Eviction pain lingers in Phnom Penh

Traffic passes by the site of the former Group 78 community in Phnom Penh yesterday. The site remains undeveloped. Photograph: Vireak Mai/Phnom Penh Post

Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Shane Worrell
The Phnom Penh Post

Three years after authorities demolished the last houses in Phnom Penh’s Group 78 community, evictees relocated to the outskirts of the capital are still struggling, the Housing Rights Task Force said yesterday.

More than 200 members of the Group 78 community gathered close to the site yesterday, near the Australian Embassy in Chamkarmon district’s Tonle Bassac commune, to commemorate the third anniversary of their eviction.

At dawn on July 17, 2009, police in riot gear cleared the way for workers to demolish the final 46 homes after their occupants refused compensation to vacate.

Former residents of Group 78 commemorate the 3rd anniversary of the violent evictions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6BaR9kmCno

3rd year memorial of Group 78 Eviction @ 8.00AM on 17 July

FYI:
Tomorrow morning at 8.00AM of 17 July, the residents of the Group 78 community former are going to pray and celebration their memorial of 3rd years evicted since 17 July 2012. Location is near the Australian Embassy and Koh Pich Island.

For more information please contact: 011 21 18 35; 012
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

Slumstories: Cambodia - Eviction four years on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw2mJPDPGQM

Cambodian coffee seller Sai Ouk and her family were evicted four years ago to the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Now her family has been split up and live separately in order to survive.

This video is part of the Amnesty International www.SlumStories.org project. An online videochannel about the life in slums in different parts of the world.

Fomer residents of Group 78 curse the land-grabbers during the 1st anniversary of their forced evictions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNYcyd1ZKWA&feature=player_embedded

Group 78 families mark eviction

Group 78 eviction (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)
A former resident of the city’s Group 78 community prays at a ceremony Saturday marking the one-year anniversary of the eviction of 146 families from the site in Chamkarmon district. (Photo by: Pha Lina)

Monday, 19 July 2010
Jake Schoneker and Tang Khyhay
The Phnom Penh Post

MORE than 50 demonstrators gathered on Saturday at the former site of the Group 78 community in Chamkarmon district to mark the one-year anniversary of an eviction that saw city officials clear the homes of 146 families for development.

“We’ve gathered here today to tell the government that it needs to give proper compensation to those who are evicted from their homes,” said Lim Sambo, a former resident of Group 78. “We need to make people aware of what happened to us.”

The Group 78 families claim they should have been eligible for ownership of their land under the 2001 Land Law, but that the government refused to accept their applications for land titles. Most were given US$8,000 in exchange for evacuating their homes.

Several residents said last week that this amount was not enough for them to buy new homes in the city. Instead, they said they had been forced to move to remote resettlement sites such as Trapaing Anchanh, about 25 kilometres from the city.

“I decided to buy land in Trapaing Anchanh because it’s cheap,” said Pach Khan, one of the evicted residents.

He was among the former Group 78 residents who said they needed to continue working in the capital despite having moved away from it, resulting in higher transportation costs.

“I’m a moto-taxi driver,” he said. “I can’t do any business where I live now. That’s why I have to come to the city to work.”

Beyond this inconvenience, rights workers say moving to sites like Trapaing Anchanh results in a much poorer quality of life overall.

“Generally, families find themselves living in greater poverty, with worse access to drinking water, electricity and poor sanitation. As a consequence they can suffer from more health problems,” said Janice Beanland, spokeswoman for Amnesty International Southeast Asia.

City Hall officials could not be reached on Sunday. Last week, however, Mann Chhoeun, the former deputy governor who was in charge of the Group 78 evictions, reiterated his earlier argument that the families had no right to the land because it was state-owned.

Saturday’s demonstration allowed families affected by various land disputes to try to raise awareness about their respective situations. About 30 of the demonstrators said they face eviction from the Boeung Kak lake area, where a controversial development project threatens to force thousands of families from their homes.

“We’re here to join together, to protect our land,” said Rous Saen, a 73 year-old Boeung Kak resident. “The pain of the Group 78 families is just like the pain of people from Boeung Kak. We are all victims.”

Cambodia's Shanty Evictions Roll On

Shanty town in Cambodia (Photo: kevincure/Flickr)

WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (OneWorld.net) - The 60 low-income families forced to abandon their homes in Phnom Penh's "Group 78" are just the latest victims in a string of mass evictions carried out by the Cambodian government in recent years, say international observers.

What's the Story?

In mid-July, security officers entered the settlement to remove the final families that had refused to accept a government compensation offer that was widely considered inadequate and did not include any access to new land -- a key necessity for low-income families. Seven families held out an extra day, but eventually left the area as government workers dismantled homes around them.

