Work on mosque road halted
Work has temporarily halted on a road traversing the Boeung Kak mosque after scores of angry worshippers on Friday tore down a temporary metal fence erected at the site.
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Work has temporarily halted on a road traversing the Boeung Kak mosque after scores of angry worshippers on Friday tore down a temporary metal fence erected at the site.
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In the aftermath of the arrest of Mr. Tep Vanny on 15 August 2016, Boeung Kak and Borey Keyla communities decided to gather in front of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights this morning, in the hope of handing their petitions to the UN Special Rapporteur, Ms. Rhona Smith, to convene in Tep Vanny’s detention and to find solutions to their long-neglected housing and land disputes.
Although the community victims did not meet Ms. Rhona Smith, while she was having scheduled meeting with other institutions, the petitions ultimately reached the UN spokesperson, along with an explanation from the spokesperson that Ms. Rhona Smith had already addressed the arrests of human rights activists with Prime Minister Hun Sen and Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong during their meetings. However, the Premier seemed to have no interest in talking about the human rights activists in Cambodia.
Around fifty people made a request to the OHCHR with a firm belief that Ms. Rhona Smith will be able to improve human rights situation in Cambodia by her important role as a broker between the government and the victims. In addition to that, the community also sent a message to Prime Minister Hun Sen, reiterating that arresting his own people would not be a smart instrument to his political supports as the national election was approaching. Likewise, using the stick rather than the carrot should be not utilized while Cambodia is facing social injustice from which the people are suffering.
Source: phnompenhpost.com
Cambodia’s rampant land grabs have had a devastating impact on the psychological health of women and have led to a sharp increase in the rates of domestic violence they suffer, according to a new report.
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Beoung Kak community activists gathered on Monday this morning to conduct press conference demanding for resolution for their land issues and intervention to release Mrs. Tep Vanny and 4 ADHOC staffers, and one NEC official, who have been in pre-trial detention for months.
Mrs. Tep Vanny and Mrs. Bov Sophea were arrested in the evening of August 17 while they were running Black Monday campaign in their community to demand for the release of four human rights defenders of ADHOC and NEC official.
On 22 August, Phnom Penh Municipal court decided against Mrs. Bov Sophea and Mrs. Tep Vanny. Both were charged with insulting public officials which resulted in 6 days imprisonment Mrs. Bov Sophea was released later that day, while Mrs Tep Vanny has not been still put in pre-trial detention regarding the protest outside the house of Prime Minister Hun Sen since 2013.
Beoung Kak community members organized protests for past 15 weeks, as part of Black Monday campaign in order to demand for the release of human right defenders and NEC official, who were arrested on May 2, in the case of Khom Chandaraty called Srey Mom who has been penetrated that had an affair with opposition leader Kem Sokha.
This week Phnom Penh saw two significant activities in support of the 18 land rights activists currently detained by the government.
On Tuesday December 23, over 200 community members, Buddhist monks and CSOs rallied in front of Phnom Penh’s Municipal Court to support and demand for the release of Venerable Keo Somaly. Supporters gathered as the monk was being questioned by prosecutors on allegations of physical violence against another monk, however, Venerable Keo Somaly deny these claims. He is member of the Independent Monk Network for Social Justice, which is a group that regularly leads anti-government protests over human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by the government. The monk has been heavily involved in land rights activities and demonstrations. More recently, Venerable Keo Somaly was one of the monks who led peace marchers in the 2014 International Human Rights Day celebrations.
On the following day, Wednesday December 24, over 100 supporters and community members from Boeung Kak, Borey Keila and Lor Peang communities met outside Cambodia’s Appeal Court to deliver a petition demanding that the trial of the 18 land activists is expedited. The group successfully delivered the petition to Court of Appeal officials, who confirmed that, 10 female activists currently held in CC2 as well as Venerable Seng Hai detained in CC1, will be tried next month on January 22 at 2pm. While several dozen national military police officers and security guards were deployed to the site, the demonstrators maintained a peaceful gathering, preventing a clash with police officers and security guards.
These activities demonstrate a continuous and growing resilience of the community in the defense of human rights in Cambodia. In particular, they display strong opposition to the crackdown of long-term land rights activists arguably under political pretenses from the current government.
-Nick Jones (November 17th, 2014)
On November 10th, seven representatives from the Boeung Kak Lake community were arrested while protesting flooding in their area caused by land grabbing.
