, and they are also demanding for a resolution in these land disputes.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Human Rights Still Weak, UN Envoy Says [-Khieu Kanharith: "...development projects were not evicting people"]
By VOA Khmer, Reporters
Original reports from Phnom Penh & Siem Reap
10 December 2007
Original reports from Phnom Penh & Siem Reap
10 December 2007
Cambodians live in fear—of the state, swindlers, police and the courts—a UN special envoy said Monday, in the midst of a ten-day visit on International Human Rights Day.
Yash Ghai, the UN secretary-general's special human rights envoy to Cambodia, said tours of numerous communities across Cambodia demonstrated that the rights situation was getting worse.
To mark Rights Day, groups appealed to the government to halt land theft of the dispossessed and the arrests of protesters. A mass rally was held, and included the participation of Ghai and US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli.
Ghai called on people to celebrate "our common humanity and our common commitment to human rights and human dignity."
"I think it's very good sign that this march was allowed after all these years," Mussomeli said. "Things are getting a little better."
But the rights to property, freedom of expression and other basic rights have suffered in recent months, groups said.
"There is still a lack of necessary basic human rights, such as land rights, and freedom of expression," said Thun Saray, head of the rights group Adhoc.
Government officials told the Associated Press they refused to meet with Ghai, who has emerged as a sharp critique of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his policies.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said development projects were not evicting people.
"They prepared another place for the people," he said. "Now the problem is there are many people who know what places are to be developed."
Squatters who anticipate the rising value of land move in and take over, he said.
"When the authorities went, it was the people that used weapons—guns—against the authorities, who wear the king's seal," he said. "It is like this everywhere."
Meanwhile on Rights Day, labor leaders in Siem Reap say they were threatened for joining in marches on Monday.
Ken Chheng Lang, vice president of the Cambodian Construction Federation, said an anonymous caller claiming to be the provincial governor insinuated that the Federation's plans to submit a petition to the provincial governor could lead them to harm.
"I asked him who he was, where he was coming from. I asked him that," Ken Cheng Lang said. "He said, 'I am the provincial governor. You are strong? Come to my place right away. I am at the provincial hall, waiting to meet you. If you have any grief, come to meet with me, you don't have to do that. Your letter of information is big? How big is it, that letter of information.'"
Then the caller hung up.
Provincial Governor Sou Phirin said he had not called, and he would look into the allegations.
Yash Ghai, the UN secretary-general's special human rights envoy to Cambodia, said tours of numerous communities across Cambodia demonstrated that the rights situation was getting worse.
To mark Rights Day, groups appealed to the government to halt land theft of the dispossessed and the arrests of protesters. A mass rally was held, and included the participation of Ghai and US Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli.
Ghai called on people to celebrate "our common humanity and our common commitment to human rights and human dignity."
"I think it's very good sign that this march was allowed after all these years," Mussomeli said. "Things are getting a little better."
But the rights to property, freedom of expression and other basic rights have suffered in recent months, groups said.
"There is still a lack of necessary basic human rights, such as land rights, and freedom of expression," said Thun Saray, head of the rights group Adhoc.
Government officials told the Associated Press they refused to meet with Ghai, who has emerged as a sharp critique of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his policies.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said development projects were not evicting people.
"They prepared another place for the people," he said. "Now the problem is there are many people who know what places are to be developed."
Squatters who anticipate the rising value of land move in and take over, he said.
"When the authorities went, it was the people that used weapons—guns—against the authorities, who wear the king's seal," he said. "It is like this everywhere."
Meanwhile on Rights Day, labor leaders in Siem Reap say they were threatened for joining in marches on Monday.
Ken Chheng Lang, vice president of the Cambodian Construction Federation, said an anonymous caller claiming to be the provincial governor insinuated that the Federation's plans to submit a petition to the provincial governor could lead them to harm.
"I asked him who he was, where he was coming from. I asked him that," Ken Cheng Lang said. "He said, 'I am the provincial governor. You are strong? Come to my place right away. I am at the provincial hall, waiting to meet you. If you have any grief, come to meet with me, you don't have to do that. Your letter of information is big? How big is it, that letter of information.'"
Then the caller hung up.
Provincial Governor Sou Phirin said he had not called, and he would look into the allegations.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Khmer Krom in Vietnam plans to demonstrate to demand their lands back
05 Dec 2007By Kim Pov Sottan
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
A source from the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) indicated that Khmer Krom people living in Motr Chourk (An Giang in Vietnamese) and Khleang (Soc Trang in Vietnamese) provinces, Kampuchea Krom (South Vietnam) will hold their demonstration in Hanoi within 10 days to demand back their lands, if the Vietnamese authority does not provide a resolution to their land problems.
The demonstration plan was decided when about 100 (Khmer Krom) people from Motr Chrouk province protested about land problems in An Cu commune, Tinh Bien distritct, and about 30 other (Khmer Krom) people demonstrated about land problems also at the Native people committee located in Prek Russei city on Tuesday.
