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CAMBODIA: Forced eviction destroys the livelihoods of 59 families and renders them homeless in Meanchey district

December 21, 2006

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the "button" below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Cambodian authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Cambodian authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

21 December 2006
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UA-409-2006: CAMBODIA: Forced eviction destroys the livelihoods of 59 families and renders them homeless in Meanchey district

CAMBODIA: forced eviction; no rehabilitation to the affected family
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that 59 families have been forcibly evicted by the police and had their homes destroyed in Samaki Group 6, Preah Punlea village, Preak Pra Commune in the Meanchey district on 15 December 2006. The government has made no effort in providing the victims with rehabilitation services or any compensation. This is another atrocious example of Cambodia's poorest and most marginalized citizens having their livelihoods taken away through intimidation and harassment by state officials. 

CASE DETAILS:

According to the information we have received, early on 15 December 2006, court officials with the support of police and military arrived at the village with a dozen labourers and a bulldozer to forcibly evict the families and demolish their homes. With journalists and human rights monitors barred from the area, the government officials quickly threw the evictees out of their homes. Many residents did not have time to take their belonging or construction materials from their homes before they were demolished.  

The victims of this forced eviction are now homeless and began camping out on the roadside at the edge of the contested land which is now fenced off with a wall of corrugated iron sheets. However, the authorities ordered the families to move away from the vicinities altogether. Later that same day (December 15), about 50 police officers armed with rifles and batons forcibly removed the evictees from the area and pushed them to the outskirts of the community.

This particular land dispute started in 2000 when these families started to build their homes on the edge of a relatively large pond which was within the public domain. A man named Leang Rotha contested the occupation by the families. During the eviction he was reported as saying that he had acted on behalf of five landlords, two of whom are reportedly the Minister of Post and Telecommunications Mr. So Khun and a lawmaker of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) named Bou Thang.

Since the beginning of the dispute, villagers have received various forms of intimidation including threats of arrest.  Seventeen men went into hiding after being charged and convicted in absentia for allegedly stealing iron rods, occupying and destroying private property. On 6 September 2006, the Supreme Court confirmed the conviction of the men.  Later on October 19, a petition was put forth by the seventeen men and all the 59 families challenging the conviction and claiming harassment.  Consequently, Head of the Office of the Prime Minister Ho Sithy issued a request for the suspension of the execution of the court's original decision.

Regrettably a few days prior to the request of suspension on October 16, the Supreme Court had ordered the seventeen men to voluntarily dismantle their houses or they would be coerced to do so. On November 20, three of the men, Lonh Sarun (41), Prum Sophea (40) and Ou Chanthy (37) were arrested and jailed. On December 13, upon the request of the 59 families, Om Yentieng, Chairman of the Government's Human Rights Commission, sent a letter to Ung Vong Vatthana, Minister of Justice, asking him to suspend the execution of the Supreme Court's order on September 6 "so as to let those families live peacefully and have confidence in the justice system". 

However, court officials ignored the minister's request and executed the court order on December 15. They demolished not only the men's homes but also all of the houses of the 59 families, creating an entire homeless community. No rehabilitation has been provided to the evicted residents by any of the government administration.

Cambodian courts, judges, officials and police are under the total control of the government and the CPP. For example, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Dith Munty is himself a member of the CPP's standing committee.  While the President of the Appeal Court, Justice Ly Vouch Leng is a member of the CPP's central committee.

Article 11(1) of the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which Cambodia is a state party, states that "The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions".

The AHRC urges the Government of Cambodia to stop harassing these homeless evictees and allow them to return to their land or take affirmative action to rehabilitate the situation. The AHRC also urges the Government to conduct a public inquiry into the rapid eviction on December 15 to find out why the entire community was evicted when the court orders were directed at the seventeen charged persons. The AHRC also requests the court to drop the charges against the seventeen men and release the three arrested victims since their arrests and charges have clearly been made to intimidate the community to leave their homes.

