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CAMBODIA: Three villagers allegedly beaten by members of the military over a land dispute

November 15, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

URGENT APPEAL

15 November 2006
……………………….
UA-371-2006: CAMBODIA: Three villagers allegedly beaten by members of the military over a land dispute                          

CAMBODIA: Assault; impunity; abuse of power.

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC) has learned that on November 14, 2006, three villagers were allegedly assaulted in relation to a land dispute by members of the military from the ACO command headquarters (tank headquarter) based in Onlung Thleung village, Mahasang commune, Phnom Srouch district in Kompong Speu province. The military also allegedly destroyed the villagers’ hut and the commune chief and local police officers turned a blind eye.
 
According to the information we have received, 20 army officers, who were led by a commander of ACO headquarters’ protection unit named Thourk Mao, allegedly destroyed a small hut which was built on top of a mound close to the ACO headquarters’ fence. The hut was built on the side of National Road 4 to sell coconuts, palm wine, fruit and other grocery goods to travelers. The ACO military commander had reportedly ousted the seller several times from the area prior to returning with military men armed with rifles, pistols and wooden sticks.

In the clash, three people were seriously beaten, including a 53-year-old woman named Nhem Phorn who was thrashed by a wooden stick on her right arm, a 28-year-old man named Chey Chom Reourn who was beaten on his right eyebrow and suffered a dark bruise, as well as 26-year-old Un Ly who is nine months pregnant and was pushed to the ground. Un Ly was unable to move immediately after she was assaulted due to the pain she felt and had to be brought to the emergency ward at the Kompong Speu provincial hospital.

Meanwhile, the Mahasang commune chief and commune police officers reportedly failed to intervene in any way. Instead, they returned to their offices after the military had assaulted the villagers and destroyed their hut.

The AHRC strongly condemns the alleged attack by Thourk Mao and his officers, who clearly abused their power in assaulting and evicting the three villagers. This type of forced eviction is a violation of national law and also contradicts Prime Minister Hun Sen’s claim that there is no violent force used in evicting people over land disputes. The AHRC is disappointed to hear of yet another example of such violence in Cambodia over land disputes. This is not the first time that the ACO military has abused villagers in such a way.

The AHRC strongly urges the Cambodian government to launch an effective investigation into these events and bring the alleged perpetrators to justice. The AHRC also urges the Kompong Speu province authority and province prosecutor to compensate and protect the three victims. They must receive proper medical attention, especially the pregnant woman who was allegedly thrown to the ground. The AHRC further urges donor governments, UN agencies, international aid agencies and the international human rights community to work with the Cambodian government and courts, to effectively implement law enforcement and ensure that the violence connected to land disputes is brought to an end.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send letters to the relevant authorities mentioned below.  Urge them to conduct an effective investigation so that the alleged perpetrators are brought to justice and the victims receive adequate reparation.

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Sample letter:

Dear ________,

CAMBODIA: Three villagers allegedly beaten by members of the military over a land dispute

Name of victim:
1. 53-year-old woman named Nhem Phorn.
2. 28-year-old man named Chey Chom Reourn 
3. 26-year-old woman named Un Ly
Perpetrators:   Thourk Mao and other ACO command headquarters
Place of incident: Onlung Thleung village, Mahasang commune, Phnom Srouch district,  Kompong Speu province.
Date of incident: 14 November 2006

I am writing to express my deep concern over the alleged assault of three villagers on November 14, 2006, in relation to a land dispute. The attacks were reportedly perpetrated by members of the military from the ACO command headquarters (tank headquarter) based in Onlung Thleung village, Mahasang commune, Phnom Srouch district in Kompong Speu province. The military also allegedly destroyed the villagers’ hut and the commune chief and local police officers turned a blind eye.
 
According to the information I have received, 20 army officers, who were led by a commander of ACO headquarters’ protection unit named Thourk Mao, allegedly destroyed a small hut which was built on top of a mound close to the ACO headquarters’ fence. The hut was built on the side of National Road 4 to sell coconuts, palm wine, fruit and other grocery goods to travelers. The ACO military commander had reportedly ousted the seller several times from the area prior to returning with military men armed with rifles, pistols and wooden sticks.

In the clash, three people were seriously beaten, including a 53-year-old woman named Nhem Phorn who was thrashed by a wooden stick on her right arm, a 28-year-old man named Chey Chom Reourn who was beaten on his right eyebrow and suffered a dark bruise, as well as 26-year-old Un Ly who is nine months pregnant and was pushed to the ground. Un Ly was unable to move immediately after she was assaulted due to the pain she felt and had to be brought to the emergency ward at the Kompong Speu provincial hospital.

Meanwhile, the Mahasang commune chief and commune police officers reportedly failed to intervene in any way. Instead, they returned to their offices after the military had assaulted the villagers and destroyed their hut.

I strongly condemn the alleged attack by Thourk Mao and his officers, who clearly abused their power in assaulting and evicting the three villagers. This type of forced eviction is a violation of national law and also contradicts Prime Minister Hun Sen’s claim that there is no violent force used in evicting people over land disputes. I am very disappointed to hear of yet another example of such violence in Cambodia over land disputes. This is not the first time that the ACO military has abused villagers in such a way.

I call upon you to take all necessary measures to ensure that an effective investigation into these events is launched and that the alleged perpetrators are brought to justice. The Kompong Speu province authority and province prosecutor must also compensate and protect the three victims. They must receive proper medical attention, especially the pregnant woman who was allegedly thrown to the ground. I further urge donor governments, UN agencies, international aid agencies and the international human rights community to work with the Cambodian government and courts, to effectively implement law enforcement and ensure that violence connected to land disputes is brought to an end.

 

Sincerely yours,

………………………………..

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. Mr. Samdech Hun Sen
Prime Minister
Cabinet of the Prime Minister
No. 38, Russian Federation Street
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Tel: +855 23 21 98 98
Fax: +855 23 36 06 66
E-mail: cabinet1b@camnet.com.kh

2. Mr. Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior
275 Norodom Blvd. Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Fax/phone : +855 23 72 19 05/72 6052/72 11 90
E-Mail: info@interior.gov.kh or moi@interior.gov.kh

3. Mr. Ang Vong Vathna
Minster of Justice
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Fax: + 855 23 36 4119/21 66 22
E-mail: moj@cambodia.gov.kh

4. Mr. Henro Raken, Prosecutor General Court of Appeal
No. 14, Boulevard Sothearos
Phnom Penh Cambodia
Tel: +855 23 21 84 60

5. General Hok Lundy, National Police Commissioner
General-Commisariat of National, Police
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tel/Fax: +855 23 21 65 85/22 09 52

6. Gen. Ke Kim Yan
Commander-in-Chief
High Command Headquarters
Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
Kambol, Phnom Penh
Cambodia

7. Chap Nhalivuth, Governor of Kompong Speu province
Svay Kravan village, Svay Kravan commune,
Chbar Mon district,
Kompong Speu province, Cambodia.

8. Pen Sarith, President of Kompong Speu provincial court.
Svay Kravan commune, Chbar Mon district,
Kompong Speu province, Cambodia.
Tel: 855-11-878-249

9. Keo Pisey, Police Commissioner
Svay Kravan commune, Chbar Mon district,
Kompong Speu province.
Tel: 855-12-862-815
Fax: 855-25-987-348

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-371-2006
Countries :
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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.