Showing posts with label Land-grabbing by CPP officials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Land-grabbing by CPP officials. Show all posts
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
12 poor families met injustice at Treng Tra Yoeung Commune since 2003
https://www.box.com/s/07326bbf5c392de83286
The 12 families who lived in Village 2, Treng Tra Yoeung Commune, Phnom Sruoch District, Kampong Speu Province, who land owners of the 70m x13m. But Mr. Phouk Sam Ein, Deputy Governor of the Kampong Speu Province and Mr. Sin Kimly with their group members, without court order they grabbed the 12 families land and violated the court order completely issued # 63, "Chor" date: 19 December 2003 of Appeal Court decision made. And today, Mr. Kong Bun Thorn who next buyer and grabbed their land with forcibly evicted these 12 families from their land/housing and fended the land with seriously violence (beaten the victims with seriously injured as well).
The Appeal Court made decision to offer the land (70m x 13m) to the 8 families who the owner, it counted till now is more than 8 years ago but this court order was not implemented.
For more information, please read the attached file and contact HRTF Office at 023 996 532
HRTF Secretariat
--
Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF)
HRTF:#2A, St.271, Sangkat Beoung
Tompun, Khan Chamcar Morn
Phnom Penh.
Evictions Hotline: (855) 068 470 480
Tel/Fax: (855) 023 996 531
Email: sd@hrtfcambodia.org
Website: www.hrtfcambodia.org
Sunday, June 17, 2012
In Cambodia, growing social unrest over forced evictions
 |
Former Boeung Kak lake residents demanding the release of fellow residents held by the police outside the Phnom Penh regional court on May 24. (Takeshi Fujitani) |
By TAKESHI FUJITANI/ Correspondent
Asahi Shimbun (Japan)
"The Hun Sen government's autocracy lies at the root of the problem"
PHNOM PENH--Over the past year, tens of thousands of Cambodians have been forcibly evicted from their homes in the name of development.
The policy, implemented as this late-blooming Southeast Asian country embarks on economic catch-up in the region, has emerged as a serious social issue, along with gun-related violence and arbitrary arrests.
Baton-wielding riot police closed off nearby roads and established an intimidating presence outside the regional court in the capital on the morning of May 24 as dozens of protesters gathered.
More than 80 exiled inhabitants of Boeung Kak, a 90-hectare lake on the north side of the city, yelled repeatedly for the release of 13 former neighbors who were arrested two days earlier.
Work began two years ago to fill in the lake, which lies adjacent to an area that is home to the prime minister's offices and luxury hotels so that commercial facilities and other structures could be built.
The residents were forcefully evicted.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Activists’ Jail Sentences Under Review
A Cambodian court is asked to re-examine the jailing of Boeung Kak land activists.
2012-06-14
Radio Free Asia
“Once we find out the number of the villagers who lost their land we will give back the land”
Cambodian authorities have asked a court to review the jailing of 13 women involved in a land dispute as protests over their sentences escalated with over 100 demonstrators threatening Thursday to march on Prime Minister Hun Sen’s residence.
The Phnom Penh court has been asked to revisit the case of the jailed activists from the Boeung Kak lake community, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said, denying that the review was related to pressure from the U.S.
“I just received new information that the Ministry of Justice is requesting the Phnom Penh Municipal Court resolve the case,” Hor Namhong told RFA in an interview Wednesday.
“This is not because of someone’s intervention; this is because of the government’s goodwill.”
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Farmers fear deal has strings
 |
| Villagers from Kampong Chhnang’s Lorpeang Village, pictured last year, have recently been granted permission to farm land that has been disputed since 2007 with the KDC company. Photograph: Derek Stout/Phnom Penh Post |
 |
| CPP Land Thief Chea Kheng, the wife of CPP minister Suy Sem (Photo:Mondulkeo, RFA) |
Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post
Forty Kampong Chhnang villagers embroiled in a long-running land dispute with KDC International, a company owned by the wife of a senior CPP official, farmed contested land without interference on Monday, prompting some to wonder if they were being coaxed to vote for the ruling party in the coming commune elections.
Villagers were confused as to why no one barred them from the land, which is claimed by KDC and its owner Chea Kheng, wife of CPP-affiliated Industry, Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem.
However, village representative Reach Seima suspects the new accommodation is simply because “it’s time to vote”.
“When we entered, the guard told us to bring more villagers to [farm] on this land,” he said. “We wondered is that a trick of the company? [The CPP] are good to us because they don’t want to lose votes.”
Monday, May 28, 2012
9 parties join land dispute debate ... the CPP is conspicuously absent
 |
| One Boeung Kak Lake woman faced CPP cops who came to arrest protesters (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post) |
Monday, 28 May 2012 12:05
វង្ស សុខេង
The Phnom Penh Post
ភ្នំពេញៈ ក្រុមអង្គការក្រៅរដ្ឋាភិបាលដែលឃ្លាំមើលការបោះឆ្នោត កាលពីថ្ងៃព្រហស្បតិ៍ បានអញ្ជើញគណបក្សនយោបាយទាំង១០ឲ្យចូលរួមលើកឡើងពីបញ្ហាសន្តិសុខដីធ្លី និងការគ្រប់គ្រងធនធានធម្មជាតិ នៅថ្នាក់មូលដ្ឋាន ដល់សកម្មជននយោបាយ និងតំណាងបណ្តាញសហគមន៍ដែលរងការបណ្តេញចេញប្រមាណ ២០០ នាក់មកពីទូទាំងប្រទេសនៅសណ្ឋាគារ អ៊ីមភើរៀ ក្នុងរាជធានីភ្នំពេញ។
ក្រុមអង្គការក្រៅរដ្ឋាភិបាល ចំនួន៤ដែលរៀបចំវេទិកានេះទទួលមូលនិធិពីអង្គការ NGO Forum សម្រាប់វេទិកាជជែកតទល់គ្នានេះ។ គណបក្សនយោបាយ ៩ ដែលចូលរួមការបោះឆ្នោតឃុំ-សង្កាត់នៅថ្ងៃទី ៣ ខែមិថុនា ខាងមុខនេះ ក្នុងចំណោមគណបក្សប្រកួតប្រជែង១០បានចូលរួមក្នុងវេទិកានេះ លើកលែងតែគណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជា។
មានការរិះគន់គណបក្សប្រជាជនកម្ពុជាដែលបង្កហិង្សាបណ្តេញប្រជាជនចេញពីដីគាត់ ដោយឲ្យទៅក្រុមហ៊ុនឯកជនអភិវឌ្ឍ។
លោក ថាច់ សេដ្ឋា តំណាងមកពីគណបក្សសមរង្ស៊ី បានថ្លែងថា៖ «ដីជារបស់ប្រជាជន ហើយអ្នកភូមិជាប់គុកដោយតវ៉ាប្រឆាំងនឹងរដ្ឋាភិបាល ដើម្បីការពារដីធ្លីរបស់ពួកគេ ប៉ុន្តែ មន្រ្តីរដ្ឋាភិបាលទាំងនោះមិនដែលបានដោះស្រាយបញ្ហាដើម្បីបម្រើ ប្រយោជន៍អ្នកភូមិ តាមច្បាប់ភូមិបាលទេ»។
Monday, February 13, 2012
Women Standing Tall - Joining the Opposition at Local Level
13 February 2012
By Mu Sochua
By Mu Sochua
Why women get involved in politics. Why women join Sam Rainsy Party at local level. More to come.