Neang Yer, the 50-year-old Khmer Krom woman who led the protest in Motr Chourk province, indicated that the Vietnamese provincial authority promised to resolve all these issues within 60 days, but that it has been almost two months already, and there is still no resolution yet.
Neang Yer said: “I promised them that if in 10 days, there is still no resolution (on the land disputes) for us to see, we will go to the central (communist) party, we will go to Prey Nokor (Ho Chi Minh City), and we will wait there to see what answer they will give us. If they don’t provide a decent answer (in Prey Nokor), my group will travel to Hanoi next.”
The same situation is also occurring in Khleang province, Vinh Ba, a Khmer Krom representative of the Khleang province protesters, said that the (authority) asked the people to remain calm a few months back, but it does not want to resolve this issue, that is why, the people came to protest one more time.
Vinh Ba said: “The delegate of prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung came here 2-3 times already, but there is no resolution whatsoever. My group from Khleang village asks for a resolution. It is very difficult for us, the situation occurs long ago, 17-year already and there is no resolution at all. And for me, I don’t ask for anything else other than my lands, they (VN authorities) took them and they did not compensate me, how can I not ask for my lands back? I must ask for them back.”
Land protests by Khmer Krom people are happening almost monthly. Villagers who lost their lands claimed that the Vietnamese authority confiscated several hectares of their ancestral lands to share among themselves (VN officials). Some saw their lands confiscated for more than 10 years already, while others have just seen their lands confiscated recently only.
RFA could not reach the Vietnamese authority on this issue.
Trinh Ba Cam, Hanoi’s mouthpiece in Cambodia, indicated that the confiscation of lands occurs in every country: “Land disputes are occurring in every country, however, their resolutions depend on the authority. The authority will provide a decent resolution according to the government’s determination.”
Recently, a Cambodian parliamentary delegation led by SRP MP Son Chhay visited South Vietnam, in particular in Kampuchea Krom. During the visit, Son Chhay discussed with his Vietnamese counterparts about cooperation (between the two countries) and he also asked Hanoi to resolve the land dispute issues suffered by Khmer Krom people.
The demonstration plan was decided when about 100 (Khmer Krom) people from Motr Chrouk province protested about land problems in An Cu commune, Tinh Bien distritct, and about 30 other (Khmer Krom) people demonstrated about land problems also at the Native people committee located in Prek Russei city on Tuesday.
Neang Yer, the 50-year-old Khmer Krom woman who led the protest in Motr Chourk province, indicated that the Vietnamese provincial authority promised to resolve all these issues within 60 days, but that it has been almost two months already, and there is still no resolution yet.
Neang Yer said: “I promised them that if in 10 days, there is still no resolution (on the land disputes) for us to see, we will go to the central (communist) party, we will go to Prey Nokor (Ho Chi Minh City), and we will wait there to see what answer they will give us. If they don’t provide a decent answer (in Prey Nokor), my group will travel to Hanoi next.”
The same situation is also occurring in Khleang province, Vinh Ba, a Khmer Krom representative of the Khleang province protesters, said that the (authority) asked the people to remain calm a few months back, but it does not want to resolve this issue, that is why, the people came to protest one more time.
Vinh Ba said: “The delegate of prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung came here 2-3 times already, but there is no resolution whatsoever. My group from Khleang village asks for a resolution. It is very difficult for us, the situation occurs long ago, 17-year already and there is no resolution at all. And for me, I don’t ask for anything else other than my lands, they (VN authorities) took them and they did not compensate me, how can I not ask for my lands back? I must ask for them back.”
Land protests by Khmer Krom people are happening almost monthly. Villagers who lost their lands claimed that the Vietnamese authority confiscated several hectares of their ancestral lands to share among themselves (VN officials). Some saw their lands confiscated for more than 10 years already, while others have just seen their lands confiscated recently only.
RFA could not reach the Vietnamese authority on this issue.
Trinh Ba Cam, Hanoi’s mouthpiece in Cambodia, indicated that the confiscation of lands occurs in every country: “Land disputes are occurring in every country, however, their resolutions depend on the authority. The authority will provide a decent resolution according to the government’s determination.”
Recently, a Cambodian parliamentary delegation led by SRP MP Son Chhay visited South Vietnam, in particular in Kampuchea Krom. During the visit, Son Chhay discussed with his Vietnamese counterparts about cooperation (between the two countries) and he also asked Hanoi to resolve the land dispute issues suffered by Khmer Krom people.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Military police destroy villagers’ homes? [at the behest of the private Thai Bun Rong company]
20 August 2007By Sok Serey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
On Sunday, 14 Cambodian families living in Ream commune, Prey Nob district, Sihanoukville, have accused a group of armed military police officers (PM) of destroying their homes and their fences. The PM accused the villagers of living on lands belonging to the Thai Bun Rong company [owned by Hun Sen’s crony Theng Bun Ma].
The disputed lands extent over an area of about 5-hectare and it is currently occupied by 14 families in Ream commune.
The villagers accused the group of 10 armed men of coming over to destroy their homes and fences on Sunday morning, and that they are currently stationing armed guards on the disputed lands.
