07 December 2007KI-Media
On Thursday, accompanied only by a translator and an assistant, Prof. Yash Ghai, UN Special Envoy on Human Rights, made a surprise visit to Dey Kraham and Group 78 villages, where the villagers are facing imminent threat of eviction. During his meeting with representatives of the villagers, Prof. Ghai was provided by the villagers with copies of their land titles to show their rightful ownership of these lands. The villagers in Group 78 informed him that the market value of their lands would amount to almost $58 million, but, they were ordered to move to a remote area in Dangkao district instead without proper compensation for their loss. A representative of the Dey Kraham village, where the 7NG company allegedly attempted to provoke the villagers by bringing in a bulldozer on Monday, said: “Ghai’s presence … means that our problem is also the UN’s problem,” The Cambodia Daily quoted. Currently, some of the villagers in Dey Kraham are fearing for their life, following Monday’s confrontation with the 7NG company, some claimed that they have started to sell their property to move out and some went into hiding. The chairman of the 7NG company expressed his pleasure to see Prof. Ghai visiting the area, so that he can understand the slum-like condition in which the villagers are living. The Cambodia Daily quoted the 7NG chairman as saying: “It is a kindness by us (7NG) that we want to buy houses from them (villagers).” Prof. Ghai did not provide any comments during his visit, except to say that he needed time to study further into this issue based on the title documents he was given.