Give her your support.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXKrg_ZFi3I
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Complaint rejected in high-profile land case
 |
| Chea Kheng standing next to her husband Suy Sem, the minister of Industry, Mines and Energy |
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Chhay Channyda
The Phnom Penh Post
Villagers in Kampong Chhnang province who have been locked for years in a land dispute with a firm owned by the wife of a government minister said yesterday that the provincial court had rejected their attempt to file against the company.
The villagers say the firm is attempting to push them off their land illegally and that they first attempted to submit the complaint in 2009, though the complaint has not been processed as local officials turned down a request from the villagers to permit having their court fees waived.
Reach Seima, a representative for villagers in Kampong Chhnang’s Kampong Tralach district, Ta Chea commune, said villagers had sent a letter to the court earlier this month inquiring about the total court fee associated with their complaint.
Yesterday, however, he said he had received a call from Chhoun Sivin, director of the provincial court clerks, informing him that the complaint had been rejected because the villagers needed to file individual rather than joint complaints.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Couldn't the CPP see that this a national disgrace for Cambodia?
In Cambodia, No Land Title, No Rights
OCTOBER 17, 2010
By WILL BAXTER
The Wall Street Journal
OCTOBER 17, 2010
By WILL BAXTER
The Wall Street Journal
An estimated 250,000 Cambodians have been affected by land grabbing and forced evictions since 2005. Few Cambodians possess official land titles, making it easier for private businesses to force people off their land to make way for urban development projects and large-scale agro-business plantations.
.jpg) |
| In central Phnom Penh, more than 4,000 families living near Boeung Kak Lake will be evicted from their homes to make way for a 329-acre housing and commercial development project. At left, residents harvested morning glory, a local vegetable, which grows in the shallows at the edges of the lake. Many families have lived there for 10 to 25 years, but few possess land titles. (All Photos: Will Baxter, The Wall Street Journal) |
.jpg) |
| A Cambodian boy helped rebuild his family's home in central Phnom Penh, where a March fire destroyed 178 houses and displaced 257 families. Residents and rights groups say that government officials have tried to use the fire as a pretense to relocate residents to an undeveloped site that lacks water, electricity and toilets. |
.jpg) |
| Shukaku Inc., which is headed by senator Lao Meng Khin, according to local media reports, was given rights in 2007 to begin work on a housing and commercial development project at the Boeung Kak Lake site. Sen. Lao and Shukaku could not be reached for comment. At left, workers contracted by Shukaku pumped sand and water into the lake into the lake in September in an effor to fill it in. |
.jpg) |
| Residents claim that the filling in of the lake -- combined with seasonal rains and poor drainage -- has led to unsanitary conditions including garbage- and sewage-tainted floodwaters, at left. |
.jpg) |
| A Boeung Kak Lake resident, who has been promised about $8,470 in compensation from Shukaku after agreeing to move away from the lake, dismantled his family's house before relocating in August. Dozens of families have taken apart their houses and left the area in recent months. |
.jpg) |
| A girl ran through a Boeung Kak Lake neighborhood in June. |
.jpg) |
| A girl rode a bicycle along the railroad tracks that skirt the southwestern edge of Boeung Kak Lake in June. |
.jpg) |
| Meanwhile, a couple of hours outside the capital in Kampong Speu province's Thpong district, Phnom Penh Sugar Co., which is owned by another senator, has been granted an approximately 20,616-acre land concession in Omlaing commune, which will result in the eviction of more than 2,000 families. Two Omlaing Commune representatives were recently arrested and accused of involvement in a fire at a makeshift Phnom Penh Sugar Co. structure. At left, a woman cried during a protest against the arrests outside the Kampong Speu Provincial Court. |
.jpg) |
| At left, villagers traveled in a convoy of 20 mini tractors to the court to protest the arrests. The accused were later released. The owner of Phnom Penh Sugar, who could not be reached for comment, has been granted a number of other large land concessions in other provinces. |
.jpg) |
| A woman evicted from another community, called Dey Krahorm in Phnom Penh walked past makeshift homes at a relocation site in Phnom Bat commune in Kandal Province. Residents say there are no jobs in the area and they have no way of earning a living because the relocation site is more than 25 miles from Phnom Penh. In December of last year each family was given a 13-foot by 20-foot plot of land at the site, on which they have built shelters of wood, mud, tarpualin and corrugated tin. |
.jpg) |
| In January 2009, police and construction workers employed by a local developer forcibly evicted hundreds of families to make way for the development project, which has not yet broken ground, on the former site of the Dey Krahorm community in Phnom Penh. At left, workers played soccer at the site. |
.jpg) |
| Boeung Kak Lake residents who face eviction played volleyball on an area of sand where the lake has been filled in. |
.jpg) |
| A Cambodian woman watched over her grandchildren at her family's home and business, which will be torn down to make way for Shukaku's commercial housing and development project. |
In Cambodia, No Land Title, No Rights
OCTOBER 17, 2010
By WILL BAXTER
The Wall Street Journal
By WILL BAXTER
The Wall Street Journal
the companies benefiting from land acquisitions are owned or controlled by government ministers, ruling party senators, military officials and their family membersAs Cambodia's economy booms after years of war and instability, its residents are struggling to cope with a new problem: Land grabs and forced evictions that have affected more than 250,000 Cambodians over the past five years, according to Cambodia-based rights group Licadho, which began recording data on land disputes in 2005.
The roots of the problem can be traced back to the rule of the Khmer Rouge, a radical Communist rebel group that abolished Cambodia's land titling system in 1975 when they outlawed ownership of private property.
Although the Khmer Rouge lost power in 1979, even today few Cambodians possess official land titles, making it easier for private businesses to force people off their land for urban development projects and large-scale agro-business plantations.
Often, residents are relocated -- sometimes without compensation -- to areas far from their jobs, health care and adequate water and sanitation, activists say. In many cases, the companies benefiting from land acquisitions are owned or controlled by government ministers, ruling party senators, military officials and their family members, activists add.
"Over the last 15 years, Cambodia's ruling elite have enriched themselves by selling off the country's forests, fisheries, land and most recently mineral resources," said David Pred, executive director of Bridges Across Borders Cambodia.
The government dismisses charges of excessive and inappropriate land deals and says some development projects are necessary to promote the country's economy.