45-year-old San Ngy who lives one the disputed lands located in Teuk Sap village among a total of 14 families, told RFA on Sunday that the 14 families lived there since 1990, they do not have any documents or land ownership titles. However, in 2004, they were told that the lands the villagers live on belong to the Thai Bun Rong company instead.
The armed PM who came to destroy the homes and fences did not produce any legal documents to show to the villagers.
41-year-old Pech Sareth, a representative of the villagers of Smach Dek village, which is part of the disputed lands, said: “Until now, when we installed fences to delimit our properties, they would come and destroy them.”
Sihanoukville PM officials could not be reached to provide their reactions about these accusations raised against them.
Ban Sarom, the deputy-governor of Prey Nob district, said: “Because today is Sunday, and we did not receive any local report yet, we did not receive the information yet.”
Chan Chamroeun, an investigator for the Adhoc human rights organization in Sihanoukville, indicated that he just received the information about this case. He said that the disputed lands used to be a wooded area, and that fences destruction did take place, but he said that home destructions claim is not true.
Chan Chamroeun said that both the villagers and investigators for human rights organizations were not shown any document indicating whom the lands belong to.
On 13 August 2007, another group of about 103 families from Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville, came to protest in front of the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, to demand that the prime minister and the authority involved help them in a land dispute involving 14-hectare of land confiscated by the Sihanoukville authority. These families are concerned that they will face landlessness and lack of housing.
The accusation in the destructions of fences and housings last Sunday is a new case of land dispute in Sihanoukville.
The disputed lands extent over an area of about 5-hectare and it is currently occupied by 14 families in Ream commune.
The villagers accused the group of 10 armed men of coming over to destroy their homes and fences on Sunday morning, and that they are currently stationing armed guards on the disputed lands.
45-year-old San Ngy who lives one the disputed lands located in Teuk Sap village among a total of 14 families, told RFA on Sunday that the 14 families lived there since 1990, they do not have any documents or land ownership titles. However, in 2004, they were told that the lands the villagers live on belong to the Thai Bun Rong company instead.
The armed PM who came to destroy the homes and fences did not produce any legal documents to show to the villagers.
41-year-old Pech Sareth, a representative of the villagers of Smach Dek village, which is part of the disputed lands, said: “Until now, when we installed fences to delimit our properties, they would come and destroy them.”
Sihanoukville PM officials could not be reached to provide their reactions about these accusations raised against them.
Ban Sarom, the deputy-governor of Prey Nob district, said: “Because today is Sunday, and we did not receive any local report yet, we did not receive the information yet.”
Chan Chamroeun, an investigator for the Adhoc human rights organization in Sihanoukville, indicated that he just received the information about this case. He said that the disputed lands used to be a wooded area, and that fences destruction did take place, but he said that home destructions claim is not true.
Chan Chamroeun said that both the villagers and investigators for human rights organizations were not shown any document indicating whom the lands belong to.
On 13 August 2007, another group of about 103 families from Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville, came to protest in front of the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, to demand that the prime minister and the authority involved help them in a land dispute involving 14-hectare of land confiscated by the Sihanoukville authority. These families are concerned that they will face landlessness and lack of housing.
The accusation in the destructions of fences and housings last Sunday is a new case of land dispute in Sihanoukville.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Sihanoukville people bring their land protest to PPenh [-Protesters hand over their complaint to the "corrupt office" of the Council of Ministers]
Protesters from Sihanoukville have gathered in front of the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh on 13 August 2007 (Photo: Sok Serey, RFA)13 August 2007
By Sok Serey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
More than 100 Cambodian people representing over 100 families coming from Group 2, Commune No. 3, Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville, have gathered to demonstrate in front of the office of the Council of Ministers on Monday morning to protest against a plan by the Sihanoukville city to confiscate 14-hectare of lands occupied by these families and turn these lands into state property in the near future.
The group of protesters includes old people, young children, and nursing mothers, who are holding their demonstrations in a park located in front of the office of the Council of Ministers. Some of the protesters held portraits of King Sihamoni, while others were holding portraits of Hun Sen and his wife to protest.
Three representatives of the group were sent to hand over their complaint to the office of the anti-corruption department of the Council of Ministers, requesting help to resolve the problem they are facing. However, a representative of the National Authority for the Resolution of Land Dispute (NARLD) came to tell the group that they should head to the NARLD office instead, claiming that the anti-corruption department has no authority to resolve land disputes.
37-year-old Ly Aun who traveled from Group 2, Commune No. 3, Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville, told RFA that there is no promise given by government officials who received the complaint.
Ly Aun said: “We have all the necessary documents, but they didn’t provide any information to the people. I went into this “corrupt office,” an official said that he will accept a copy of the document. He said that this is not even his office.”
Thong Sokhom, one of the representatives for the families, said that Say Hak, the governor of Sihanoukville issued an information letter on 31 July, telling the families that they have 15-day notice to move their houses out by themselves. There are only 2 days left before their homes will be destroyed by Say Hak’s henchmen, so the people were scared and came over to protest.
