Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has previously reported that over several years, violence, blockades and lawsuits have been used in successive attempts to evict hundreds of families in Dey Kraham zone of Phnom Penh in favour of the 7NG company (see AHRC-UAU-052-2008, AHRC-UAU-006-2008, AHRC-UAU-002-2008, UA-271-2007).
These attempts have so far failed as your continued intervention has prevented the authorities from executing such forcible eviction. Now, as before, the rightful residents themselves have put up stiff resistance. Also thanks to your intervention, the nine residents who had been summoned to court (see AHRC-UAU-006-2008) have not been arrested and detained as has been the practice in land grabbing cases.
However, those residents are again facing imminent eviction when, last December, the authorities served them with a final notification, ordering them to vacate their homes and lands.
UPDATE INFORMATION
On 25 December 2008, at the behest of the governor of the Municipality of Phnom Penh, Lo Yuy, governor of Chamcar Mon district where the Dey Kraham community is located, served its residents the “final notification” ordering them to dismantle their homes and vacate their lands by 30 December. This notification and the deadline created new fears the authorities would send a public force to evict them. However, the residents are as resolved as ever before to resist their forcible eviction.
The deadline passed off without any eviction. But the residents see such inaction as just a respite as they have spotted strangers walking around their community carrying petrol-filled bottles, creating fears their houses might be set on fire, as has happened in other places in the past. They have also seen agents of the 7NG company (which claim their lands), walking around their community spreading rumors that the company’s excavators could demolish their houses at any time, and local officials together with 7NG company employees are going around the community looking at or pointing fingers at this and that house.
The residents feel that all these manoeuvres are aimed at pressurizing them into accepting the company’s offer which is unacceptable to them: (1) a house on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, a sum of 770,000 riels (USD 192.50) and a quantity of foodstuffs, or (2) a sum of USD 10,000, a sum of 770,000 riels (USD 192.50) and the same quantity of foodstuffs. Following such pressure, some more families have accepted the offer and moved out of the community. However, some 120 families are persisting in the demand for just compensation.
The residents are asking for compensation worth at least haft of the market value of their lands. According to the latest evaluation, land in the same area could cost between USD 200 and 6,000 per square meter. Alternatively, they want to have a plot of land each in the same area to build new, modern houses.
The residents say that the authorities could execute the forcible eviction shortly, perhaps on January 7, when the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) organize a big ceremony to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the controversial liberation of the country from the Khmer Rouge regime and when the CPP – controlled authorities could use any resistance to eviction as opposition to this celebration. Many Cambodians still see that liberation as Vietnam’s invasion of their country when it sent troops to oust the Khmer Rouge and occupy Cambodia for ten years.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write your letters to the authorities listed below to urge them to abandon the attempt to evict Dey Kraham residents by force and stop terrorizing them in order to pressurize them into accepting compensation which is unacceptable to them.
Please be informed that the AHRC has written separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of human rights in Cambodia and OHCHR in Cambodia calling for an intervention in this case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear________,
CAMBODIA: Dey Kraham community in Phnom Penh faces new threats of forcible eviction
Name of victims: More than 100 families living in Dey Kraham zone, Tonle Bassac commune, Chamcar Mion district, Phnom Penh city
Name of alleged perpetrators: Phnom Penh Municipal authorities, Chamcar Mon district authorities and Tonle Bassac commune authorities, and 7NG company, Phnom Penh
I am writing to express my concern regarding the plight of 120 families living in Dey Kraham zone, Tonle Bassac commune, Chamcar Mon district, Phnom Penh city, who have been living in fear of being forcibly evicted from their homes and lands in favour of the 7NG company.
I have learned that for several years now the authorities and the 7GN company has been using violence, blockades and lawsuits to pressurise those rightful residents into accepting the company’s offer of compensation which they find unacceptable. Such attempts have failed as they put up stiff resistance against such attempts.
However, the Cambodian authorities persist in their attempts to evict them. On 25 December 2008, at the behest of the governor of the Municipality of Phnom Penh, Lo Yuy, governor of Chamcar Mon district where the Dey Kraham community is located, served those residents with a “final notification” ordering them to dismantle their homes and vacate their lands by 30 December.
It is good that this deadline passed off without any eviction. But the residents see such inaction as just a respite when they have spotted strangers walking around their community carrying petrol-filled bottles, creating fears their houses might be put on fire as has happened in other places in the past. They have also seen agents of 7NG company walking around their community spreading rumors that the company’s excavators could demolish their houses at any time, and local officials together with 7NG company employees going around their community looking at or pointing fingers at this and that house.
All these tactics and the “final notification” itself created new fears among those rightful residents, that the authorities would send a public force to subdue and evict them at any time.
I therefore urge you to abandon the attempt to evict Dey Kraham residents by force, stop terrorizing them with tactics designed to pressurize them into accepting the company’s compensation and accede to their demand if you want them to vacate their lands for the 7NG company.
I trust you will positively consider my request above.
Yours sincerely,
___
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Hun Sen
Prime Minister
Cabinet of the Prime Minister
No. 38, Russian Federation Street
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 36 0666
Tel: +855 2321 9898
E-mail: cabinet1b@camnet.com.kh
2. Mr. Sar Kheng
Deputy-Prime Minister
Minister of Interior
No. 275 Norodom Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax/phone: +855 23 721 905 / 23 726 052 / 23 721 190
E-Mail: info@interior.gov.kh
3. Mr. Tea Banh
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of National Defence
Russian Federation Street
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855-23 883184 / 428171
Fax: +855-23 883184
E-mail: info@mond.gov.kh
4. Mr. Ang Vong Vathna
Minister of Justice
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 36 4119 / 21 6622
E-mail: moj@cambodia.gov.kh
5. Mr. Henro Raken
Prosecutor-General
Court of Appeal
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 21 66 22
Tel: +855 11 86 27 70
6. General Net Savoeun
National Police Commissioner
General-Commissariat of National Police
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Fax: +855 23 22 09 52
Tel: +855 23 21 65 85
7. General Sao Sokha
Commander
Military Police
Mao Tse Tung Blvd
Khan Tuol Kok
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855 12 36 3636
8. Governor of Phnom Penh
Nº. 69, Preah Monivong
12201 Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Tel: +855-23-43 02 14
Fax: +855-23-72 41 56
E-mail: phnompenh@phnompenh.gov.kh
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