"Land and cultural resources are the two major potentials Cambodia possesses (which) can be used to develop the country," says Im Chhun Lim, Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, in Cambodia. So "there should not be a question to why Cambodia" uses its large tracts of land "for attracting investors for developing (the) country."
He adds that while some relocations create challenges for residents, over time living conditions improve as basic infrastructure is installed and relocated residents are integrated into their new areas.
Either way, advocates say, the disputes are likely to continue -- Cambodia's growing economy is expected to generate even more demand for land in the years ahead.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Unresolved Land Disputes Rising: Rights Coalition
Kampong Speu land protesters (Photo: VOA)Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Tuesday, 01 June 2010
“Please stop using the military or police forces to protect the company.”Rights groups say they are concerned with a spike in reported land disputes that have gone unresolved under the current law.
The increasing number is because the government is providing economic land concessions while powerful government officials are also seizing land from the people, Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum, told reporters Tuesday.
Land disputes reported to NGOs under the umbrella organization climbed 27 percent in 2009, from 173 cases in 2008, and another 32 percent in in first five months of 2010, according to the NGO Forum.
Nun Pheany, spokesman for the Ministry of Land Management, denied the reports that land disputes were increasing. The ministry received 5,000 complaints since the beginning of 2009 from 24 provinces and municipalities and has resolved 70 percent of them, he said.
In a joint statement issued Tuesday, the Coalitions of Civil Society Organizations said most land dispute cases were still unresolved.
“Most land dispute cases involve companies including both local and foreign investment companies as well as wealthy and powerful people,” the group said. “They affect large number of families and are mostly disputed with companies who obtained an economic land concession. It’s worth to note that in the past, land dispute cases usually involve dealing with violence and end up unresolved. Only few cases have been settled legally.”
The statement of concern comes ahead of a large donor meeting scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
The coalition recommended more participation of poor communities in land decisions, fair resolution and compensation in existing land disputes, a stronger resolution mechanism, a cease to arrests made in land disputes and the empowerment of authorities to solve land dispute cases.
“Please stop using the military or police forces to protect the company,” the group said.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Villagers say Mong Reththy project threatens their land
Mong Reththy seen being decorated by Hun XenTuesday, 11 May 2010
Tep Nimol and Mom Kunthear
The Phnom Penh Post
VILLAGERS in Mondulkiri province’s Keo Seima district said Monday that surveyors over the weekend had begun measuring off land in two of three villages that stand to be affected by a concession granted to a rubber company owned by business tycoon Mong Reththy.
Local villager Gos Saly said surveyors had first appeared in Keo Seima district earlier this year on behalf of the Rithy Kiri Seima Rubber Plantation company, and that this past weekend they had ramped up measurement work for a proposed plantation that he said would occupy about 40 percent of the 8,000 hectares of land in the district’s O’Am, O’Rorna and O’Sneng villages.
“It is our land because we bought it in 1997. We have letters to prove this to local authorities, but we don’t have land titles,” he said.
Eng Neang, 51, another Keo Seima resident, said local authorities had assisted the rubber company in securing the concession, but had not bothered to assist local residents in securing land titles.
“We are not happy with the development company because they are oppressing us poor people. They have never helped us, and they are robbing our rice pot,” Eng Neang said.
“I think that the authorities have taken bribes from the company,” she added.
Mong Reththy said Monday that the government had granted the 5,000-hectare land concession to his company in 2007. The surveyors, he added, had measured off territory both for the rubber plantation and for a social land concession for the villagers, who he said were living on a protected wildlife preserve.
“The villagers are confused because this will benefit them and the authorities will provide them with land titles,” Mong Reththy said.
“They live in a wild animal shelter, and it would be easy for someone to pursue a complaint against those villagers with the authorities.”
Keo Seima district Governor Sin Van Vuth said Monday that local authorities would provide the villagers with land titles after the surveying process concluded.
“About 60 percent of those villagers cooperated with us, and there are two more villages that we will survey next time,” he said.
Mong Reththy was named in a report released on Monday by the watchdog group Global Witness, which linked him to sand mining projects in Koh Kong province that the group says are destroying the livelihoods of local fishermen.
Local villager Gos Saly said surveyors had first appeared in Keo Seima district earlier this year on behalf of the Rithy Kiri Seima Rubber Plantation company, and that this past weekend they had ramped up measurement work for a proposed plantation that he said would occupy about 40 percent of the 8,000 hectares of land in the district’s O’Am, O’Rorna and O’Sneng villages.
“It is our land because we bought it in 1997. We have letters to prove this to local authorities, but we don’t have land titles,” he said.
Eng Neang, 51, another Keo Seima resident, said local authorities had assisted the rubber company in securing the concession, but had not bothered to assist local residents in securing land titles.
“We are not happy with the development company because they are oppressing us poor people. They have never helped us, and they are robbing our rice pot,” Eng Neang said.
“I think that the authorities have taken bribes from the company,” she added.
Mong Reththy said Monday that the government had granted the 5,000-hectare land concession to his company in 2007. The surveyors, he added, had measured off territory both for the rubber plantation and for a social land concession for the villagers, who he said were living on a protected wildlife preserve.
“The villagers are confused because this will benefit them and the authorities will provide them with land titles,” Mong Reththy said.
“They live in a wild animal shelter, and it would be easy for someone to pursue a complaint against those villagers with the authorities.”
Keo Seima district Governor Sin Van Vuth said Monday that local authorities would provide the villagers with land titles after the surveying process concluded.
“About 60 percent of those villagers cooperated with us, and there are two more villages that we will survey next time,” he said.
Mong Reththy was named in a report released on Monday by the watchdog group Global Witness, which linked him to sand mining projects in Koh Kong province that the group says are destroying the livelihoods of local fishermen.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Borotes Phlon Dey; Puok Hun Xen Phlon Dey Reas - "The land thieves": A Poem in Khmer by Srey Sra'em
Click on the poem to zoom in
Poem in Khmer by Srey Sra'em
Poem in Khmer by Srey Sra'em
Friday, August 14, 2009
A further 160 families in Cambodia face forced eviction
13 August 2009
Amnesty International
Amnesty International
A further 160 families in Cambodia are to be forcibly evicted from their homes without being given adequate alternative housing or just compensation.
Two lakeside villages in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh received an official notice on Monday, giving them seven days to dismantle their houses. A private company is due to redevelop the site for tourism and commercial use.
Around 4,200 families living on or around Boeung Kak Lake in central Phnom Penh are affected by this re-development, which is the outcome of an agreement reached in 2007 between the Municipality of Phnom Penh and the private company. The company started filling the lake with sand in August 2008, in preparation for building.
The agreement was made without any prior consultation with the affected families, who since learning about the deal have repeatedly protested and voiced concern about the plans. At least two villagers have been arrested for their peaceful protests.
Company workers and security forces have intimidated and harassed many others, while the rising water levels caused by the filling of the lake, have flooded and destroyed many homes around its shore, forcing people to move.