Amnesty International monitors say the Cambodian government has been harassing the families for over three years, pressuring them to leave the area that is considered valuable real estate near two key rivers.

People have been living in the riverfront area since the early 1980s and have applied for land titles several times over the last few years. But Cambodian authorities have ignored these land ownership claims while forcing families out of the area. A final eviction notice was issued to residents of the district in April 2009, an order which goes against international law prohibiting forced evictions, according to Amnesty International.

In a series of meetings following the notice, officials warned residents that their homes would be demolished by military and police forces if they did not leave. A local commission has yet to make a decision on who owns the rights to the disputed land, and the options for accommodation and compensation were characterized as "inadequate" by Amnesty International monitors.

"Group 78 was clearly cut off from due process and denied justice," said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International's Cambodia researcher. "The Municipality of Phnom Penh made no attempts to properly consult with the affected community or explore any feasible alternative to eviction." [See the full statement from Amnesty International below.]

Squeezing out the Poor in Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh's shanty towns have been a refuge over the last two decades for families who need to survive on a few dollars a day. Some people have lived in areas like Group 78 for more than 10 years, which gives them a strong legal claim to own their property, noted the BBC news service. But the government has refused to grant these families the right to the land.

"The official line is that the evictions are necessary for the development of the city," said the BBC report. But as the residents are forced out, property developers move in to build expensive apartments and shopping centers in and around Phnom Penh. By virtue of Group 78's proximity to the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers, it is considered some of the most valuable land in the capital city.

Cambodian authorities have threatened the residents of Group 78 with eviction for three years without following any of the safeguards required under international law, said Amnesty International. No land was included in the compensation offer and many of the residents -- pushed out to make room for tourists, government officials, and the wealthy -- are unsure where they will go.

The World Bank, European Union, and a number of international embassies in Phnom Penh issued a statement condemning the forced evictions, saying actions like it are "creating uncertainty for, and putting at risk the livelihoods of, thousands of poor people living in disputed urban areas."

Life After Eviction

In past cases, low-income families evicted from their land often found conditions at government-provided resettlement sites much worse than those of their old homes. In 2006, families were relocated outside of the city, far from markets or schools, and had "no running water, mains electricity or sewage," reported the BBC.

Last year, around 300 families were forcibly evicted from a rural district in southern Cambodia and their houses burned to the ground. Some of the dispossessed, who were largely poor farmers who settled on the land believing it to be vacant, spent the night in the ashes of their homes. No prior notice or eviction order was given and no court decision was made, noted Amnesty International.

In January, over 130 families were forced to leave their homes in Phnom Penh in the middle of the night, without prior notice. These evictions are proving to be a trend to make room for property developers in Cambodia's capital, and they constitute a "grave breach" of human rights, said Raquel Rolnik, a United Nations housing expert.

"Given the disastrous humanitarian situation faced by the victims of forced evictions, I urge Cambodian authorities to establish a national moratorium on evictions until their policies and actions in this regard have been brought into full conformity with international human rights obligations," pleaded Rolnik.

In 2008, Amnesty International estimated that 150,000 Cambodians were living at risk of forced eviction.

- Article compiled by David Iaconangelo.
--------
Cambodian security forces forcibly evict 60 low-income families

From: Amnesty International
7/17/09

Sixty low-income families in central Phnom Penh, Cambodia were forcibly evicted from their homes by security forces on Thursday and Friday.

The families dismantled their homes after three years of government harassment and intimidation, with no choice but to accept inadequate compensation rather than have their homes demolished.

"Amnesty International strongly condemns this forced eviction and the deeply flawed process that led to it," said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International's Cambodia researcher.

Before dawn on Friday, at least 70 security forces, some armed with guns and electronic batons, moved in and blocked off the area known as Group 78 where seven remaining families were holding out. Human rights workers and journalists were monitoring the situation. Dozens of hired workers demolished what was left of the dismantled houses. Within hours, the resisting families had agreed to leave.

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.

"Group 78 was clearly cut off from due process and denied justice. The Municipality of Phnom Penh made no attempts to properly consult with the affected community or explore any feasible alternative to eviction," said Brittis Edman. "This makes a mockery of the government's obligations to protect the right to housing."

The Municipality issued a final eviction notice to Group 78 in April 2009 and, in a series of subsequent meetings, officials, including Phnom Penh's deputy governor, warned the community that the police and military police would demolish their homes if they did not accept the compensation on offer. The community had also received information that up to 700 security forces had been mobilized for the eviction.

Group 78 residents started moving into the area on the riverfront in 1983 and have applied for formal land titles several times since 2006, but the authorities have ignored their applications in spite of official documentation proving strong ownership claims.

The final eviction order was issued by the Municipality, which has no mandate under national law to issue such a document, and without the judicial overview required under the 2001 Land Law. It was issued despite the fact that a local Commission has yet to determine who owns the disputed land. The options for alternative accommodation and compensation offered by the Municipality were inadequate.