Thong Sokhom said: “There are 2 days left until the due date, therefore we came to ask that Samdach Hun Sen, Samdech Ta, Samdech Yeay, and the King to help us live in peace, without oppression.”
Regarding the presence of the protesters, an official representing the NARLD came to meet the group of demonstrators, and told them: “The place for the resolution, no matter where you take it, they will not resolve it for you if you hand it to the wrong place. Do you understand? Therefore, you should take it to my office (NARLD), we have the ability to make an arrangement.”
According to the people, the lands where the Sihanoukville city wants to confiscate occupy an area of 14-hectare, and is currently occupied by 103 families living in this Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville province.
According to interviews with the protesters, they said that they don’t have any official land title documents, but they own papers indicating that they live there since the 80s.
Un Thanun, an investigator for the Licadho human rights group in Sihanoukville, said that the confiscation of these lands was done without providing anything in exchange to the protesters.
The group of protesters includes old people, young children, and nursing mothers, who are holding their demonstrations in a park located in front of the office of the Council of Ministers. Some of the protesters held portraits of King Sihamoni, while others were holding portraits of Hun Sen and his wife to protest.
Three representatives of the group were sent to hand over their complaint to the office of the anti-corruption department of the Council of Ministers, requesting help to resolve the problem they are facing. However, a representative of the National Authority for the Resolution of Land Dispute (NARLD) came to tell the group that they should head to the NARLD office instead, claiming that the anti-corruption department has no authority to resolve land disputes.
37-year-old Ly Aun who traveled from Group 2, Commune No. 3, Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville, told RFA that there is no promise given by government officials who received the complaint.
Ly Aun said: “We have all the necessary documents, but they didn’t provide any information to the people. I went into this “corrupt office,” an official said that he will accept a copy of the document. He said that this is not even his office.”
Thong Sokhom, one of the representatives for the families, said that Say Hak, the governor of Sihanoukville issued an information letter on 31 July, telling the families that they have 15-day notice to move their houses out by themselves. There are only 2 days left before their homes will be destroyed by Say Hak’s henchmen, so the people were scared and came over to protest.
Thong Sokhom said: “There are 2 days left until the due date, therefore we came to ask that Samdach Hun Sen, Samdech Ta, Samdech Yeay, and the King to help us live in peace, without oppression.”
Regarding the presence of the protesters, an official representing the NARLD came to meet the group of demonstrators, and told them: “The place for the resolution, no matter where you take it, they will not resolve it for you if you hand it to the wrong place. Do you understand? Therefore, you should take it to my office (NARLD), we have the ability to make an arrangement.”
According to the people, the lands where the Sihanoukville city wants to confiscate occupy an area of 14-hectare, and is currently occupied by 103 families living in this Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville province.
According to interviews with the protesters, they said that they don’t have any official land title documents, but they own papers indicating that they live there since the 80s.
Un Thanun, an investigator for the Licadho human rights group in Sihanoukville, said that the confiscation of these lands was done without providing anything in exchange to the protesters.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Khmer Krom Man Arrested For Organising Peaceful Protest
27 June 2007
Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF)
Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF)
An inside source direct from Kampuchea-Krom has revealed yet another disturbing incident where protestors were apprehended by Vietnamese authorities for attempting to demand that actions be taken to return their ancestral lands.
Mr. Chau In, aged 55 was arrested when Vietnamese authorities from Ang Giang province paid a surprise visit to his home located at Xa-Ke Douch commune, An Cu village earlier today.
His alleged crime was for organising a peaceful protest demanding the return of their farmlands in Sway Tong.
Another group of five former Khmer Krom Buddhist monks from Soc Trang have been arrested, disrobed and jailed for up to five years for the committing the very same crime.
Mrs. Neang Soc Phon, Mr. Chau In's wife, was with him when the arrest was made and left with the police to be by her husband’s side.
Hundreds of protestors from Mot Chruk have attempted to travell to Ho Chi Minh City last week to protest against the Vietnam government inability to resolve the glaring land issues for the indigenous Khmer Krom people despite their persistent claims and appeals.
Many were effectively stopped by the Vietnamese police and they were forced to return home.
The whereabouts and the fate of Mr. Chau and his wife still remains unknown.
Mr. Chau In, aged 55 was arrested when Vietnamese authorities from Ang Giang province paid a surprise visit to his home located at Xa-Ke Douch commune, An Cu village earlier today.
His alleged crime was for organising a peaceful protest demanding the return of their farmlands in Sway Tong.
Another group of five former Khmer Krom Buddhist monks from Soc Trang have been arrested, disrobed and jailed for up to five years for the committing the very same crime.
Mrs. Neang Soc Phon, Mr. Chau In's wife, was with him when the arrest was made and left with the police to be by her husband’s side.
Hundreds of protestors from Mot Chruk have attempted to travell to Ho Chi Minh City last week to protest against the Vietnam government inability to resolve the glaring land issues for the indigenous Khmer Krom people despite their persistent claims and appeals.
Many were effectively stopped by the Vietnamese police and they were forced to return home.