The inhabitants of Village 2 and Village 4 were offered three options by the notice signed by the Daun Penh district governor: compensation of 8,000 USD plus an additional two million riel (approx 500 USD) to cover the cost of dismantling the houses; a flat at a resettlement site some 20 kilometres away plus two million riel; or new housing on-site but with temporary relocation.
The resettlement site at Damnak Trayoeung has no adequate shelter, water, electricity, sanitation, sewerage, health care or job opportunities.
The offer of on-site development is welcome as it demonstrates that the authorities are exploring alternatives other than eviction. This is also the option favoured by most of the 160 families.
However, according to the notice, they still have to dismantle their homes within seven days and accept relocation to a site far away from their work places and schools for an undetermined period, with no formal assurances that they will be able to return to secure tenure at Boeung Kak.
Last month, security forces forcibly evicted 60 low-income families from their homes in an area of central Phnom Penh called Group 78. The families in Group 78 had been living under the threat of forced evictions for three years, with the Cambodian authorities following none of the safeguards required under international law.
The Cambodian Government has consistently failed to guarantee the right to adequate housing and to protect its population against forced evictions. In 2008 alone, Amnesty International received reports about 27 forced evictions, affecting an estimated 23,000 people.
Amnesty International is reiterating its calls on the government to end forced evictions and introduce a moratorium on all mass evictions until there is a legal framework in place which protects human rights.
Amnesty International has urged the Cambodian authorities to halt immediately any plans to forcibly evict the families living in Villages 2 and 4 in Boeung Kak.
The organization also urged them to reconsider the plan to move the community to the resettlement site at Damnak Trayoeung and called on the authorities to hold genuine consultations about the onsite development plans, including clarifying the time frame for temporary relocation and a guarantee of security of tenure at Boeung Kak.
Moreover, Amnesty International is demanding that the authorities uphold Cambodia's obligations under international human rights treaties prohibiting forced eviction and related human rights violations.
Two lakeside villages in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh received an official notice on Monday, giving them seven days to dismantle their houses. A private company is due to redevelop the site for tourism and commercial use.
Around 4,200 families living on or around Boeung Kak Lake in central Phnom Penh are affected by this re-development, which is the outcome of an agreement reached in 2007 between the Municipality of Phnom Penh and the private company. The company started filling the lake with sand in August 2008, in preparation for building.
The agreement was made without any prior consultation with the affected families, who since learning about the deal have repeatedly protested and voiced concern about the plans. At least two villagers have been arrested for their peaceful protests.
Company workers and security forces have intimidated and harassed many others, while the rising water levels caused by the filling of the lake, have flooded and destroyed many homes around its shore, forcing people to move.
The inhabitants of Village 2 and Village 4 were offered three options by the notice signed by the Daun Penh district governor: compensation of 8,000 USD plus an additional two million riel (approx 500 USD) to cover the cost of dismantling the houses; a flat at a resettlement site some 20 kilometres away plus two million riel; or new housing on-site but with temporary relocation.
The resettlement site at Damnak Trayoeung has no adequate shelter, water, electricity, sanitation, sewerage, health care or job opportunities.
The offer of on-site development is welcome as it demonstrates that the authorities are exploring alternatives other than eviction. This is also the option favoured by most of the 160 families.
However, according to the notice, they still have to dismantle their homes within seven days and accept relocation to a site far away from their work places and schools for an undetermined period, with no formal assurances that they will be able to return to secure tenure at Boeung Kak.
Last month, security forces forcibly evicted 60 low-income families from their homes in an area of central Phnom Penh called Group 78. The families in Group 78 had been living under the threat of forced evictions for three years, with the Cambodian authorities following none of the safeguards required under international law.
The Cambodian Government has consistently failed to guarantee the right to adequate housing and to protect its population against forced evictions. In 2008 alone, Amnesty International received reports about 27 forced evictions, affecting an estimated 23,000 people.
Amnesty International is reiterating its calls on the government to end forced evictions and introduce a moratorium on all mass evictions until there is a legal framework in place which protects human rights.
Amnesty International has urged the Cambodian authorities to halt immediately any plans to forcibly evict the families living in Villages 2 and 4 in Boeung Kak.
The organization also urged them to reconsider the plan to move the community to the resettlement site at Damnak Trayoeung and called on the authorities to hold genuine consultations about the onsite development plans, including clarifying the time frame for temporary relocation and a guarantee of security of tenure at Boeung Kak.
Moreover, Amnesty International is demanding that the authorities uphold Cambodia's obligations under international human rights treaties prohibiting forced eviction and related human rights violations.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Khmer Intelliugence News - 28 July 2009
KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS
28 July 2009
28 July 2009
Foreign Trade Bank falls victim of economic crisis and property glut (2)
Cambodia’s Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), which is 50 percent owned by the state, is in serious trouble because of the worsening economic crisis and the resulting property glut. A heavy portfolio of bad loans in the property sector may require an overhaul of the bank in the next few months. Canadia Bank, which is Cambodia’s largest bank followed by FTB, is in the same alarming situation. The two financial institutions have been able so far to avoid bankruptcy thanks to a massive fund injection from the National Bank of Cambodia. The other FTB shareholders include Canadia Bank (originally 30 percent) and businessman Ung Bun Heuv (originally 20 percent). Canadia Bank itself is now actually controlled by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s family (originally 35 percent) even though its president and (still?) major shareholder is a shady businessman from Canada, Mr. Pung Kheav Se (originally 65 percent). The fall of Cambodia’s two leading and intertwined commercial banks would lead to the collapse of the whole banking system.
