Land Dispute Families to Lobby Hun Sen [-Chum Burong: "The best way for them is to stay at home..." -sic!-]

By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 June 2008

More than 100 people arrived at Adhoc's Phnom Penh headquarters Thursday, seeking redress from Prime Minister Hun Sen in land disputes.

The families, from Koh Kong, Battambang, Oddar Meanchey and Siem Reap provinces, as well as Phnom Penh, plan to sit in front of Hun Sen's house Friday.

"I tried to get resolution from the authorities, even those I go to the National Authority of Land Dispute Resolution, the office of Sok An, and provincial authorities, but no result, and now we think about Hun Sen's help," said Khem Rann, a representative from Sna Sang Kream village, in Siem Reap province.

Khem Rann said 88 families lost 254 hectares of land allegedly taken by a former adviser to Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

The villagers at Adhoc traveled with thumb-printed documentation of land ownership, and some of them brought their own rice for the trip.

"We represent 65 families who lost 2,460 hectares to an oknha. We want to meet Samdech Hun Sen because we think he is the only one who can resolve our problem, which we've met with for two years," said An Haya, a representative from Koh Kong province.

Phnom Penh resident Lim Ly Kien, from Village 78, said he'd been in front of Hun Sen's house six times, but received only promises. He cannot live in safety in the village, he said, so he'd joined the provincial representatives.

"It shows there's been no resolution from local authorities; that's why these people came to try to meet Hun Sen, because they think Hun Sen can help them," said Chan Saveth, an investigator for Adhoc.

"If the problem of land grabbing continues, there will be a serious problem for the current government and the next government, and people will not live in security," he warned.

Adhoc estimates these families have lost about 6,000 hectares of land.

Chum Bunrong, spokesman for the National Authority for the Resolution of Land Disputes, said the arrival of these villagers did not mean the authority cannot resolve their problems, but they came because they think they will get some gift from Hun Sen, and they were incited for political means.

"The best way for them is to stay at home and try to go from step to step, district and province, for resolution," he said.

NARLD spokesman finally admits that Cambodia faces land-grabbing problems - Haleluia!!!

Land eviction in Spean Chhes, Sihanoukville (Photo: Licadho)

Land Authority Working Disputes: Spokesman

By Poch Reasey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
11 April 2008

A spokesman for the National Land Dispute Authority of the Council of Ministers, Chum Bunrong, admitted Thursday that Cambodia faces land grabbing problems, but said the government was working to solve them.

The government has offices to deal with land disputes at three levels: district, provincial, and national, said Chum Bunrong, as a guest on "Hello VOA."

He urged rights groups to discuss land issues with local officials before speaking out to the press.

"NGO and rights workers in the provinces can express their opinions at the district level, they have that right," Chum Bunrong said. "They shouldn't go straight to various radio stations and create problems. If you discuss it, you may decide that some parcels should be sold, some belong to the government, and so on. It can be solved."

The Land Dispute Authority was formed in 2006 to deal with increasing land disputes.

Since its creation, the authority has taken back more than 225,000 hectares of land from violators across Cambodia, Chum Bunrong said.

Those involved in land disputes can call the Land Dispute Authority for more information and updates on resolution, he said.

Hun Sen: Don’t accuse the opposition of instigating land disputes

Thursday, March 27, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Prime minister Hun Sen warned about eliminating the National Authority for the Resolution of Land Disputes (NARLD) if this organization cannot resolve land disputes, and he also told the NARLD not to accuse the opposition party of instigating these land disputes. In a speech given at the closing meeting of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, on Wednesday, Hun Sen reminded Sok An, the vice prime minister and NARLD president, not too be so sluggish in resolving these disputes. Hun Sen said that he is very fed up and don’t want to use some officials anymore because they lie too much. Hun Sen added: “For the same piece of lands, there are 2-3-4 title owners, therefore, the signing (of ownership papers by government officials) should stop and the accusation that the opposition party is instigating these issues (is not true), in fact you, the government officials, are the ones who instigated these cases. To tell you the truth, you are the ones who committed the mistakes, that’s why these issues occur.” Hun Sen also added: “In return, the opposition should not accuse the CPP of buying the defectors, this is not true, because if you are strong, no one would defect over, and for us (CPP), it’s the same way, if we are strong, they (opposition) would not protest against us, but we are at fault.”

While the NARLD claims that 1/3 of the land dispute cases were resolved, land protests still abound in the country

Donning CPP logos and brandishing Hun Sen and Bun Rany Hun Sen's pictures did not help these land dispute protesters (Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

Only 1/3 of the land dispute cases resolved

03 January 2008
By Huy Vannak Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

On Tuesday, officials from the National Authority for the Resolution of Land Disputes (NARLD), indicated that about 1/3 of the land dispute – one of the acute problems faced by Cambodia – cases were resolved by the NARLD, among a total number of 1,500 cases received by this government agency.