The whereabouts and the fate of Mr. Chau and his wife still remains unknown.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Khmer Krom protest to demand a resolution on land dispute
Kampuchea Krom Buddhist monks from southern Vietnam hold a Buddhist flag during a protest in front of the royal palace in Phnom Penh April 20, 2007. Around fifty monks protested outside the Vietnamese embassy on Friday, calling on the communist-run nation to allow greater freedom of religion. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea18 June 2007
By Sok Serei
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
On Monday, a group of 120 Khmer Kampuchea Krom people representing more than 400 families held a protest demonstration in Mort Chrouk province (An Giang province in Vietnamese) to demand from the local Vietnamese authority for a resolution in their land problems, and for the return of more than 500-hectare of lands confiscated from them.
Following an unsuccessful demonstration, the demonstrators traveled by several cars from Motr Chrouk province to Prey Nokor city (Ho Chi Minh city) to hand over their demand petition to the Vietnamese authority.
A source indicated that the demonstrators were not arrested by the Vietnamese authority, but a large number of Vietnamese cops forced the Khmer Krom people out of their cars and told them to travel to Prey Nokor by foot – a 300-kilometer trip that will take several days to reach by marching.
Chau Soeun, a 55-year Khmer Krom from Nha Bang village, Motr Chrouk province, who is one of the 120 Khmer Krom representatives, told RFA over the phone: “We are protesting the land issue, the Vietnamese authority would not return back the land to the people, and now the people are protesting. But now, they do not even allow us to travel (to go to Prey Nokor) by car. We are walking under the hot sun.”
Neang Sophea, a Khmer Krom woman from Motr Chrouk province discussed about the protest by saying: “The Viets do not allow our Khmer people to bring their protest to the higher authorities, what do the higher (Viet) authorities have to say?”
Khmer Krom Monk Thach Pin, an aid to the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) in Cambodia, said that KKF representatives in the US will hand over a petition to Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet during his visit in the US, to demand for the release of 5 Khmer Krom monks from jail, and to oppose the violations of Khmer Krom human rights.
On Monday, the Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia cannot be contacted to obtain its reaction about the protest of Khmer Krom people in this land problem.
A Khmer Krom man representing the protesters said the protesters count 120 people who have decided to stop all their work in order to travel to present their demands, even if the travel by foot for the more than 300-kilometer distance will take them several days. They are determined to endure the scorching sun, and one woman passed out and could not continue the march.
In February of this year, the Vietnamese authority arrested 5 Khmer Krom monks and threw them in jail after they defrocked 16 Khmer Krom monks in total. The action taken by the Vietnamese authority was in response to Khmer Krom monks demand for their open freedom to practice their Cambodian religious belief, their Cambodian customs, and the right to celebrate Cambodian religious festivals.
Cambodian government officials, including Heng Samrin (the former president of the Vietnamese-installed puppet regime), considered the Khmer Krom problem as an internal issue of Vietnam. Several petition pleas sent by Khmer Krom people to Heng Samrin asking him to broach this issue with Nguyen Phu Trong, the Vietnamese Assembly President who was then visiting Cambodia, were all dismissed by Heng Samrin.
Vietnam promised that minority people can freely travel to the US embassy in Hanoi
Several reports from various sources indicated that Vietnam is accused and condemned of human rights violations not only against Khmer Krom people, but also aginst all other minority people living in Vietnam, including the Montagnard people.
In February 2007, the Vietnamese government promised to Ellen Sauerbrey, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, that minority people can freely travel to US embassy in Hanoi.
Following an unsuccessful demonstration, the demonstrators traveled by several cars from Motr Chrouk province to Prey Nokor city (Ho Chi Minh city) to hand over their demand petition to the Vietnamese authority.
A source indicated that the demonstrators were not arrested by the Vietnamese authority, but a large number of Vietnamese cops forced the Khmer Krom people out of their cars and told them to travel to Prey Nokor by foot – a 300-kilometer trip that will take several days to reach by marching.
Chau Soeun, a 55-year Khmer Krom from Nha Bang village, Motr Chrouk province, who is one of the 120 Khmer Krom representatives, told RFA over the phone: “We are protesting the land issue, the Vietnamese authority would not return back the land to the people, and now the people are protesting. But now, they do not even allow us to travel (to go to Prey Nokor) by car. We are walking under the hot sun.”
Neang Sophea, a Khmer Krom woman from Motr Chrouk province discussed about the protest by saying: “The Viets do not allow our Khmer people to bring their protest to the higher authorities, what do the higher (Viet) authorities have to say?”
Khmer Krom Monk Thach Pin, an aid to the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF) in Cambodia, said that KKF representatives in the US will hand over a petition to Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet during his visit in the US, to demand for the release of 5 Khmer Krom monks from jail, and to oppose the violations of Khmer Krom human rights.
On Monday, the Vietnamese embassy in Cambodia cannot be contacted to obtain its reaction about the protest of Khmer Krom people in this land problem.
A Khmer Krom man representing the protesters said the protesters count 120 people who have decided to stop all their work in order to travel to present their demands, even if the travel by foot for the more than 300-kilometer distance will take them several days. They are determined to endure the scorching sun, and one woman passed out and could not continue the march.