Under international law, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (ICESCR), Cambodia is prohibited from carrying out forced evictions, and must protect people from forced evictions.

The Cambodian Government has consistently failed to guarantee the right to adequate housing and 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 repeating its calls on the government to end forced evictions and introduce a moratorium on all mass evictions until the legal framework protects human rights.

As part of its Demand Dignity campaign, launched in May 2009, Amnesty International has called on the Cambodian Government to end forced evictions and introduce a moratorium on all mass evictions until the legal framework protects human rights.

The organization also called on governments globally to take all necessary measures, including the adoption of laws and policies that comply with international human rights law, to prohibit and prevent forced evictions.

Cambodian authorities continue evictions despite numerous condemnations

Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 04/10 2008: Borei Keila families with HIV/AIDS, who were to receive social housing, had lived under an eviction threat for two years (Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)

31-07-2009
By Laurent Le Gouanvic
Ka-set

Despite repeated condemnations from civil society and international community, the list of victims of forced evictions in Cambodia has kept growing. In July, several removal operations took place in Phnom Penh. After the residents of Dey Krohom in central Phnom Penh, whose houses were smashed to dust in January, their neighbours in Group 78, located in the Tonle Bassac area, were forced to leave their homes on July 17th. Similarly, several dozen families in Borei Keila, the majority of which carry HIV/AIDS and require healthcare, were relocated in successive rounds to the outskirts of the Cambodian capital in unsatisfying conditions, according to local NGOs. Again, protests multiplied, whether from the World Bank, donor countries, international media or online networks, while authorities continue to turn a deaf ear.

Déjà-vu

A video, shot in the morning of July 17th in the area known as Group 78 in Phnom Penh, and broadcast on the website of Cambodian human rights organisation Licadho, leaves an impression of déjà-vu: the same dusk bluish light, the same noises of tearing down corrugated iron, the same images of dozens of young workers in red shirts and equipped with pickaxes and bars as during the eviction on January 24th of Dey Krohom residents. But this time, no cries or violence: most of the approximately sixty families of Group 78 resigned themselves to leave and dismantled themselves their wood and metal houses, before security forces and hired workers intervened. The previous day, according to Licadho, they had ended up accepting a compensation of 8,000 dollars, supposed to allow them to find new housing. In the morning of July 17th 2009, human rights activists who were present reported that only a few resisting families had not taken down their houses. After a few hours of negotiations, they yielded as well, for an ultimate compensation of 20,000 dollars, Licadho specified, except for one family who allegedly refused to leave until the end and therefore saw their house be torn down against their will.

Click to Read More...

"If I become rich... I will demolish the former high-ranking officers’ houses": Evicted Group 78 resident

Two Group 78 residents look on as other residents dismantle their homes Thursday in advance of Friday’s eviction. (Photo by: Christopher Shay)

Criticism of eviction mounts

Monday, 20 July 2009
The Phnnom Penh Post

Group 78 residents, rights groups accuse govt of deception, threats.

TWO days after Friday's eviction of the Group 78 community, former residents said they were struggling to rebuild their lives in their new homes, with many accusing the government of having conducted an intimidation campaign to force them from their valuable Bassac riverfront property.

"Our 12 family members are now living in a small rented room," said Sim Nhim, 60, adding that she had lived in Group 78 for more than 25 years. "We have no choice but to live here because [the government] demolished our homes."

She said she believed none of the residents had wanted to leave Group 78 but that the threat of an overwhelming police presence on eviction day "intimidated people into tearing down their own homes".

"We have empty hands, so we could not resist the authorities," she said.

Kheng Soroth, another former resident, said Sunday that City Hall had duped him into leaving his large house in Group 78 and that his family had been forced to take shelter in a squalid rental apartment.

"It is difficult for me to survive now because I have no money to buy a house," he said.

At dawn on Friday, police in riot gear marched into what remained of Group 78, a community that once held more than 80 families. A convoy of trucks carrying scores of demolition workers rolled in close behind them.

By Friday afternoon, the four holdout families had left, and workers in matching red T-shirts had finished dismantling Group 78, leaving only a few wooden poles poking out of the mud.

Phnom Penh Deputy Governor Mann Chhoeun has said that municipal officials want to develop the Bassac riverfront site to make it more attractive to tourists. But many residents said they had occupied their land since the 1980s, which, if true, would allow them to apply to become the legal owners of their respective plots.

In stark contrast to claims from residents, Mann Chhoeun said Friday that all Group 78 residents had agreed to let the government tear their homes down.

"Today, we evicted people without violence, because all the residents agreed to have their houses torn down," he said, adding that City Hall would give books, food and gifts to the families.