Chum Bun Rong, NARLD spokesman, told RFA that: “There are still 2/3 of the cases that are in the process of a resolution, and they must be completed. If the NARLD cannot resolve these cases, we will push for a resolution for the people.”

Chum Bun Rong added that, up to now, the NARLD confiscated back about 200,000-hectare of lands which were illegally grabbed in a number of provinces, such as Kampot, Kampong Speu, Banteay Meanchey, Preah Vihear and Stung Treng, for example.

Regarding the increasing number of land dispute protests which are taking place currently, Chum Bun Rong said: “The incidents which take place once here, once there, under the form of demonstrations and banner raisings, I am saying that they are not actual land disputes, they are merely theatrical set up to cause social unrest. If they were true land disputes, nobody can sleep tight at night.”

Nevertheless, Mrs. Chuon Chamrong, an Adhoc human rights organization official, in charge of land disputes, declared that protests on land disputes are taking place one after another, both in Phnom Penh city and in various provinces. These protests stem from the lack of a resolution and the inefficiency of the justice system and the land management ministry.

Mrs. Chuon Chamrong also said that some of the cases in the current land disputes in Cambodia were caused by the authority itself: “Complicated problems still remain, there are protests nonstop because these problems are not resolved. Sometimes, we observe that these institutions which are supposed to provide a resolution to these issues, lack the power to resolve, it looks like there is a concentration of power (but not in these institutions), and the people no longer trust the institutions which are supposed to resolve all these disputes.”

Land disputes are of concern to Prof. Yash Ghai, the UN Special Envoy on Human Rights in Cambodia. He said that they seriously impede the freedom rights and the livelihood of Cambodian people, he also demanded for a strengthening of an efficient resolution mechanism, in order to avoid a land revolution.

Gov't Efforts on Land Theft Weak, Parliamentarian Says

Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
27 August 2007

The government has so far done a poor job handling the growing land theft crisis, despite promises from Prime Minister Hun Sen and others to curb the practice, Eng Chhay Eang, a lawmaker for the Sam Rainsy Party and a member of the government's top land authority, said Monday.

Years of civil war and neglect have led to confusion of land ownership, while the poor and disempowered are routinely kicked off land to make room for development.

It is the government's responsibility to manage this crisis, but so far they have not done so, Eng Chhay Eang said, as guest on "Hello VOA."

Local authorities often collude with land thieves, at worst, and are unable to help victims, at best, forcing people to take their complaints to the prime minister or the National Assembly.

But legal owners can find recourse, Eng Chhay Eang said.

The land authority has seized about 200,000 hectares of illegally held lands, and has encouraged people to come forward with legal claims. So far, about 60,000 hectares have been returned to the legal owners. The remainder will be kept by the government until the proper owners come forward.

This is the best the government can do so far. Broader change, Eng Chhay Eang said, will have to come from next year's national elections.

SRP Could pull out from the National Authority for the Resolution of Land Disputes

Close to 20,000 people are affected by the hand over of the Boeng Kak Lake zone to a private company (Photo: PS, Cambodge Soir)

Friday, March 9, 2007

By Kong Sothanarith
Cambodge Soir
Translated from French by Tola Ek

The SRP is considering the possibility of pulling itself out of the National Authority for the Resolution of Land Disputes (NARLD) if the “government chases out Boeng Kak Lake residents,” Sam Rainsy, to whom the Boeng Kak lake affair is emblematic, said on Thursday.

While the prime minister just receives the mandate from the CPP central committee to resolve land disputes, in particular those involving CPP party members, the SRP is considering the possibility of pulling itself out of the NARLD. “If the government chases out Boeng Kak lake residents, or if it continues to grab lands belonging to the citizens to give them to businessmen, and if it does not take into consideration our propositions for a better distribution of lands, then for sure we will pull ourselves out of the NARLD,” Sam Rainsy said on Thursday.

Since the announce was made on 06 Feb to hand over the Boeng Kak Lake zone to a private company, the SRP lent its support to the residents of the area. On Friday, SRP MP Son Chhay plans to lead a delegation of the lake residents in an attempt to meet with Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema, from whom the residents want to obtain explanations on this transaction affecting 4,200 families, i.e. close to 20,000 residents. For the opposition, this affair is emblematic. “It is not normal that they throw out so many people at once,” Sam Rainsy noted.

The NARLD, which was represented by all political parties seated at the National Assembly, was formed under the premise that it will be a new form of establishing dialogue between all concerned parties to resolve fundamental land issues in the country.

Three weeks away from the commune election, this consensual approach has failed. By designating Hun Sen as its chief in the “war” against land-grabbers, the CPP wants to show that it considers land disputes as one of its priorities and that it would not hesitate to clean up within its own rank and file. The SRP sees this as nothing more than an election campaign maneuver. “It is not to look for scapegoats. There are thousands of people who grabbed lands belonging to the poor. To resolve land disputes in a systematic way, we must fight against corruption,” Sam Rainsy explained.