In February of this year, the Vietnamese authority arrested 5 Khmer Krom monks and threw them in jail after they defrocked 16 Khmer Krom monks in total. The action taken by the Vietnamese authority was in response to Khmer Krom monks demand for their open freedom to practice their Cambodian religious belief, their Cambodian customs, and the right to celebrate Cambodian religious festivals.
Cambodian government officials, including Heng Samrin (the former president of the Vietnamese-installed puppet regime), considered the Khmer Krom problem as an internal issue of Vietnam. Several petition pleas sent by Khmer Krom people to Heng Samrin asking him to broach this issue with Nguyen Phu Trong, the Vietnamese Assembly President who was then visiting Cambodia, were all dismissed by Heng Samrin.
Vietnam promised that minority people can freely travel to the US embassy in Hanoi
Several reports from various sources indicated that Vietnam is accused and condemned of human rights violations not only against Khmer Krom people, but also aginst all other minority people living in Vietnam, including the Montagnard people.
In February 2007, the Vietnamese government promised to Ellen Sauerbrey, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, that minority people can freely travel to US embassy in Hanoi.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Sam Vichea Poem: Those who brought pain on the people will face their Karma
This following poem is dedicated to the suffering Cambodian people from Sambok Chab village, Sihanoukville, and other areas, who were evicted from their lands and homes by the puppet regime.
Click on the image to zoom inWednesday, May 30, 2007
The perpetrator of land-grabbings, land-evictions, land-confiscations, land-concessions calls for a seminar to help solve land disputes
May 30, 2007
Cambodian PM calls for seminar to help solve land disputes
Cambodian PM calls for seminar to help solve land disputes
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen here on Wednesday urged for a seminar to find solutions for land disputes that have made a lot of trouble for the kingdom for the past years.
"I want to open a seminar on land issues which are happening every day," he said while addressing a graduation ceremony of a local college.
Early in 1989, the government demarcated the land for all the people across the country, but in the coming years, part of them sold their land for treating illness, paying debts of gambling and some other reasons, he said.
Land disputes surged especially in recent years, as some people seized others' land illegally, thus planting instability within the society, he added.
In March, Hun Sen ordered to arrest several government officials for illegal land grabbing. He called this a war, which must be waged to root out factors of social riots and instability.
Source: Xinhua
"I want to open a seminar on land issues which are happening every day," he said while addressing a graduation ceremony of a local college.
Early in 1989, the government demarcated the land for all the people across the country, but in the coming years, part of them sold their land for treating illness, paying debts of gambling and some other reasons, he said.
Land disputes surged especially in recent years, as some people seized others' land illegally, thus planting instability within the society, he added.
In March, Hun Sen ordered to arrest several government officials for illegal land grabbing. He called this a war, which must be waged to root out factors of social riots and instability.
Source: Xinhua
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
"Now they take our land, without paying anything, and they are happy and we are crying"
Villagers fight for the right to a few hectares of Cambodia's tilling fields
von Amy Kazmin (Koh Kong)
Financial Times (Germany)
von Amy Kazmin (Koh Kong)
Financial Times (Germany)
Land-grabbing is creating tensions in rural Cambodia as farmers are deprived of their livelihoods.
From his wooden house on stilts, Kong Song, a Cambodian farmer, points out the tractor kicking up a huge dust cloud on the land where he and his fellow villagers once cultivated water-melons, maize and other lucrative cash crops to supplement their rice harvests. The watermelons, sold at a nearby beach resort, helped the villagers of Trapeang Kandol buy motorbikes and mobile phones and finance wedding feasts - significant economic advances in the impoverished countryside.
But last November Mr Kong Song and 52 families in his village were ordered off their land by Koh Kong Sugar Industry, a politically connected company that claimed it had official permission to absorb the fields into a new plantation. Since then, the incensed farmers, with another 300 dispossessed families from the Sre Ambil district, have battled to reclaim land that has now been surrounded by a deep ditch, cleared with bulldozers and planted with sugar.
So far they have been met with brute force. Military police last year fired into a crowd of protesting villagers, injuring several. "We are so worried," says Mr Kong Song, who says he is left with just two hectares of paddy fields after the company seized five hectares from him. "I just think about how I can support my family because we depend on the land. We cannot survive with just two hectares."
The tensions in Sre Ambil are symptomatic of rural anger in an economically resurgent Cambodia as powerful companies take possession of vast tracts of increasingly valuable land with little or no regard for the farmers already cultivating the fields. Licadho, a human rights group, says it received complaints about 115 rural land-grabbing cases in 2006 and that authorities and companies are increasingly responding to protests with violence.
In the 1970s, the radical Khmer Rouge abolished private property, forcing people to live on collective farms. After their brutal reign, during which about one-quarter of the population perished, Cambodia was left with just 6m people and there was little pressure on land. But with the population now up to 13m and the economy growing rapidly, land values are rising sharply, prompting those with clout to snap up as much as they can.