“Areas near the site of the former lake have suffered from extreme flooding problems after almost 20,000 people were forcefully evicted from the area in 2008. Following the leasing and filling of the former lake by Shukaku Company, owned by Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) Senator Lao Meng Khin, flooding around the community has worsened, increasing health risks and causing damage to many homes and businesses in the surrounding community.”(STT, Nov. 12th)
The seven activists were charged for obstructing public traffic (Article 78 of the Traffic Law). By 6pm the next day, they had already been tried in court and received a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a US$500 fine each.
Last month, the Land Research Action Network (LRAN) published a report analyzing the issues that arise from unchecked development, Keeping Land Local: Reclaiming Governance from the Market. The full briefing paper can be viewed here.
An extract from the report reads as follows:
“Over the past two decades, conflicts over land and natural resources have intensified in Cambodia, and they now threaten to turn into violent uprisings. Ruling elites have facilitated a frenzy of land and resource grabbing in both rural and urban areas, creating landlessness, homelessness and destitution on a massive scale. Large tracts of lands continue to be given away by the government to domestic and foreign companies as economic land concessions for industrial agriculture and tree plantations, as well as for mining, tourism and real estate development.”(Pg. 7)
Using economic development as a pretext for exploiting the local—mostly poor—population is obviously not unique to Cambodia. The LRAN report points to a number of other regional examples including Laos where state officials make handsome profits from timber, hydropower, real estate development, and mining. Myanmar’s recent flirtations with democracy have encouraged foreign investment with few safeguards in place to protect locals. In the Philippines, land grabbing is prevalent with long-standing elite families wanting to get involved in the relatively new investment opportunities. Sea gypsy communities in Southern Thailand are being forced out of their ancestral lands to make way for the growing tourism industry there.
A frightening amount of today’s large-scale “development” schemes are actually vehicles for the control and exploitation of the country’s natural resources, labor, and land. The LRAN report explains that this pattern stems from “the dominant development model [which] is market-led and prioritizes rapid economic growth, integration of local and national economies with regional-global markets, trade and investment liberalization, and privatization” (pg. 9). This model, inherently, should stimulate a nation’s economy. However, when weak judicial systems allow senior officials abuse their powers, the local population (particularly the rural poor) gains very little from these emerging markets—many lose their livelihoods and their homes instead.
Governments and investors guilty of practicing this kind of pseudo-development also seem to ignore the fact that the land they seize is profoundly more valuable to the native communities. The LRAN report provides a comprehensive explanation of this notion:
“For hundreds of millions of people around the world, land is much more than an economic asset. Often the sole source of livelihood, land is equally an emblem of rootedness, identity, belonging and stability and widely considered the very basis of social organization. Land, water, forests and their associated ‘resources’ are the foundations of life, culture, knowledge and collective memory in agrarian societies.”(Pg. 10)
This illustrates why citizens, like the seven activists from Boeung Kak Lake, are more than willing to fight for their rightful homes, despite the risks of excessive punishment—such as a year-long prison sentence for a traffic violation. As Cambodia’s development proceeds further down its chosen path, expect more protests and, to the government’s discredit, more examples of summary injustice perpetrated by the courts.
November 12, 2014 – We, the undersigned civil society groups, condemn the arrest, detention, and conviction of the seven Boeung Kak Lake community representatives following protests outside Phnom Penh City Hall on the morning of November 10, 2014.
On Monday, seven representatives from Boeung Kak Lake community were arrested after protesting in front of city hall over alleged deliberate drainage problems under the control of city hall authorities.
Areas near the site of the former lake have suffered from extreme flooding problems after almost 20,000 people were forcefully evicted from the area in 2008. Following the leasing and filling of the former lake by Shukaku Company, owned by Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) Senator Lao Meng Khin, flooding around the community has worsened, increasing health risks and causing damage to many homes and businesses in the surrounding community.
The seven Boeung Kak Lake representatives arrested on November 10 include Nget Khun, Tep Vanny, Song Srey Leap, Kong Chantha, Phan Chhunreth – all previously arrested and convicted in 2012 in retaliation for their peaceful activism – as well as Po Chorvy, and Nong Sreng.