The AHRC further urges donor countries, UN agencies, international aid agencies and the international human rights community to urge the Cambodian government to cease forced evictions that cause homeless and suspend the execution of any eviction order so as to allow proper relocation and resettlement of such evictees.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the Cambodian government and authorities listed below and urge them to intervene to stop any further harassment of homeless families who are victims of forced eviction, provide shelter and food to them and allow them to return to their land while helping to rebuild their homes.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear ___________,

CAMBODIA: Forced eviction destroys the livelihoods of 59 families and renders them homeless in Meanchey district

Name of Victims: 59 families from Samaki Group 6, Preah Punlea village, Preak Pra Commune, Meanchey district in the municipality of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Place of forced eviction: Preah Punlea village, Preak Pra Commune, Meanchey district in the municipality of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Date of forced eviction: 15 December 2006

I am writing to request that you immediately stop harassing the 59 homeless families living in Samaki Group 6, Preah Punlea village, Preak Pra Commune, Meanchey district in the municipality of Phnom Penh, who were thrown off their land and made homeless in a forced eviction on the morning of 15 December 2006. No rehabilitation has been provided to the evicted residents by any of the government administration.

I also request that you ensure that the evicted families are given food and shelter and that affirmative and speedy action is taken to rehabilitate them. I further urge the court to drop the charges against seventeen men and release, Sarun (41), Prum Sophea (40) and Ou Chanthy (37), who were arrested and jailed since the charges against them have been made to intimidate the 59 families involved in the land dispute and coerce them to leave their homes.     

I have learned that the seventeen men went into hiding after being charged and convicted in absentia for allegedly stealing iron rods, occupying and destroying private property. On 6 September 2006, the Supreme Court confirmed the conviction of the men.  Later on October 19, a petition was put forth by the seventeen men and all the 59 families challenging the conviction and claiming harassment.  Consequently, Head of the Office of the Prime Minister Ho Sithy issued a request for the suspension of the execution of the court's original decision.

I have also learned that the 59 families that have been involved in this land dispute are the victims of an eviction campaign made on behalf of powerful people such as the Minister of Post and Telecommunications Mr. So Khun and a lawmaker of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) named Bou Thang. 

To my knowledge the courts in Cambodia are not independent from the government or from the ruling party and are invariably under the influence of powerful and rich individuals.  The poor do not have equal protection under the law or access to fair legal remedies. 

I want to also point out that although the Supreme Court had only ordered the demolition of the houses of the seventeen charged men, however the entire community was destroyed. There is a gross irregularity, to say the least, in this eviction. I therefore urge you to order a full public inquiry into this particular eviction.

Article 11(1) of the International Covenant for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which Cambodia is a state party, states that "The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions".

However, Cambodian citizens are unable to exercise such basic rights in land disputes. Forced evictions and other forms of hardship against the poor have become a very serious social problem in Cambodia. As a start to address this issue, I suggest that the Government of Cambodia cease all forced evictions, suspend the execution of any eviction order until acceptable compensation, relocation and immediately begin the resettlement of past evictees.

I look for your urgent action on this serious matter.

Yours sincerely,


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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. Samdech Chea Sim
Senate president
Chamcar Mon State Palace
Pheah Norodom Blvd
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Tel: +855-23-21 1441-3
Fax: +855-23-21 1446
Email: info@senate.gov.kh

3. Mr. Samdech Heng Samrin
President of National Assembly
Sothearos Street
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Tel: +855-23-21 41 36/21 77 68
Fax: +855-23-21 7769
Email: sgimsan@yahoo.com

4. Mr. Ang Vong Vathna
Minster of Justice
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Fax: + 855-23-36 41 19/21 66 22

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. Ms Margo Picken
Director
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Cambodia
N¢X 10, Street 302
Sangkat Boeng Keng Kang I
Khan Chamcar Mon
Phnom Penh
Cambodia
Tel: +855-23-987 671 / 987 672, 993 590 / 993 591 or +855 23 216 342
Fax: +855-23-212 579, 213 587

7. Prof. Yash Ghai
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for human rights in Cambodia
Attn: Ms. Marianne Haugaard
Room 3-080
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 91 79214
Fax: +41 22 91 79018 (ATTENTION: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE CAMBODIA)


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-409-2006
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.