Though the eviction was nonviolent, residents and observers said the government's previous verbal threats combined with Friday's show of armed force intimidated the residents into leaving their homes and prevented last-minute negotiations from taking place.

Compensation questions

According to an independent property valuation conducted by Bonna Realty Group, the 260-metre-by-45-metre plot of land next to the Australian Embassy is worth more than US$15 million, or about $1,300 per square metre.

On Friday morning, the six families who had previously refused to accept government compensation met with Mann Chhoeun and discussed potential packages. While their community was being torn down, the families agreed to accept government money, though one family told the Post that City Hall tricked them into leaving their home.

Three families will receive $20,000, while two families agreed to accept $9,000, said resident Kheng Soroth.

But Kheng Soroth said City Hall reneged on an agreement made with his family. He said Mann Chhoeun promised his family $20,000 during the negotiations. After the home was demolished, however, he was told he would get only $8,000, which he said Sunday he expects he will never receive.

Resident Hem Many said she hoped one day to get back at municipal officials responsible for the destruction of her home.

"In the future, if I become rich or a high-ranking officer, I will demolish the former high-ranking officers' houses so they will know how it feels when they meet that situation," she said.

Local NGOs and international rights organisations strongly condemned the Group 78 eviction, while embassies and donors released a joint statement Thursday night calling for a moratorium on evictions until a better mechanism for resolving land disputes is put in place.

The statement - from six embassies and five international organisations - did not call any of Phnom Penh's previous land evictions illegal, nor did it mention Group 78 specifically. It did say that Cambodia's policies and practices "do not make effective use of the procedures and institutions allowed for in Cambodian law".

The group's choice to release the statement right as the community's houses were being dismantled and its refusal to condemn the Cambodian government in harsher terms were criticised by some civil society groups.

Dan Nicholson, a coordinator at the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), said the statement was "completely irrelevant" for Group 78. David Pred, director of Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia, said the statement would "ring hollow" if it was not "backed up by real consequences".

Others said they approved of the statement, and Naly Pilorge, director of the rights group Licadho, said she hoped it would be "the basis for discussions with government and relevant government institutions to put in place mechanisms to resolve land disputes and procedures to relocate people".

Cambodian community 'Group 78' loses eviction battle

July 17, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

In Cambodia, six embassies and five major international organisations have jointly called for a stop to forced evictions, as hundreds of riot police gather around a disputed community in central Phnom Penh.

The statement calls on the Cambodian government to set up a "fair and transparent mechanism for resolving disputes" and develop a policy for resettlement of families who are evicted. The latest case involves a community known as 'Group 78' - whose homes are situated next to the Australian Embassy in the capital. Local authorities have given various reasons for wanting them out and have issued a final eviction notice.

Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers: Daniel King, legal advisor to the Community Legal Education Center

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

KING: The latest news is that approximately 100 military police and 150 community breakers, people who are employed with axes and various other implements to break down the houses of the community have come to evict the final seven families. These are the final families standing out of a community that once stood at 146 families five years ago. And we're now down to the last seven, who have sat through the night, knowing that this force was going to meet them in the morning.

LAM: Tell us more about these seven families? Are they quite distressed?

KING: It's not the Cambodian way to show distress externally. Life has continued almost normally, despite this threat of basically the apparatus of the state being used against them. And last night, they cooked us dinner, and they have shown us great hospitality in the face of the fact that they are going to lose their homes in the morning.

LAM: And give us a bit more about their socio-economic backgrounds, are they battlers, or are they reasonably well off?

KING: This community in the Cambodian context, they are professionals. They work for the Cambodian government, they're teachers, they are market vendors and they have been peacefully living on their land for almost 20 years now. Under Khmer law, they have very strong legal rights, which simply have not been recognised by any Cambodian authority and that fact was finally recognised by the international community late last night, albeit to late to save the community.

LAM: Daniel, I understand that they are given 8,0000 US dollars in compensation. To your mind, is that fair, for the land?

KING: The approach that the municipality has taken is not equitable. The $8,000 does not take into account the fact that each family has many different family member sizes. It also doesn't take into account the fact that each family has different land entitlements. It is also in complete contravention with Cambodian law, which basically (says) the community is entitled to apply for land titles and this would entitle them to market value of their land. It should be noted that an independent land appraisal in March of this year, valued this site at just over 15 million dollars, so someone is making a lot of money somewhere along the line.

LAM: So who is driving these forced evictions, are they local authorities or are being driven behind the scenes by a huge foreign developers?

KING: This particular development and many of the urban developments are private developers, who have the assistance of the Phnom Penh municipality and those higher in the government, to effectively force these communities out, using state resources.

LAM: And just briefly, Daniel, how hard will it be for these families to relocate?