Under Cambodia's progressive 2001 land law, farmers who have used land for five years peacefully and without dispute have the rights to it, but few poor farmers have undertaken the expensive process of obtaining full title, or are even aware such a process exists. While the World Bank is now assisting with land titling, it is a slow undertaking. Meanwhile, when villagers confront powerful claimants to their lands, local authorities and courts frequently say they are powerless to intervene.
Hun Sen, prime minister, recognises that growing rural discontent over land is a huge problem for his regime. "Landlessness and land-grabbing creates serious threat to the social and political stability of Cambodia," the long-time strongman said in February, vowing to punish any officials involved. But so far, analysts say, his approach has been ad hoc, merely forcing a pair of high-profile officials to relinquish some land.
For all the tough rhetoric, much conflict stems from state policies ostensibly intended to transform fallow or underutilised land into productive plantations for export-generating crops such as sugar. Since 1992, 57 companies, many with close connections to the ruling party, have been awarded "economic land concessions" covering nearly 1m hectares.
In theory, concessions should exclude farmers' lands or provide "fair, just compensation". But Henry Hwang, an adviser with the Cambodian Legal Education Centre, says these conditions are rarely met.
Koh Kong Sugar, partly owned by a businessman-senator, was last year granted a concession for 9,700 hectares of land in Sre Ambil, some of which was being farmed by villagers. In Trapeang Kandol the company offered compensation of $50 per hectare, although rights lawyers, who are pursuing the case in the courts, say fair market value would have been $500-$1,000 per hectare. While 23 families accepted the money, another 27 families rejected it.
In nearby Chouk Village, Lay Doul, a mother of seven who lost eight hectares to the sugar plantation, is furious at forces that she says are leaving villagers worse off than they were under the Khmer Rouge. "During the Khmer Rouge time, they said 'everything belongs to everyone', and they provided food for us to eat," she said. "Now they take our land, without paying anything, and they are happy and we are crying."
From his wooden house on stilts, Kong Song, a Cambodian farmer, points out the tractor kicking up a huge dust cloud on the land where he and his fellow villagers once cultivated water-melons, maize and other lucrative cash crops to supplement their rice harvests. The watermelons, sold at a nearby beach resort, helped the villagers of Trapeang Kandol buy motorbikes and mobile phones and finance wedding feasts - significant economic advances in the impoverished countryside.
But last November Mr Kong Song and 52 families in his village were ordered off their land by Koh Kong Sugar Industry, a politically connected company that claimed it had official permission to absorb the fields into a new plantation. Since then, the incensed farmers, with another 300 dispossessed families from the Sre Ambil district, have battled to reclaim land that has now been surrounded by a deep ditch, cleared with bulldozers and planted with sugar.
So far they have been met with brute force. Military police last year fired into a crowd of protesting villagers, injuring several. "We are so worried," says Mr Kong Song, who says he is left with just two hectares of paddy fields after the company seized five hectares from him. "I just think about how I can support my family because we depend on the land. We cannot survive with just two hectares."
The tensions in Sre Ambil are symptomatic of rural anger in an economically resurgent Cambodia as powerful companies take possession of vast tracts of increasingly valuable land with little or no regard for the farmers already cultivating the fields. Licadho, a human rights group, says it received complaints about 115 rural land-grabbing cases in 2006 and that authorities and companies are increasingly responding to protests with violence.
In the 1970s, the radical Khmer Rouge abolished private property, forcing people to live on collective farms. After their brutal reign, during which about one-quarter of the population perished, Cambodia was left with just 6m people and there was little pressure on land. But with the population now up to 13m and the economy growing rapidly, land values are rising sharply, prompting those with clout to snap up as much as they can.
Under Cambodia's progressive 2001 land law, farmers who have used land for five years peacefully and without dispute have the rights to it, but few poor farmers have undertaken the expensive process of obtaining full title, or are even aware such a process exists. While the World Bank is now assisting with land titling, it is a slow undertaking. Meanwhile, when villagers confront powerful claimants to their lands, local authorities and courts frequently say they are powerless to intervene.
Hun Sen, prime minister, recognises that growing rural discontent over land is a huge problem for his regime. "Landlessness and land-grabbing creates serious threat to the social and political stability of Cambodia," the long-time strongman said in February, vowing to punish any officials involved. But so far, analysts say, his approach has been ad hoc, merely forcing a pair of high-profile officials to relinquish some land.
For all the tough rhetoric, much conflict stems from state policies ostensibly intended to transform fallow or underutilised land into productive plantations for export-generating crops such as sugar. Since 1992, 57 companies, many with close connections to the ruling party, have been awarded "economic land concessions" covering nearly 1m hectares.
In theory, concessions should exclude farmers' lands or provide "fair, just compensation". But Henry Hwang, an adviser with the Cambodian Legal Education Centre, says these conditions are rarely met.
Koh Kong Sugar, partly owned by a businessman-senator, was last year granted a concession for 9,700 hectares of land in Sre Ambil, some of which was being farmed by villagers. In Trapeang Kandol the company offered compensation of $50 per hectare, although rights lawyers, who are pursuing the case in the courts, say fair market value would have been $500-$1,000 per hectare. While 23 families accepted the money, another 27 families rejected it.