Market operators expect a continuous fall in the Cambodian currency (2)
The Riel has been falling against the US Dollar and major regional currencies over the last few weeks. This represents an acceleration of a trend that has been noticeable over the last 18 months. In January 2008, the US Dollar was worth 4000 Riels. The exchange rate went up to 4125 Riels for $1 by January 2009. Today, one needs 4250 Riels to buy $1. The Riel has therefore dropped by 6.25% since January 2008, whereas the Thai Baht has remained stable against the Dollar during the same period of time (around 34 Bath for $1). Market operators expect the Riel to fall more sharply in August and September, with the exchange rate possibly reaching 4500 Riels for $1. The reasons for this evolution are related to the worsening economic crisis, the severe drop in State revenue and the growing budget deficit. To cover the deficit the National Bank of Cambodia is increasingly printing bank notes (paper money), thus fueling inflation, which may get out of control by the end of the year.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy invited to visit Cambodia in September (2)
While on his official visit to France on July 13 and 14, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen invited French President Nicolas Sarkozy to visit Cambodia in September. A big event then will be the inauguration of the Sihanoukville airport which has just been modernized and expanded and will be managed, like the Phnom Penh and Siemreap-Angkor airports, by a local subsidiary (Société Concessionnaire des Aéroports or SCA) of the French construction group Vinci. The French authorities have yet to positively respond to Hun Sen’s invitation because they are taking into consideration the deterioration in the social and political climate in Cambodia with the increasing number of land evictions and human rights violations and the recent spate of defamation lawsuits against government critics here. President Sarkozy had also received a letter from opposition leader Sam Rainsy prior to Hun Sen’s visit pointing to the way France could really help Cambodia. Read Sam Rainsy’s letter at http://tinyurl.com/lh39sn
CPP parliamentarian involved in criminal acts (1)
A CPP National Assembly member, Long Sakhorn is well known for her involvement in public scandals and a long series of criminal acts, which may lead her to jail since the ruling party is more and more embarrassed by her openly conducting reprehensible activities and her stubbornness. A widow of Sin Song, a former coup leader in 1994, she is continuously involved in land grabbing, environment destruction (deforestation and river filling), deception and forgery of documents and thumbprints. She is expert in cheating people and misleading the courts where she is known for her securing the support of judges through bribery. Concrete examples with photos of Long Sakhorn’s criminal offenses are presented at http://tinyurl.com/llokd2
[End]
Cambodia’s Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), which is 50 percent owned by the state, is in serious trouble because of the worsening economic crisis and the resulting property glut. A heavy portfolio of bad loans in the property sector may require an overhaul of the bank in the next few months. Canadia Bank, which is Cambodia’s largest bank followed by FTB, is in the same alarming situation. The two financial institutions have been able so far to avoid bankruptcy thanks to a massive fund injection from the National Bank of Cambodia. The other FTB shareholders include Canadia Bank (originally 30 percent) and businessman Ung Bun Heuv (originally 20 percent). Canadia Bank itself is now actually controlled by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s family (originally 35 percent) even though its president and (still?) major shareholder is a shady businessman from Canada, Mr. Pung Kheav Se (originally 65 percent). The fall of Cambodia’s two leading and intertwined commercial banks would lead to the collapse of the whole banking system.
Market operators expect a continuous fall in the Cambodian currency (2)
The Riel has been falling against the US Dollar and major regional currencies over the last few weeks. This represents an acceleration of a trend that has been noticeable over the last 18 months. In January 2008, the US Dollar was worth 4000 Riels. The exchange rate went up to 4125 Riels for $1 by January 2009. Today, one needs 4250 Riels to buy $1. The Riel has therefore dropped by 6.25% since January 2008, whereas the Thai Baht has remained stable against the Dollar during the same period of time (around 34 Bath for $1). Market operators expect the Riel to fall more sharply in August and September, with the exchange rate possibly reaching 4500 Riels for $1. The reasons for this evolution are related to the worsening economic crisis, the severe drop in State revenue and the growing budget deficit. To cover the deficit the National Bank of Cambodia is increasingly printing bank notes (paper money), thus fueling inflation, which may get out of control by the end of the year.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy invited to visit Cambodia in September (2)
While on his official visit to France on July 13 and 14, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen invited French President Nicolas Sarkozy to visit Cambodia in September. A big event then will be the inauguration of the Sihanoukville airport which has just been modernized and expanded and will be managed, like the Phnom Penh and Siemreap-Angkor airports, by a local subsidiary (Société Concessionnaire des Aéroports or SCA) of the French construction group Vinci. The French authorities have yet to positively respond to Hun Sen’s invitation because they are taking into consideration the deterioration in the social and political climate in Cambodia with the increasing number of land evictions and human rights violations and the recent spate of defamation lawsuits against government critics here. President Sarkozy had also received a letter from opposition leader Sam Rainsy prior to Hun Sen’s visit pointing to the way France could really help Cambodia. Read Sam Rainsy’s letter at http://tinyurl.com/lh39sn
CPP parliamentarian involved in criminal acts (1)
A CPP National Assembly member, Long Sakhorn is well known for her involvement in public scandals and a long series of criminal acts, which may lead her to jail since the ruling party is more and more embarrassed by her openly conducting reprehensible activities and her stubbornness. A widow of Sin Song, a former coup leader in 1994, she is continuously involved in land grabbing, environment destruction (deforestation and river filling), deception and forgery of documents and thumbprints. She is expert in cheating people and misleading the courts where she is known for her securing the support of judges through bribery. Concrete examples with photos of Long Sakhorn’s criminal offenses are presented at http://tinyurl.com/llokd2
[End]
Monday, June 15, 2009
Boeung Kak residents put a curse on CPP-Tycoon-Senator Lao Meng Khin's Shukaku Co.
Boeung Kak Lake residents put a curse on the Shukaku Co. on 12 June 2009 (Photo: Sophorn, RFA)13 June 2009
By Sophorn
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Residents of the Boeung Kak area have decided to organize a ceremony to put a curse on the Shukaku Co. [owned by CPP-Tycoon-Senator and Hun Sen’s crony Lao Meng Khin] which is currently funding the development of the Boeung Kak region in Phnom Penh city. The residents prayed that this company suffers total destruction.
The prayer for the curse on the Shukaku Co. was organized in the evening of Friday 12 June, and starting at 6PM on that day, all the residents burnt incense in their homes, while others gathered to pray at Village No. 6 of Boeung Kak area to put the curse on this company.
Be Pharom, a resident, said that because the residents no longer trust all levels of government authority to help them solve their hardship, they decided to organize this ceremony to put the curse on the Shukaku Co,: “May Lord Budda help us. Let the spirits guarding this land and water, let the spirit of Boeung Kak Lake, the angels, Indra, Brahma kill those who hurt us with lightning strike.”
The residents added that a few hours after they organized the cursing ceremony, plainclothes government agents, some of whom were armed, came to threaten the residents who dare organize this ceremony.
These agents also confiscated a cane juice container belonging to one of the residents, and they accused her of storing this container on the Shukaku Co. land.
Mom Phal, the owner of the juice container, said: “They used guns to threaten me, but I was not scared. I said shoot me, I am not scared. Even if I die, I still have many relatives left.”
On that same day, RFA reporters crossed the Shukaku Company’s fence to try to obtain information about the accusations made above, however, company agents and police officers in uniform came out to prevent us from asking any questions.
RFA attempted to call officials at the Srah Chork commune office, and officials of the Daun Penh district office, to obtain clarifications on this altercation, but they could not be reached.
Nevertheless, Sa Roeun, chief of Village No. 4 in Boeung Kak Lake area, confirmed that the Shukaku Co. indeed confiscated the cane juice container belonging to the resident, but, he does not have the rights and the duty to resolve this issue.
For the development of the 133-hectare area in Beoung Kak, the Cambodian government gave out a 99-year lease of the lake to the private Shukaku Co. Some of the residents disagreed to this lease and they have held several protests on this issue.
The prayer for the curse on the Shukaku Co. was organized in the evening of Friday 12 June, and starting at 6PM on that day, all the residents burnt incense in their homes, while others gathered to pray at Village No. 6 of Boeung Kak area to put the curse on this company.