KING: Well, these families were either given an option to accept the $8,000 which will not enable them to buy a house in Phnom Penh. They will have to move very far away from their employment opportunities or they were given a plot of land which is lacking in basic services. One of the other relocation sites was said to not even meet the basic humanitarian standards of a refugee camp.

Final days at Group 78

Tuesday, 02 June 2009
Written by Sovann Philong
The Phnom Penh Post

A boy sits next to his family's possessions Monday at Group 78 as they prepare to leave their home to make way for road construction. Many families in the community claim title to the land but have been living under threat of eviction for years. City Hall says the houses are build on state public land. Many other communities in the area, including Dey Krahorm and Sambok Chab, were evicted as land prices in the area soared. (Photo by: SOVANN PHILONG)

Group 78 injunction rejected

Community representative Lim Sambo (second from right) collects documents ahead of Monday's hearing. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Written by Chrann Chamroeun
The Phnom Penh Post

PHNOM Penh Municipal Court Monday rejected an injunction request filed by residents of Group 78 against their eviction in another blow to the tiny community situated on a strip of land along the Tonle Bassac river that is slated for development.

"Our injunction was rejected on the grounds that the court has no jurisdiction to intervene to prohibit City Hall's order, as well as deny the public benefits served by the construction of a road on land where [Group 78 members] are living illegally," said a lawyer for the residents, Yin Savath.

He added that community members intended to appeal the decision, as they had sufficient evidence to prove that the land belongs to them.

"We will file an appeal to halt construction activity until a final resolution is reached, as it has yet to be [ruled upon] whether either City Hall or the 70 households have legal ownership of the land," he said.

Yin Savath and two other lawyers appeared in court with four community representatives, none of whom were called upon by Judge Duch Kimsean to testify, Yin Savath said, adding that he was disappointed the community was not able to give its side of the story in court.

In an eviction letter dated April 20, Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema told residents they were living on land that belonged to the city and a local developer.

The community was given 15 days to vacate the land and accept a government compensation package.

But the National Assembly's Committee on Human Rights issued an order to Kep Chuktema on May 5 to conduct an official investigation into the dispute, following a request by Group 78 members to overturn the eviction notice.

A report from the inquiry has yet to be drafted, Yin Savath said.

Forced evictions contravene human rights standards, UN expert tells Cambodia [... but Hun Sen couldn't care less]

Raquel Rolnik, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing

Source: UN News Centre

6 May 2009 – An independent United Nations human rights expert today expressed her extreme concern about the threatened eviction of nearly 100 families in Phnom Penh, and called on the Cambodian authorities to halt this practice pending a review of current policies.

Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, said she has observed “an increase in forced evictions through Cambodia accompanied by a systematic lack of due process” since she took up her post one year ago.

In a statement issued today, she said she has reminded the Cambodian authorities that “the pattern of evictions, affecting many of the poor, in the country – and the apparent lack of due process in that regard – suggests they may be tolerating, or even perpetrating, the forced evictions prohibited by international human rights standards.”

“Forced evictions constitute a grave breach of human rights. Large-scale evictions can only be carried out in exceptional circumstances and with full respect for the due process requirements set by international human rights standards,” she stated.

Ms. Rolnik expressed alarm in particular about the possible imminent eviction of the “Group 78” residents – between 66 to 86 families residing in Tonle Basak commune, in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon district, who have been involved in a legal battle since 2004 over ownership of their land.

They “seem to have a strong case in claiming authorities should recognize their possession rights to the land being disputed and demanding just and fair compensation for the possible loss of their land,” said the Special Rapporteur.

She urged the competent authorities not to implement the “administrative measures” (which in the past have lead to forced evictions) threatened in the last notice transmitted to Group 78 residents, stressing that they are entitled to have full legal review of their ownership claims in accordance with Cambodian legislation.

“It is only on the basis of this review that negotiations must take place with the affected community, to ensure fair compensation and adequate alternatives if their relocation is necessary,” she stated.

Ms. Rolnik reiterated her call for a moratorium on all group evictions in Cambodia, especially when residents have pursued claims before administrative or judicial bodies, until the policies and actions of the authorities can be brought fully into line with international human rights obligations.

Like all UN Special Rapporteurs, Ms. Rolnik reports to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity.

Cambodia's poor fight for their homes

Despite 'good' law to protect needy landowners, developers gain increasing amounts of property

May 06, 2009
Olivia Ward
FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER
Toronto Star (Ontario, Canada)

In a rundown enclave of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, hundreds of poor people can't sleep at night. They're afraid to go to work in the morning for fear their homes will be gone when they return.

Today the clock has run out for the community of 150 families, slated to become the latest victims of clearance projects that have rolled across Cambodia since its land became a prize for developers.

The 26-year-old community is to be evacuated, according to a notice from the municipality dated yesterday. Although residents are appealing, they have seen the dire results of other forced eviction orders, which human rights groups say are contrary to Cambodian law.