“The targeted arrest, conviction and sentencing of the Boeung Kak Lake community representatives won’t resolve anything, on the contrary it will further raise international awareness and solidarity for their cause,” said Ee Sarom, Executive Director of Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT). “The government needs to realize that citizens’ grievances raised through peaceful protests have to be addressed.”
After being detained overnight at the Phnom Penh traffic police headquarters, the seven representatives were taken to the Phnom Penh Court of the First Instance on the morning of November 11, where they were interviewed by prosecutor Seang Sok. Following the interviews, the prosecutor charged each representative with obstructing public traffic (Article 78 of the Traffic Law).
Following the interviews, Seang Sok ordered the accused to appear immediately before the Court of First Instance without any investigation. The trial led by presiding judge Mong Mony Sophear began at 3:30pm on November 11, less than five hours after the seven representatives were interviewed and charged by the prosecutor. By 6pm, all seven representatives were convicted and received a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a US$500 fine each.
“This once again demonstrates how the judicial system continues to be abused in order to intimidate activists with a complete lack of accountability,” said Naly Pilorge, Director at the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO). “The arrest of all seven representatives today is extremely worrying, especially when taking into account the fact that five of them were previously jailed for peaceful activism.”
The following civil society groups agree to support this statement:
1. Banteay Srey Community (BS)
2. Boeung Kak Lake Community (BKL)
3. Borei Keila Community (BK)
4. Building Community Voices (BCV)
5. Building and Wood Workers Trade Union Federation of Cambodia (BWTUC)
6. Cambodia’s Independent Civil Servants Association (CICA)
7. Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
8. Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM)
9. Cambodian Committee for Women (CAMBOW)
10. Cambodian Food and Service Worker Federation (CFSWF)
11. Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC)
12. Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
13. Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA)
14. Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC)
15. Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
16. Cambodian NGO Committee on CEDAW (NGO-CEDAW)
17. Cambodian Youth Network (CYN)
18. Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Domestic Unions (C.CAWDU)
19. Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC)
20. Community Legal Education Centre (CLEC)
21. Community Peace-Building Network (CPN)
22. Equitable Cambodia (EC)
23. Farmers Association for Peace and Development (FAPD)
24. Gender and Development for Cambodia (GADC)
25. Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF)
26. Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA)
27. Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (NICFEC)
28. Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT)
29. Thmor Kol Community (TK)
30. The NGO Forum on Cambodia
For more information, please contact:
• Mr. Chan PuthiSak, Boeung Kak Representative, 012-910-023 (Khmer only)
• Mr. Am Sam Ath, LICADHO Technical Coordinator, 012-327-770
• Ms. Chay Kimhorn, Borei Keila Representative, 017-522-303 (Khmer only)
Download full statement in English
Vann Molyvann is the most celebrated architect in Cambodian history. He designed a number of Phnom Penh’s most iconic landmarks such as Olympic Stadium. He is also responsible for some of the major housing structures around the city.
Borei Keila is one such structure, but its residents have had to endure shocking conditions over the last couple of years. On January 3rd, 2012, hundreds of families from the Borei Keila community were forcibly—and violently—evicted from their homes without warning. Police and military personnel used tear gas and electric batons leaving some people injured while others were arrested. Over 300 families lost their homes that day (The Cambodia Daily, Jan. 4th). So why did this happen?
Phan Imex, a firm owned by well-connected businesswoman Suy Sophan, claimed to have bought the development rights to the area. They are also said to have signed a contract in 2003 pledging to build ten high-rise housing structures for more than 1,700 families. The firm ended up only building eight, which left hundreds of former residents homeless (Phnom Penh Post, Mar. 21st).
In 2014, after two years of broken promises and demonstrations, 50 families chose to accept the government’s assurance of compensatory shelters. One of the evictees said “I think that now I need a safe home to live in temporarily, because I can’t put up with living on the pile of garbage and sewage” (Phnom Penh Post, Mar. 21st). Sadly, things only got worse for the Borei Keila community. Officials began marking out plots in February and families were outraged when they learned that “each one measured only three-by-four metres—half the size of the four-by-six metre plots promised” (Phnom Penh Post, Mar. 21st).