In nearby Chouk Village, Lay Doul, a mother of seven who lost eight hectares to the sugar plantation, is furious at forces that she says are leaving villagers worse off than they were under the Khmer Rouge. "During the Khmer Rouge time, they said 'everything belongs to everyone', and they provided food for us to eat," she said. "Now they take our land, without paying anything, and they are happy and we are crying."
Monday, May 28, 2007
Sihanoukville authority perpetrating repression to confiscate lands
27 May 2007
By Sok Serei
Radio Free Asia (a station labeled insolent by Hun Sen)
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
By Sok Serei
Radio Free Asia (a station labeled insolent by Hun Sen)
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
The representative of 92 families living in Sangkat O’Tress, Stung Hav district, Sihanoukville, accused the Sihanoukville authority and 200 armed men of recently perpetrating a repression and they are currently demolishing the homes and plants belonging to the 92 families, in order to confiscate the 120-hectare lands occupied by the families and turning the lands over to Sor Seung, an army officer in Sihanoukville.
The demolition of the homes started since 23 May and continued on until this Sunday, the authority erected a fence to prevent people from going in or out, and the lands are currently being guarded by armed men.
55-year-old Keo Kea told RFA on Sunday that the families no longer have shelters and have no land to plant their crops because all their lands have been confiscated. He said that of the homes belonging to the 92 families, half of them have already been demolished, and no traffic is allowed in or out of the confiscated lands so that people can no longer harvest their crops.
Keo Kea said: “The area that has been bulldozed, we cannot get in because they have guards who control to prevent any in or out traffic. After the land clearing, no one can travel in or out so that the people cannot harvest their crops.”
46-year-old Heng Kong, another representative of the families, said: “Our people suffered a lot, we ask for NGOs or the Royal Government to come and help the people, currently, the people are suffering so much. A number have their homes there (on the confiscated lands), they no longer have any shelter.”
Army officer Sor Seung cannot be contacted to obtain his reaction on the accusations leveled against him by the families. However, My Kaing, the Stung Hav deputy district governor, explained that in fact the 92 families are the anarchist.
My Kaing said: “They can accuse all they want, we have our goal, this is our second (land) clearing from an order issued by the city hall. These families occupy a land that is legally owned by someone else since 1993-1994.”
Regarding this issue, Un Anun, an investigator for the Licadho human rights organization in Sihanoukville, said that the land confiscation was done only from an order issued by the city hall (and not one issued by the court). “I saw them (the authority) producing (only) a (city) decree since last time.”
In reaction to this issue, Eng Chhai Eang, the opposition MP who is also the vice-president of the National Authority for the Resolution of Land Disputes said: “If the court did not issue a legal judgment or decree in this case, the authority cannot do anything more than that.”
On 20 May, the Sihanoukville city authority also issued an order to repress in order to confiscate 17-hectare of land occupied by 107 families living in Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville. In that case, the authority burnt down more than 100 homes, arrested and jailed about 13 villagers.
The demolition of the homes started since 23 May and continued on until this Sunday, the authority erected a fence to prevent people from going in or out, and the lands are currently being guarded by armed men.
55-year-old Keo Kea told RFA on Sunday that the families no longer have shelters and have no land to plant their crops because all their lands have been confiscated. He said that of the homes belonging to the 92 families, half of them have already been demolished, and no traffic is allowed in or out of the confiscated lands so that people can no longer harvest their crops.
Keo Kea said: “The area that has been bulldozed, we cannot get in because they have guards who control to prevent any in or out traffic. After the land clearing, no one can travel in or out so that the people cannot harvest their crops.”
46-year-old Heng Kong, another representative of the families, said: “Our people suffered a lot, we ask for NGOs or the Royal Government to come and help the people, currently, the people are suffering so much. A number have their homes there (on the confiscated lands), they no longer have any shelter.”
Army officer Sor Seung cannot be contacted to obtain his reaction on the accusations leveled against him by the families. However, My Kaing, the Stung Hav deputy district governor, explained that in fact the 92 families are the anarchist.
My Kaing said: “They can accuse all they want, we have our goal, this is our second (land) clearing from an order issued by the city hall. These families occupy a land that is legally owned by someone else since 1993-1994.”
Regarding this issue, Un Anun, an investigator for the Licadho human rights organization in Sihanoukville, said that the land confiscation was done only from an order issued by the city hall (and not one issued by the court). “I saw them (the authority) producing (only) a (city) decree since last time.”
In reaction to this issue, Eng Chhai Eang, the opposition MP who is also the vice-president of the National Authority for the Resolution of Land Disputes said: “If the court did not issue a legal judgment or decree in this case, the authority cannot do anything more than that.”
On 20 May, the Sihanoukville city authority also issued an order to repress in order to confiscate 17-hectare of land occupied by 107 families living in Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville. In that case, the authority burnt down more than 100 homes, arrested and jailed about 13 villagers.
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