A recent clearance in the community of Dey Krahorm left the majority of families homeless after some 250 police and contractors for the company claiming to own the land arrived in the early hours, drove out the residents with threats and tear gas and levelled the village.

Now the Phnom Penh community – known as Group 78 – is facing a similar fate.

"The authorities have offered them compensation of $5,000 (U.S.) and a plot of land, without shelters, 20 kilometres outside the city where there are very limited job opportunities," said Brittis Edman, Amnesty International's Cambodia researcher, who is monitoring the eviction site.

"There is no clean water supply, no electricity or sanitation," she said in an email to the Star, adding the residents turned down the offer – "to travel to the city from their current work places would cost them more than their expected daily earnings."

Human rights groups say the community has a strong claim to ownership under a 2001 land law passed after genocide and civil war left many Cambodians landless. The Khmer Rouge destroyed public documents, so few had papers to prove ownership. But in 2003, the government brought in a "social land concession plan" to give the poor more secure land tenure.

In spite of fines and jail terms for those who violate the land laws, developers have managed to take over increasing amounts of farm and urban land. In some cases they have made deals with corrupt community leaders to seize the land, pushing the residents out to remote areas without shelter or transportation.

"Cambodia's land law is good," said Mekh Sokhan of the NGO Forum on Cambodia in the newsletter of the Danish charity DanChurchAid. "But the law is not implemented by the authorities."

In Phnom Penh, highrises have sprung up in the last five years with hotels, condos and restaurants sprouting from the once devastated landscape. Prices have doubled, and in spite of the economic meltdown, the wealthy continue to boost the real estate market.

Residents brace for evictions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

City's eviction deadline for Group 78 arrives

Group 78 resident Hnueng, a coconut seller, and her daughter outside their house on Monday. Residents are facing forced eviction at the hands of the Phnom Penh Municipality, which says they are living on a public road. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)
The Group 78 community in Tonle Bassac commune could face eviction beginning Tuesday. (Photo by: HENG CHIVOAN)

Tuesday, 05 May 2009
Written by May Titthara and Sebastian Stragio
The Phnom Penh Post

But May 5 deadline brings determination to remain at the site.

AHEAD of their May 5 eviction deadline, residents at the city's besieged Group 78 community say they are worried about an impending forced eviction but remain confident of their legal rights to the strip of land in Tonle Bassac commune.

"I am a little bit worried about the situation in the area after tomorrow's deadline because I heard City Hall will kick me out to the outskirts of the city," said resident Lim Likean, 64.

An eviction letter signed by Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema on April 20 said the 70 families were living on a public road and on land owned by Sour Srun Enterprises, a local developer, giving residents 15 days to accept compensation and vacate their properties.

After this time, it said authorities would take unspecified "administrative measures", and that City Hall would bear no responsibility for any property lost.

Community representative Lim Sambo said he was also worried but was "depending on the law" to solve the dispute peacefully.

"Tomorrow if the authorities come to enforce their eviction letter ... I will not fight back. I will go out from my house with empty hands because I don't want to have an argument," he said.

He added that commune officials had set up a table at the site Monday, encouraging people to sign forms accepting the municipality's compensation package. City Hall has offered residents US$5,000 cash and a 5-metre-by-12-metre plot of land in the city's Dangkor district in exchange for moving out ahead of Tuesday's deadline.

Scared of expulsion

Lim Sambo said nine out of the community's 70 families had taken the cash and land package out of fear they will meet a similar fate to the nearby Dey Krahorm community, forcibly evicted in January. But other residents said they would ignore compensation offers and hold out to the end.

"I WILL GO OUT FROM MY HOUSE WITH EMPTY HANDS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT [TO ARGUE]."

"I will not move out or accept City Hall's compensation because the eviction letter said all residents living on Sour Srun's land and the public road must move out in 15 days, but they did not mention the residents in Group 78. So it doesn't concern us," said Lim Likean.

On Wednesday, the community's lawyers filed a complaint at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court requesting a delay of the eviction deadline.

But Sourng Sophea, a lawyer at the Community Legal Education Centre, said all involved parties had been summoned to court May 18, leaving Group 78 families open to eviction in the meantime.

"We asked the court to postpone the eviction, but [they] said they had no time to look at the case. We are very worried about [an eviction] because the court's procedures are very slow," he said.

Fiona Cochaud, first secretary of the Australian embassy, said she was aware of the plight of the community, which sits next door to the country's new embassy compound, but said it was "not appropriate" for the Australian government to comment on specific land dispute cases.

But she said the embassy had "encouraged local authorities and citizens to work together to find mutually acceptable, equitable ways to resolve issues relating to land disputes".