Be Pharom, a resident, said that because the residents no longer trust all levels of government authority to help them solve their hardship, they decided to organize this ceremony to put the curse on the Shukaku Co,: “May Lord Budda help us. Let the spirits guarding this land and water, let the spirit of Boeung Kak Lake, the angels, Indra, Brahma kill those who hurt us with lightning strike.”
The residents added that a few hours after they organized the cursing ceremony, plainclothes government agents, some of whom were armed, came to threaten the residents who dare organize this ceremony.
These agents also confiscated a cane juice container belonging to one of the residents, and they accused her of storing this container on the Shukaku Co. land.
Mom Phal, the owner of the juice container, said: “They used guns to threaten me, but I was not scared. I said shoot me, I am not scared. Even if I die, I still have many relatives left.”
On that same day, RFA reporters crossed the Shukaku Company’s fence to try to obtain information about the accusations made above, however, company agents and police officers in uniform came out to prevent us from asking any questions.
RFA attempted to call officials at the Srah Chork commune office, and officials of the Daun Penh district office, to obtain clarifications on this altercation, but they could not be reached.
Nevertheless, Sa Roeun, chief of Village No. 4 in Boeung Kak Lake area, confirmed that the Shukaku Co. indeed confiscated the cane juice container belonging to the resident, but, he does not have the rights and the duty to resolve this issue.
For the development of the 133-hectare area in Beoung Kak, the Cambodian government gave out a 99-year lease of the lake to the private Shukaku Co. Some of the residents disagreed to this lease and they have held several protests on this issue.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Rasmei Kampuchea is a CPP Tool to Cover Up Crimes Committed by CPP Officials
April 27, 2009
Source: SRP
Source: SRP
RASMEI KAMPUCHEA IS A CPP TOOL
TO COVER UP CRIMES COMMITTED BY CPP OFFICIALS
TO COVER UP CRIMES COMMITTED BY CPP OFFICIALS
After making a grave accusation against Sam Rainsy, pro-CPP newspaper Rasmei Kampuchea refuses to publish a clarification from the SRP and ignores journalist code of ethics.
On April 23, 2009, Rasmei Kampuchea published a front-page article with a big headline: "Sam Rainsy is accused of grabbing public land in Sihanoukville." In the article, there is a photo with the following caption: "Stone fence with iron gate closing a dirt road at O Tres village on Mr. Sam Rainsy's land."
Also on April 23, 2009, the SRP cabinet immediately wrote a clarification letter to Rasmei Kampuchea's editor specifying that Sam Rainsy owns no land whatsoever in Sihanoukville. But the SRP cabinet did specify that Sam Rainsy had a few friends who legally owned pieces of land in Sihanoukville and had invited Sam Rainsy to go there a few times. The SRP Cabinet has learned from those friends that a lady named Long Sakhorn, who is a CPP member of parliament, is trying to grab their lands by illegally filling an adjacent river. The victims decided to build a fence in order to prevent Mrs. Long Sakhorn from continuing to fill in the river, which is an act violating the public domain and destroying the environment.
By its adamant refusal to publish the clarification from the SRP, Rasmei Kampuchea shows that it is paid by dishonest people to write stories to defame innocent people and that it is a tool for the CPP to cover up crimes committed by CPP officials.
See letter to Rasmei Kampuchea's editor at http://tinyurl.com/dhoxps
More information on the case at http://tinyurl.com/c22ytl
SRP Cabinet
On April 23, 2009, Rasmei Kampuchea published a front-page article with a big headline: "Sam Rainsy is accused of grabbing public land in Sihanoukville." In the article, there is a photo with the following caption: "Stone fence with iron gate closing a dirt road at O Tres village on Mr. Sam Rainsy's land."
Also on April 23, 2009, the SRP cabinet immediately wrote a clarification letter to Rasmei Kampuchea's editor specifying that Sam Rainsy owns no land whatsoever in Sihanoukville. But the SRP cabinet did specify that Sam Rainsy had a few friends who legally owned pieces of land in Sihanoukville and had invited Sam Rainsy to go there a few times. The SRP Cabinet has learned from those friends that a lady named Long Sakhorn, who is a CPP member of parliament, is trying to grab their lands by illegally filling an adjacent river. The victims decided to build a fence in order to prevent Mrs. Long Sakhorn from continuing to fill in the river, which is an act violating the public domain and destroying the environment.
By its adamant refusal to publish the clarification from the SRP, Rasmei Kampuchea shows that it is paid by dishonest people to write stories to defame innocent people and that it is a tool for the CPP to cover up crimes committed by CPP officials.
See letter to Rasmei Kampuchea's editor at http://tinyurl.com/dhoxps
More information on the case at http://tinyurl.com/c22ytl
SRP Cabinet
Friday, March 20, 2009
Boeung Kak lake: A widow threatens to take her own life
Boeung Kak Lake: A house fell into the lake from the pumping operation performed by the Shukaku Inc. company owned by CPP tycoon-senator-cum-land-grabber Lao Meng Khin (Photo: ALG, Cambodge Soir Hebdo)19 March 2009
By Nhim Sophal
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read the article in French
Kao Malai indicated that the Shukaku Inc. company only paid her $200 in compensation for her house which fell into the lake, and the company did not offer any relocation at all.
Kao Malai, a widow and mother of two children, indicated that she would like to end her life because of the Boeung Kak lake land dispute.
Addressing a meeting of villagers involved in land disputes on Thursday 19 March in Phnom Penh, she indicated that the Shukaku company only paid her $200 when her house fell into the water (from the filling of the lake by the Shukaku company).
“My house fell down because of the pumping operation in the lake!” she said angrily. “They did not allow me to repair it, they just gave me $200 as compensation to get rid of me.”
Furthermore, several residents were angry at the pro-CPP TV station Bayon (owned by Hun Mana, Hun Sen’s daughter) which claimed on 24-25 February that “more than 70%” of the residents accepted the offer made by the Shukaku company, however, in reality, only 820 families out of a total of 4,250 families accepted to leave their homes based on the conditions imposed by the Shukaku company.
According to the residents, the “70%” claim was attributed to Lav Van, the brother of the CPP tycoon-senator Lao Meng Khin, the owner of the Shukaku company.
In fact, the compensation amount is not very clear: even though $8,500 was promised to residents with small homes on the lake, for the other residents, they claim that they do not know what if the exact term of the compensation to be provided by Lao Meng Khin’s Shukaku.
The residents announced that they will gather on 25 or 26 March at a “public forum.”
Kao Malai, a widow and mother of two children, indicated that she would like to end her life because of the Boeung Kak lake land dispute.
Addressing a meeting of villagers involved in land disputes on Thursday 19 March in Phnom Penh, she indicated that the Shukaku company only paid her $200 when her house fell into the water (from the filling of the lake by the Shukaku company).
“My house fell down because of the pumping operation in the lake!” she said angrily. “They did not allow me to repair it, they just gave me $200 as compensation to get rid of me.”
