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UPDATE (Cambodia): Nine residents of the Dey Kraham community in Phnom Penh summoned to court; arrest and final eviction feared

October 27, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-062-2008

27 October 2008

[RE: AHRC-UAU-052-2008: CAMBODIA: Dey Kraham community in Phnom Penh fears imminent forcible eviction]
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CAMBODIA: Nine residents of the Dey Kraham community in Phnom Penh summoned to court; arrest and final eviction feared

ISSUES: Forced eviction; right to housing; right to land
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Dear Friends,

As we are closely monitoring the case of the forced eviction of residents of the Dey Kraham community, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained information that nine residents have been summoned to appear in the Municipal Court of Phnom Penh following the lawsuits filed by 7NG company and others. These lawsuits are related to the forcible eviction of this community that the authorities have been trying to execute for several years in favour of this company.

UPDATE INFORMATION:

A resident name Chan Vicheth, 30, has been served with two separate summonses. Under one summons he is charged with battery and damage to property and under the other, with forgery and defamation. Six other residents have been served with summons and are charged with forgery and defamation. They are Daing Sarom, 46, Tuin Sinath, 45, Thy rin, 47, Vuth Heng, 46, Meth Samen and Heng Lay. Meth Samen and Heng Lay. These six together with Chan Vicheth must appear in court on 30 October 2008 for investigation by the investigating judge.

The lawsuit for forgery and defamation was filed by 7 NG company and the former community leader who, way back in March 2005, had reached a deal with it to transfer the land to it in exchange for the compensation offered. Over 900 families staged a public protest against him for betraying their interests and thumb printed during that protest a petition to the Municipality of Phnom Penh renouncing and denouncing their community leader. Those eight persons were held responsible for this petition which, the community leader has alleged, contains false names and damage his reputation.

Two more residents have been served with summons and are charged with battery and damage to property. They are Ms Ly Youleng, 62, and Khieu Bunthoeun, 37. These two persons and Chan Vicheth must appear in court for trial on 5 November 2008.

This lawsuit for battery and damage to property was filed after a public protest by residents in December 2007 against the arrival of an excavator that was perceived to have been sent to demolish their homes as had been happening in other forcible evictions. The excavator was pelted with small pieces of rock and had its windscreens shattered as a result. Its driver was also alleged to have suffered some injury. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMRATION:

Over several years now violence, blockades and lawsuits have been used in successive attempts to evict hundreds of families living in this Dey Kraham community in favour of 7NG Company (see AHRC-UAU-006-2008, AHRC-UAU-002-2008, UA-271-2007). This community has been living in fear of eviction all the time (see AHRC-UAU-052-2008).

Now these nine persons fear they will be arrested and jailed when they appear in court when, as Amnesty International has recently observed, "rich and powerful individuals and groups involved in land disputes in Cambodia are increasingly using their power to silence opponents through the criminal justice system."

The summonses are seen as yet another sign that soon the authorities will execute their eviction without just compensation they have been asking for.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write your letters to the authorities listed below to request them drop all the charges against those nine persons as they have no basis at all and are being used to subdue the Dey Kraham community's resistance to their eviction without just compensation.

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 appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

CAMBODIA: Please drop charges against nine residents of Dey Kraham community who have asked for compensation

Residents summoned: Chan Vichet, 30, Daing Sarom, 46, Tuin Sinath, 45, Thy rin, 47, Vuth Heng, 46, Meth Samen, Heng Lay, Ms Ly Youleng, 62, and Khieu Bunthoeun, 37, Dey Kraham community, Tonle Bassac commune, Chamcar Mon district, Phnom Penh
Court issuing summons: The Municipal Court of Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh

I am writing to express my deep concern relating to the two summonses instructing nine residents of the Dey Kraham community in Commune commune, Chamcar Mon district, Phnom Penh to appear in court soon.

A resident name Chan Vicheth, 30, has been served with two separate summonses. Under one summon he is charged with battery and damage to property; under the other, with forgery and defamation. Six other residents have been served with one summons and are charged with forgery and defamation. They are Daing Sarom, 46, Tuin Sinath, 45, Thy rin, 47, Vuth Heng, 46, Meth Samen and Heng Lay. Meth Samen and Heng Lay. These six together with Chan Vicheth must appear in court on 30 October 2008 for investigation by the investigating judge.

The lawsuit for forgery and defamation was filed by 7 NG company and the former community leader who, way back in March 2005, had reached a deal with it to transfer the whole land to it in exchange for the compensation offered. Over 900 families staged a public protest against him for betraying their interests and thumbprinted during that protest a petition to the Municipality of Phnom Penh renouncing and denouncing their community leader. Those eight persons were held responsible for this petition which, the community leader has alleged, contains false names and damages his reputation.
 
Two more residents have been served with one summon and are charged with battery and damage to property. They are Ms Ly Youleng, 62, and Khieu Bunthoeun, 37. These two persons and Chan Vicheth must appear in court for trial on 5 November 2008.

This lawsuit for battery and damage to property was filed after a public protest by residents in December 2007 against the arrival of an excavator that was perceived to have been sent to demolish their homes as had been happening in other forcible evictions. The excavator was pelted with small pieces of rock and had its windscreens shattered as a result. Its driver was also alleged to suffer some injury. 

Over several years now violence, blockades and lawsuits have been used in successive attempts to evict hundreds of families living in this Dey Kraham community in favour of 7NG Company.  This community has been living in constant fear knowing that it could be forcibly evicted at any time.

Now these nine persons fear they will be arrested and jailed. They and their fellow residents also feel their final forcible eviction is imminent and they dread it. 

I can fully understand their fears when the Cambodian criminal justice is becoming a tool for rich and powerful individuals and groups involved in land disputes to use to silence those who are resisting their land grabbing and to evict without just compensation. I am even more convinced of the very motive of the company and the authorities behind the charges against the nine residents above when there is little evidence of them committing the offences as charged. These people and their fellow residents had been provoked by 7NG Company and the authorities in the first place.

Therefore I request you to immediately drop the charges against those nine residents, end the lawsuits, abandon all forcible eviction, stop creating fears and give all residents just compensation they have been asking for.

I trust you will positively consider my request above.

Yours sincerely,

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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 Hok Lundy
National Police Commissioner
General-Commisariat 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. Mr. Kep Chuk Tema
Governor of Phnom Penh
Nº. 69, Preah Monivong
12201 Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Tel: +855 23 430 214
Tel/Fax: +855 23 42 68 66; +855 23 72 20 54; +855 23 72 41 26; +855 23 72 41 26; +855 23 72 41 56; +855 3 21 10 81
E-mail: phnompenh@phnompenh.gov.kh

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
AHRC-UAU-062-2008
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.