Tonle Bassac commune Chief Khat Narith said he would "comply with City Hall's orders" but that he did not know what would happen after Tuesday's deadline.

Mann Chhoeun, the deputy governor, could not be reached for comment Monday, but according to municipal timetables, he is to chair a meeting of the Urban Poor Development Fund at 8am today.

At the meeting, the fund is scheduled to procure 50 million riels (US$12,124) from Sour Srun Enterprises to help shift residents from Group 78 to the relocation site at Dangkor district's Trapaing Anhchanh village.

Women evictees join hands

Ex-residents of the former Dey Krahorm community gather at the central Phnom Penh site on Sunday. (Photo by: SAM RITH)

Monday, 09 March 2009
Written by Sam Rith The Phnom Penh Post

Evictees from around Cambodia assemble at Dey Krahorm community on International Women’s Day to address land rights of women and children
MORE than 100 people evicted from Phnom Penh's Dey Krahorm community and others who are facing eviction elsewhere gathered with provincial land activists and NGO workers Sunday to celebrate International Women's Day.

The ceremony was held near the site of a "sacred ... Banyan tree" at Dey Krahorm where villagers once prayed and made offering to the gods before the tree was knocked down during the eviction. On Sunday, balloons were released to draw attention to the plight of the women and children victims of land-grabbing.

Naly Pilorge, director of rights group Licadho, said it was a symbolic day to consider the union between all women who fight for their rights.

"Today is an example that, whatever you do, it's all interlinked, whether you work on human rights, unions, land rights...we are all affected by the lack of implementation of law, and all have the ability to assemble to express our concern."

"[Evictions] are very serious. We've been getting calls from [people] in Phnom Penh and the provinces almost daily about people being threatened with eviction or evicted," she added.

"Sadly, there is nothing special about this day for many cambodian women..."

Orn Channa, one of the evicted Dey Krahorm villagers, told the Post that her family found it difficult to live at the relocation site, Damnak Trayeung, as there were no schools available for her two children to continue their education and no water, electricity, health care centres or employment opportunities.

"It is very difficult to live there," she said. "[Developer 7NG] transported us to live in the rice fields where there is nothing," she added.

She said her husband had become a motorbike taxi driver but did not earn enough money for her children's transportation costs to school in Phnom Penh. She said that per day, these costs were around 20,000 riel.

Long Khom, 45, another former Dey Krahorm villager, said her family's living standards had also significantly worsened after moving to the new site. She told the Post she had nothing left, not even a mosquito net, as all of her assets were destroyed by 7NG workers during the eviction.

"Sadly, there is nothing special about this day [International Women's Day] for many Cambodian women ... because they have been evicted from their homes or are living in fear of eviction. It is just another day of hardship and suffering," said Licadho President Kek Galabru, in a press release issued Sunday.

Orn Chhanna called on the United Nations to help preserve the rights of evicted villagers.

"I would like organisations ... to help people who are evicted from communities such as Dey Krahorm to have better lives," she said.

Lim Sambo, a representative of neighbouring Group 78 community, which lives under threat of eviction, said he and others on the land welcomed any government proposal for development, but insisted that fair compensation is given to those who are impacted.

"We need negotiation, not violent evicting ... the government must offer proper compensation to people before handing out any plot of land to a private company.... The government must also have its own reserved budget to offer affected people," he said.

Sy Define, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Women's Affairs, acknowledged that moving people far away from the city affected women and children who needed to travel to the city. However, she said the government will help build schools near relocation sites.

Riverbank [Group 78] Residents Fear Impending Eviction

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
27 February 2009

Sitting in front of his wooden house in Group 78 on the Tonle Bassac riverbank, Lem Sombo looks for new faces, in case a human rights official or a journalist comes to ask about the potential eviction of his community.

The 54-year-old coconut vendor said he ignores his business these days, as he is focusing on how to protect his community from a very likely eviction in a dispute with a local company.

“We don’t feel like we want to earn our living at present, as we fear that our houses can be smashed down at any time,” said the father of four children. “I myself stopped my business to find ways to make sure we would be appropriately compensated for our property.”

The Group 78 community, located near the National Assembly and the Naga World Casino, houses 146 families on 1,170 square metres. The residents have been a subject of eviction by the authorities since 2006.

The municipality has claimed that these people are living illegally on a private plot of land belonging to Sour Srun Enterprise, Co., Ltd.

Mann Chheoun, deputy governor of Phnom Penh, addressed the community on his visit there last week, saying the municipality had no role to move people out of their homes, but was acting as an intermediary.

“The company owns the land and wants to file complaints against the people for illegally living on its property, but the municipality asks it not to do so,” he said. “We asked the company to take on a win-win solution.”

Each family is given by the municipality a 5-meter-by-12-meter plot of land, together with $1,000 as a compensation, for their leaving their homes.