On February 14th, tensions between the community and authorities came to a brutal climax. A small group of Borei Keila community members had occupied an unfinished apartment building to protest the inadequate replacement housing. A government security force was sent to remove them, leaving 19 people injured and two women in the hospital. Pich Limkhuon, a community representative, said that “the two badly injured women included Hath Sokchenda, 35, who is seven months pregnant and was kicked by authorities and shocked with an electric baton. Chhai Kimhorn, 35, was also kicked by police and lost consciousness” (The Cambodia Daily, Feb. 17th).
Sam Sovann is the governor of the Prampi Makara district, whose security guards evicted the villagers along with city riot police. He vehemently disputed Mr. Limkhuon’s portrayal of the clash and insisted that the police were provoked. “We did nothing like what they accused us of. After authorities forced them to leave, a group of people incited Borei Keila people to throw rocks at our authorities, then authorities responded.” Mr. Sovann denied that the security force had anything to do with the 19 wounded people at the scene. He was then asked how the evictees had been injured. His response: “I don’t know” (The Cambodia Daily, Feb. 17th).
If you would like to see what has become of Borei Keila, Luc Forsyth, a photojournalist, has put together a striking collection of pictures he took during a visit to the site. Here is the link: http://lucforsyth.com/evicted/
The White Building is another example of Vann Molyvann’s work. The historic structure was built as a low-cost housing project in 1963 and is now home to more than 600 families. But it is now under threat of being demolished and its tenants are in danger of being evicted.
On Tuesday, September 2nd, Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong announced that the apartment block was condemned and would be torn down. Apparently, government officials inspected the building and deemed it unsafe to live in. On Wednesday, City Hall spokesman, Long Dimanche, said that they had informed the residents on the situation but he declined to elaborate on any of the details of the inspection. There was further mystery when Mol Narin, Deputy Director of the Municipal Land Management Department, who supposedly had conducted the inspections, said “there was an inspection in the past, but I can’t remember clearly” (The Cambodia Daily, Sept. 4th).
Naturally, this sparked an immediate response from disgruntled tenants and supporting NGOs who are pushing for renovations rather than demolition of the famous site. On Thursday, a group of nine civil-society organizations released a statement demanding evidence of the inspection as well as for residents to be included in discussions on the building’s future. Licadho director Naly Pilorge said, “the government has an obligation to consult with both residents and civil society on development of its city” (The Cambodia Daily, Sept. 5th).
On that same day, City Hall essentially U-turned on its resolve to demolish the White Building having considered the rapidly growing public campaign for renovations. Mr. Dimanche explained, “the objective of the city governor is not to [demolish the building]…[he] merely explained that OCIC has a satellite project at Chroy Changva [district] where there are proper homes for living in. All the apartments [in the White Building] are corrupted and could collapse” (The Cambodia Daily, Sept. 5th). Despite these claims, the government has yet to provide any details of their investigation, leaving many to ponder its authenticity.
Admittedly, after decades of neglect, the White Building is extraordinarily dirty. But has the government considered retaining its potential as low-cost social housing? The idea of a city development plan that includes low cost housing schemes in the city, similar to those that can be found around Europe (a form of less isolated Habitation à Loyer Modéré, or HLM, found in France and Switzerland for example), integrating questions of social welfare into urban development, seem uncomfortably far from the Municipality’s concerns.
Of course, I cannot speak to the White Building’s structural stability, as I am not an expert, nor pretend to be one. Hopefully, an independent panel of engineers will be permitted to make that assessment themselves and present a report to the public. Nevertheless, this building remains a symbol of Phnom Penh’s architectural resurgence in the 1960s and is still considered one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. Anne Lemaistre, the country director of UNESCO, which works to preserve culture and tradition, believes that “every time a building belonging to this creative period is destroyed, we are erasing part of the Cambodian genius and memory” (The Cambodia Daily, Sept. 4th).
Though the deterioration of Cambodia’s architectural heritage should not be dismissed lightly, our attention should be focused on the people living in those places. If hundreds of families from Borei Keila are still waiting for adequate compensation after losing their homes, should the residents of the White Building expect similar treatment if their apartment block is torn down?
The Boeung Kak community and the undersigned civil society groups call for the inclusion of all remaining families into the 12.44ha concession area by the former lake. A new plan unveiled today by the community shows in detail how this could be achieved in a just and equitable fashion.