Furthermore, several residents were angry at the pro-CPP TV station Bayon (owned by Hun Mana, Hun Sen’s daughter) which claimed on 24-25 February that “more than 70%” of the residents accepted the offer made by the Shukaku company, however, in reality, only 820 families out of a total of 4,250 families accepted to leave their homes based on the conditions imposed by the Shukaku company.
According to the residents, the “70%” claim was attributed to Lav Van, the brother of the CPP tycoon-senator Lao Meng Khin, the owner of the Shukaku company.
In fact, the compensation amount is not very clear: even though $8,500 was promised to residents with small homes on the lake, for the other residents, they claim that they do not know what if the exact term of the compensation to be provided by Lao Meng Khin’s Shukaku.
The residents announced that they will gather on 25 or 26 March at a “public forum.”
Friday, October 31, 2008
They rob your land and they put you in jail to silence you: Justice-a-la-Hun Sen Inc.
Boeung Kak resident Nhoem Ray at a protest against eviction in Phnom Penh on Monday. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)Arrests quash land dissent
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Written by CHRAN CHAMROEUN AND ELENOR AINGE ROY
The Phnom Penh Post
Human rights advocates say the arrests of nine community organisers in the past week is an attempt to silence dissent on the issue of rural land-grabbing
LOCAL rights groups are becoming increasingly concerned over the recent spate of arrests of community organisers, with the leaders of nine land-grabbing resistance groups arrested across the Kingdom in the last week.
"Community representatives continue to be arrested, charged and imprisoned because of their efforts to assist fellow villagers to protect their land," said Kek Galabru, president of the human rights group Licadho.
"Frequently there is no evidence whatsoever for the charges against them - the law is simply misused as a weapon to try to intimidate their communities into giving up land."
The recent arrest cases are unsettling as two of the charges against six of the arrested have been discovered to be unfounded and inaccurate, according to a Licadho investigation.
Six people arrested in Kampong Thom province on October 22 were the representatives of 1,300 families who are facing a land dispute with a Vietnamese company, Tin Bean Co. All six have been released, although only three have been formally charged.
In Svay Rieng province on October 23, two community organisers - Sum Oeung and Tia Khun - representing thirteen families, were arrested and have been charged with damaging private property. They are in detention.
A further four community organisers representing forty families were arrested in Siem Reap province Friday, and have been sent to pre-trial detention. The men in this case were charged with using violence, but according to Licadho's investigation, the accusations are incorrect.
International human rights group Amnesty International and the Asian Human Rights Commission have added their voices to the escalating concerns about the detention of community organisers.
Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Son Chhay said detention is commonly used as a scare tactic to frighten potential protestors.
"Such action is pre-meditative. It is used to scare other provinces from rising up and protesting," he said.
Son Chhay said such acts would continue as long as the justice system remained dependent and always supported those in positions of power and authority.
LOCAL rights groups are becoming increasingly concerned over the recent spate of arrests of community organisers, with the leaders of nine land-grabbing resistance groups arrested across the Kingdom in the last week.
"Community representatives continue to be arrested, charged and imprisoned because of their efforts to assist fellow villagers to protect their land," said Kek Galabru, president of the human rights group Licadho.
"Frequently there is no evidence whatsoever for the charges against them - the law is simply misused as a weapon to try to intimidate their communities into giving up land."
The recent arrest cases are unsettling as two of the charges against six of the arrested have been discovered to be unfounded and inaccurate, according to a Licadho investigation.
Six people arrested in Kampong Thom province on October 22 were the representatives of 1,300 families who are facing a land dispute with a Vietnamese company, Tin Bean Co. All six have been released, although only three have been formally charged.
In Svay Rieng province on October 23, two community organisers - Sum Oeung and Tia Khun - representing thirteen families, were arrested and have been charged with damaging private property. They are in detention.
A further four community organisers representing forty families were arrested in Siem Reap province Friday, and have been sent to pre-trial detention. The men in this case were charged with using violence, but according to Licadho's investigation, the accusations are incorrect.
International human rights group Amnesty International and the Asian Human Rights Commission have added their voices to the escalating concerns about the detention of community organisers.
Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Son Chhay said detention is commonly used as a scare tactic to frighten potential protestors.
"Such action is pre-meditative. It is used to scare other provinces from rising up and protesting," he said.
Son Chhay said such acts would continue as long as the justice system remained dependent and always supported those in positions of power and authority.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Eviction by drowning you out: A first in the world by a company controlled by CPP Tycoon-Senator-cum-Hun-Sen-Crony Lao Meng Khin
Hun Sen's cronies: Lao Meng Khin and Choeung Sopheap, his wife
Some residents around Boeung Kak lake have opted to stay, despite rising waters caused by fill.
Boeung Kak's rising water has brought swaths of trash with it, convincing hundreds of residents it is time to leave.By Pin Sisovann, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
28 October 2008
One day last week, Pen Bun Noeun watched as her wooden house on Boeung Kak lake in Phnom Penh was dismantled by workers she had hired for its removal.
With the lake’s developer Shukaku, Inc., pumping fill into the lake, its polluted water was rising and her situation had become untenable, she said. She was opting to move outside of the city, to a development in Dangkao district called Borei Santepheap 2.
“It’s far, but what can I do?” she said, as her neighbors sloshed through the muck or sat on chairs and tables to avoid the rising water. “I cannot stay here because it is flooded. Too much flooding and a bad smell. There was no flooding before the dredging. It is now flooded all over.”
Plagued with mosquitoes, putrid mud and rising waters, hundreds of residents of the lake say they are voluntarily moving, taking a buyout or move offers from the city. But critics say developers are filling the lake, forcing the water to rise, and that the moves are not voluntary at all.
Many residents in recent interviews told VOA Khmer they would now prefer to take a controversial buy-out, despite protests in the past that the market value of their homes was much higher than the $8,000 offered by the city. Others said the offer to relocate to an apartment on the outskirts of the capital, though far from services, was better than living in the quagmire their neighborhood has become.
The “volunteer” exodus starkly differs from displacements under past city projects. In 2006, the government faced sharp criticism for its ejection of impoverished residents of neighborhoods on the Tonle Bassac, where police forced people from the area at gunpoint in the early morning as bulldozers leveled their homes.
Pen Bun Noeun’s uncle, who declined to be named, said the situation “only looks better” for people at Boeung Kak than those who were forced from developments like the communities of Sambok Chap, or Sparrow’s Nest, and nearby Kak Ampov, or Sugarcane Leavings, on the Tonle Bassac.
The authorities “didn’t force us to leave clumsily, didn’t surround us with fencing,” he said. “It looks better than there. They didn’t force us, but [we move] voluntarily. They haven’t mistreated us yet.”
The uncle had already been forced to remove his house as the flood waters rose, he said, calling this a “strategy” of the developers and the city.
“If we don’t go now, we will go later,” he said. “To go now is better. If we go last, we could be sent 20 or 30 kilometers from where we are to be moved to now. It would be damning.”