However, Khuy Chhom, the brother of Sour Srun’s president, Sour Pheng, who is in charge of dealing with the issue, told VOA recently that the company has had nothing to do with the Group 78 community, and already granted the disputed land to the municipality in 2007.

An appraisal letter issued by the municipality to the Sour Srun company, dated Nov. 30, 2007, and signed by Phnom Penh Municipality Governor Kep Chuktema, says the company granted the municipality 13,341 square meters of land to build two lanes of road in the developed riverbank area, one of which runs across the Group 78 community.

Kep Chutkema has just said it may not be the time to think about the eviction yet.

“Probably, the city has to solve the problem, but I have not thought of the problem,” he said.

So far, approximately 60 families have voluntarily agreed to accept the offer for fear of getting nothing if they refuse. Among them, more than 10 families resettled on a plot of land provided in Trapeng Angchhagn village, Trapeng Krosaing commune, Dongkor district, more than 20 kilometers away from the city center.

The new location has no sewage system. Inadequate water and electricity supply is also a problem for the resettlers, although a new primary school, a health center and a makeshift market can be seen in the area.

Living in fear of eviction by Cambodia's kleptocratic elite: Group 78

Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 05/02/2009: Children playing next to development program advertisement during a press conference held by the inhabitants of Group 78, living in fear over the threat of eviction. (Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)

Forced evictions: Group 78 families neighbouring Dey Krohom live in fear

05-02-2009
By Ros Dina
Ka-set in English
This article is also available in French and Khmer

Who’s next? After the violent Dey Krohom eviction which occurred on January 24th, several communities in Phnom Penh fear they might be the next victims of this type of operation. It is notably the case of 88 families living in a plot known as Group 78, located in the Tonle Bassac quarter, less than a hundred yards from the Dey Krohom area. The families held a press conference on Thursday January 5th as they themselves live under the threat of eviction and are concerned that they might suffer the same fate as their neighbours.

The representative for these families insisted on showing journalists different administrative documents, approved by the local authorities and allowing them to assert their rights on those pieces of land.

He also brandished a letter signed by National Assembly president Heng Samrin , dated October 8th 2008 and addressed to Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema, asking the latter to follow up the complaint issued by inhabitants of Group 78, who claimed title deeds in due form. The municipality never replied to the request and argued that the papers provided were not valid, according to the representative of Group 78 families.

However, the latter does not intend to give up and repeated his request to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Land Management and the Ministry of Justice for them to intervene on that case and urge the municipal authorities to meet the expectations of those families.

“One must not accuse the population of Group 78 of occupying that land in an unlawful or illegal way. We all have papers and we are indeed the owners of these land plots even if we do not have official title deeds yet”, the representative pointed out.

Put off by the tragic fate experienced by their neighbours in Dey Krohom, residents of Group 78 fear today that the authorities might use any excuse to accuse families of acting illegally, and thus resort to force against them. “Here, we are even scared of using some paint... If they see that, they will come and destroy everything. What we demand is a right to housing. We are not looking for disputes. But with what happened in other places, we are so scared of being accused of such or such thing, and then that these accusations might be used as excuses to use violence against us”, he said.

Since 2006, after they received an eviction order from the Chamkarmon area, residents of Group 78 have been trying to obtain help in order to assert their right to live on these plots of land. To date, the Phnom Penh municipality has not addressed their claims.

Students send worldwide message

December 12nd 2008
Martine Chenier, Colonel By
EastOttawa.ca (Canada)

Colonel By’s Amnesty International group has raised the bar in hopes of raising awareness, support and funds for global issues. On Dec. 10, the program is joining many other Amnesty groups across the country to celebrate Human Rights Day in the Write for Rights campaign.
The members will join together to collect signatures to help persuade the Canadian government to aid other countries, and some times our own, in the resolution of world issues.

There will be letters available to protest the forced evictions in Cambodia after officials are threatening to force approximately 150 families from their homes and the land in the centre of the city of Phnom Penh, more commonly known as Group 78, and move them in Andong. Most of those are underprivileged street vendors, teachers and junior civil servants. There are also others demanding justice and the safety of a human rights defender and her family in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and to support Iranians protesting for the equality of women, to name a few.

The group took over the school’s atrium at lunch hour with all the required information and supplies in order to help the cause.

“We’re going to have tables where people can either sign a pre-written letter or write their own letter, as well as an information table, and a bake sale,” states one of Colonel By’s Amnesty International programs leaders, Amar Nijhawan. “The letters will be sent to the appropriate government representatives, depending on the letter-writing case we choose.”

Amnesty International will also be holding a few other events in order to inform Colonel By’s students about the issues around the world.

“We have also talked about having a buy-in with guest speakers and a documentary in late March,” continues Amar about the future goals of the program.