On Aug. 11, 2011, Prime Minister Hun Sen signed Sub-Decree No. 183, awarding 12.44ha of the Boeung Kak lake area to the community, which since 2007 has been involved in a land dispute with Shukaku Inc., owned by CPP Senator Lao Meng Khin. Since then, 631 families have received titles for their land. However, over 70 families, whose homes are not located within the confines of the concession zone as outlined in the Sub-Decree, have been excluded.
Today the Boeung Kak community is launching a detailed plan for the inclusion of all the excluded families. Following cooperation with local urban NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) in 2012, it has been established that over 400 plots, covering more than 2ha, are vacant within the concession zone. STT’s June 2012 report Outside the Lines thus makes the case for solving the years’ long land dispute by giving each excluded household a plot within the 12.44ha area.
Since publication of the report, the Boeung Kak community has continued to work with STT to develop a more detailed plan for the inclusion of the excluded families. The plan unveiled today illustrates how excluded households with different sized plots could all be accommodated within the 12.44ha concession. The plan outlines how each excluded household in Villages 1, 6, 22, and 24 can be awarded one 64m2 plot, and identifies 30 unassigned plots that can be further distributed to households who currently have larger plots and therefore require more than one plot within the concession zone. The plan also distributes a number of larger plots to 13 households from Village 1, who owned large plots of land prior to their entire village being covered in sand in 2010.
As an alternative solution, the plan also shows how the inclusion of an additional 1ha area in Village 22 to the concession would allow 18 households to stay at their current location, while housing for a further 56 households could be built in the area.
“We believe this plan presents a win-win solution,” said Chan Putisak, representative of the excluded households. “We believe the Prime Minister intended Sub-Decree No. 183 as a solution for all the remaining residents in Boeung Kak; we have now pro-actively developed this plan to make that vision reality.”
“Forty-eight of the excluded households agree with this plan; we are hereby asking the Municipality of Phnom Penh and the Royal Government of Cambodia to engage with us so that it can be implemented,” said Phann Chunreth, Representative of Village 22.
“This land dispute will be ongoing until a solution is found for all the households,” said Khek Chanraksmey, Representative of Village 21. “The households who already have titles in the concession zone fully endorse this plan, as we want to see an end to the land dispute and return to peacefully develop our community.”
Civil society actors also hope the publication of the plan will encourage all parties to negotiate for a solution.
“While this plan does not solve the problems faced by the 3,500 families already evicted from Boeung Kak, it is an eminently viable and practical solution for the excluded households,” said Ee Sarom, Programmes Coordinator at STT. “Of course there will still need to be negotiations and further development of the plan, but we hope all parties can see this as a starting point for concrete dialogue.”
“This is a no-brainer; a straight-forward solution to a long-running land dispute,” said Eang Vuthy, Executive Director of Equitable Cambodia. “Moving forward on this plan would really demonstrate the government’s commitment to solving the problems affecting its citizens.”
League of Boeung Kak Women Struggling for Housing Rights
Cambodian Food and Service Workers’ Federation (CFSWF)
Cambodian Independent of Civil-Servant Association (CICA)
Cambodian League for the Promotion & Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
Cambodian Workers’ Center for Development (CWCD)
Cambodian Youth Network (CYN)
Coalition of Cambodian Farmers’ Community (CCFC)
Community Legal Education Center (CLEC)
Equitable Cambodia (EC)
Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF)
Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA)
People’s Action for Change (PAC)
Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT)
Social Action for Change (SAC)
Media Contacts:
Chan Putisak, Representative of Village 1. Tel: 012 910 023
Tep Vanny, Representative of Village 22: Tel: 012 604 648
Ee Sarom, Programmes Coordinator, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), Tel: 012 836 533
Yeng Virak, Executive Director, Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), Tel: 066 777 000
Eang Vuthy, Executive Director, Equitable Cambodia Tel: 012 791 700
Outside the Lines, a new report by local urban NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), proposes a viable and practical solution for the households excluded from the 12.44Ha concession in Boeung Kak. The report shows that the households arbitrarily excluded from the 12.44Ha concession could easily be included in the concession zone, by allowing some households to move inside the area as well as through a small revision of the concession’s boundaries.
Outside the Lines, a new report by local urban NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), proposes a viable and practical solution for the households excluded from the 12.44Ha concession in Boeung Kak. The report shows that the households arbitrarily excluded from the 12.44Ha concession could easily be included in the concession zone, by allowing some households to move inside the area as well as through a small revision of the concession’s boundaries. Read More