“They didn’t force us,” he said with sarcasm, “but we must go.”
The 133-hectare, $79 million development was undertaken by Shikaku under a 99-year lease with the city. Plans include the construction of businesses and homes, centers for trade, culture and tourism, and increased security. Residents have been loath to go, however, and staged a protest in September when Shikaku began filling in the lake.
The halt was only temporary, however, and shortly after Shukaku resumed filling the lake.
Ny Chakrya, chief of the monitoring section for the rights group Adhoc, said the displacement was similar to those along the Tonle Bassac, except residents here were being forced out by floodwater and not gunpoint.
“It is not a principle of volunteering,” he said. “Volunteer removal means a negotiation in which neither side was put under pressure of any kind. Once one side acted to put another side aside; with no choice, it becomes a non-voluntary agreement. If it was to be a voluntary agreement from the people, [authorities] should not have created an impact on the daily living conditions of the people.”
Resident Neth Sophana and her family said they were being forced to leave under a “volunteer principle” espoused by Phnom Penh authorities and Shukaku.
“It is right to say either: we volunteered or were forced, because the company dredged to flood us,” she said. “We must leave. How can we stay? Speaking frankly they’re driving us away.”
Mann Chhoeun, deputy governor of Phnom Penh, maintains that the more than 500 families who have now agreed to leave the area did so willingly and have thumb-printed documents attesting to that.
“It moving ahead now,” he said. “It looks good, and they have printed their thumbs on proper volunteer documents. They were not forced.”
Those who opted for an apartment at Borei Santepheap 2 would find a school and market at the new location, he said, and the government continued to negotiate with families still living around the lake.
“We will solve it step by step and avoid violence with people,” he said. “We will have a good result before long.”
Despite floodwater creeping into her house, forcing her to build small wooden walkways through the living room, resident Houth Srin said she would wait for a better offer. Borei Santepheap 2 was too far from services, she said, and the itchy feet caused by the dirty water was a small price to pay to hold out.
Meanwhile, she said, people who owned smaller houses were being separated from those with large houses by the city’s buyout plans. Those with small houses could take the money, but those with larger houses, like hers, would wait. That meant a unity of voice against the displacement was divided, she said.
“Owners of small houses didn’t go to protest,” she said. “Only residents in big houses.”
Others, like Reoun Sovannara, were ready to leave.
“We volunteered to go because we have no way to live here,” he said. “It’s flooded. They’ve dredged to flood us, so why should we stay?”
With the lake’s developer Shukaku, Inc., pumping fill into the lake, its polluted water was rising and her situation had become untenable, she said. She was opting to move outside of the city, to a development in Dangkao district called Borei Santepheap 2.
“It’s far, but what can I do?” she said, as her neighbors sloshed through the muck or sat on chairs and tables to avoid the rising water. “I cannot stay here because it is flooded. Too much flooding and a bad smell. There was no flooding before the dredging. It is now flooded all over.”
Plagued with mosquitoes, putrid mud and rising waters, hundreds of residents of the lake say they are voluntarily moving, taking a buyout or move offers from the city. But critics say developers are filling the lake, forcing the water to rise, and that the moves are not voluntary at all.
Many residents in recent interviews told VOA Khmer they would now prefer to take a controversial buy-out, despite protests in the past that the market value of their homes was much higher than the $8,000 offered by the city. Others said the offer to relocate to an apartment on the outskirts of the capital, though far from services, was better than living in the quagmire their neighborhood has become.
The “volunteer” exodus starkly differs from displacements under past city projects. In 2006, the government faced sharp criticism for its ejection of impoverished residents of neighborhoods on the Tonle Bassac, where police forced people from the area at gunpoint in the early morning as bulldozers leveled their homes.
Pen Bun Noeun’s uncle, who declined to be named, said the situation “only looks better” for people at Boeung Kak than those who were forced from developments like the communities of Sambok Chap, or Sparrow’s Nest, and nearby Kak Ampov, or Sugarcane Leavings, on the Tonle Bassac.
The authorities “didn’t force us to leave clumsily, didn’t surround us with fencing,” he said. “It looks better than there. They didn’t force us, but [we move] voluntarily. They haven’t mistreated us yet.”
The uncle had already been forced to remove his house as the flood waters rose, he said, calling this a “strategy” of the developers and the city.
“If we don’t go now, we will go later,” he said. “To go now is better. If we go last, we could be sent 20 or 30 kilometers from where we are to be moved to now. It would be damning.”
“They didn’t force us,” he said with sarcasm, “but we must go.”
The 133-hectare, $79 million development was undertaken by Shikaku under a 99-year lease with the city. Plans include the construction of businesses and homes, centers for trade, culture and tourism, and increased security. Residents have been loath to go, however, and staged a protest in September when Shikaku began filling in the lake.
The halt was only temporary, however, and shortly after Shukaku resumed filling the lake.
Ny Chakrya, chief of the monitoring section for the rights group Adhoc, said the displacement was similar to those along the Tonle Bassac, except residents here were being forced out by floodwater and not gunpoint.
“It is not a principle of volunteering,” he said. “Volunteer removal means a negotiation in which neither side was put under pressure of any kind. Once one side acted to put another side aside; with no choice, it becomes a non-voluntary agreement. If it was to be a voluntary agreement from the people, [authorities] should not have created an impact on the daily living conditions of the people.”
Resident Neth Sophana and her family said they were being forced to leave under a “volunteer principle” espoused by Phnom Penh authorities and Shukaku.
“It is right to say either: we volunteered or were forced, because the company dredged to flood us,” she said. “We must leave. How can we stay? Speaking frankly they’re driving us away.”
Mann Chhoeun, deputy governor of Phnom Penh, maintains that the more than 500 families who have now agreed to leave the area did so willingly and have thumb-printed documents attesting to that.
“It moving ahead now,” he said. “It looks good, and they have printed their thumbs on proper volunteer documents. They were not forced.”
Those who opted for an apartment at Borei Santepheap 2 would find a school and market at the new location, he said, and the government continued to negotiate with families still living around the lake.
“We will solve it step by step and avoid violence with people,” he said. “We will have a good result before long.”
Despite floodwater creeping into her house, forcing her to build small wooden walkways through the living room, resident Houth Srin said she would wait for a better offer. Borei Santepheap 2 was too far from services, she said, and the itchy feet caused by the dirty water was a small price to pay to hold out.
Meanwhile, she said, people who owned smaller houses were being separated from those with large houses by the city’s buyout plans. Those with small houses could take the money, but those with larger houses, like hers, would wait. That meant a unity of voice against the displacement was divided, she said.
“Owners of small houses didn’t go to protest,” she said. “Only residents in big houses.”
Others, like Reoun Sovannara, were ready to leave.
“We volunteered to go because we have no way to live here,” he said. “It’s flooded. They’ve dredged to flood us, so why should we stay?”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
