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UPDATE (Cambodia): Alleged eviction of 107 families in Sihanoukville by the order of the Governor

May 3, 2007

[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.]

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

4 May 2007

[RE: UA-328-2006: CAMBODIA: Another alleged forced eviction by a senator; UP-010-2007: CAMBODIA: Sihanoukville governor orders 105 families to leave their homes within 7 days]
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UP-063-2007: CAMBODIA: Alleged eviction of 107 families in Sihanoukville by the order of the Governor

CAMBODIA: Corruption; collapse of the rule of law; illegal deprivation of the land; illegal land eviction
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that 107 families were evicted from their 17-hectares of land in Sangkat, Sihanoukville by armed police and security personnel on 20 April 2007. The families have lived in that land since 1985 and are entitled to land ownership according to Cambodia Land Law 2001. The AHRC has previous reported that on 19 January 2007 Sihanoukville Governor Say Hak issued a notice numbered 0026 to evict those families (See further: UP-010-2007). During the eviction, 13 people were reportedly arrested and four people were beaten up by the security forces. It is alleged that the families were evicted to give the said land to Tycoon Senator Sy Kong Triv. The AHRC has previously reported that 229 families were evicted based on the order of the Sihanoukville Governor on 17 December 2006 from their land in in village No.1, commune No.1, Mittapheap district, Sihanoukville. Senator Sy Kong Triv is involved in this case, too (UA-003-2007). 

UPDATED INFORMATION: 

According to the information we have received, around 100 armed security forces led by Sihanoukville Governor Say Hak, Deputy Governor Prak Sihara, Prosecutor Meas Sopheak, police commissioner, military police commander, soldier commander came to the residential area of 107 families in Sangkat Number 4, Metapheap district, Sihanoukville in the pretext of carrying out a search for illegal weapons in the houses of the families on 20 April 2007. It is alleged that Prosecutor Meas Sopheak misused his authority to issue a search warrant based on a false allegation of possessing illegal weapons against the families. As soon as they arrived in the area, the armed police, military police and military personnel with rifles and electric batons began to illegally evict the families and demolish the houses, instead of checking illegal weapons as the search warrant originally declared.

It is reported that more than 100 houses of the families, along with their properties and crops, were demolished by tractors and bulldozers. All properties, including motorbikes, bicycles, generators, TVs, VCRs, DVDs, clothes, kitchen supplies, and domestic animals, were seized and destroyed. The security forces allegedly shot at the air and the ground to scare the families. Moreover, the forces allegedly tied up and seriously beat 13 men and also assaulted many women with batons and the butts of AK-47 rifles during the eviction process. In a clash, a 75-year-old man was beaten up seriously then shocked by the electric baton until he became unconscious; his nose and his head were bleeding and he had bruises all over his body.

We have also learned that approximately 30 to 40 people escaped from the site because of their fear of being arrested. Chhim Savuth, an investigator for the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) based in Sihanoukville has been accused by Governor Say Hak of helping and inciting the 107 families to create a secession area to oppose authorities, and the Sihanoukville authority is allegedly plotting to arrest him. Now Chhim Savuth is not able to go back to work in his office in Sihanoukville, and he has to avoid staying with his family to hide himself from the authorities.

It has come to our knowledge that the 107 families are now living in tents sponsored by non-governmental organizations along National Road 4. These evicted people do not even have a change of clothing; they have no mosquito nets, plates, pots, blankets, pillows, water supply or food supply. Their children don't have time to go to study; they don’t have water to shower; and they cry for lack of food. Some of the pregnant women are sick from the poor living conditions, and many women have lost their husbands because their husbands have escaped into the forest to avoid arrest.

It has also come to our knowledge that the Sihanoukville authorities allegedly deprived the 17 hectares of controversial land from the 107 families so that a high ranking tycoon named Sy Kong Triv could occupy the land as his own private property.

In total, 13 men have been arrested and detained in the Sihanoukville prison to date. Most of them have received injuries and two in particular were injured severely. The 13 men were provided medical care by a local human rights organization Licadho. Eight of the 13 got better while 5 had to continue receiving treatment because of their serious wounds.

The AHRC urges the authorities of Sihanoukville to immediately release the 13 victims who are still being detained in the Sihanoukville prison without fair trials. We maintain that it is not the residents who are responsible for criminal offence but the authorities who have brutally committed violence during the land eviction. Their action clearly violates the Cambodian Land Law 2001 and the declaration of Prime Minister Hun Sen who had guaranteed to stop and condemn the officials who used violence in land eviction or land grabbing.

The Sihanoukville governor Say Hak and Sihanoukville court prosecutor Meas Sopheak must be held responsible for this brutal and violent eviction; the destruction of homes, crops, and other property; and the injuries inflicted by the armed forces. Their inhumane treatment of these families should not be excused. The Prime Minister of Cambodia, the Ministry of Interior and general prosecutor must take action to bring to court the Sihanoukville governor Say Hak, prosecutor Meas Sopheak, police commissioner, military police commander and army commander. Governor Say Hak and court prosecutor Meas Sopeak should be removed from their offices, if the allegations are proven true.


BACKGROUND OF INFORMATION:

Most of the victims had been living on the concerned land since 1985 at which time there were only 53 families. The Ministry of Interior acknowledged and registered the said land into a village and commune structure. According to the Land Law 2001 of Cambodia, person(s) who have lived on a plot of land for more than five years without any land ownership-related disputes are entitled ownership of the land. Although all the families concerned have fulfilled all requirements of the land ownership, they have never officially received title for the land from the government, despite their repeated requests. Many people who live in the countryside or even parts of the city area in Cambodia are not awarded land ownership even though they have fulfilled the requirement to be entitled land ownership. Please refer to UP-010-2007 for further information about the land law.

The AHRC condemns the violent actions that the Sihanoukville officials took and the unlawful execution on the part of the Sihanoukville authorities. Furthermore, these actions also clearly disregarded Prime Minister Hun Sen's 2006 announcement proclaiming all land evictions should be done without violence or brutal actions.

According to Article 253 of the Cambodian Land Law 2001, any person who uses violence against a possessor in good faith of an immovable property, whether or not his title has been established or is disputed, shall be fined from 1,500,000 Riel (USD 385) to 25,000,000 Riel (USD 6,420) and/or imprisoned from six (6) months to two (2) years, irrespective of the penalty for violence against a person. If the violence was ordered by a person other than a perpetrator, who did not personally participate in the commission of such violence, he shall be subject to the same penalties as the perpetrator of the violence.

It should also be noted that the authorities frequently charge or accuse people without legal basis in order to stop or to intimidate them from practicing freedom of expression and liberty. Such accusation goes against the spirit of the Cambodian Constitution which guarantees the rights of the people, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) to which Cambodia is a state party. Furthermore, in this case, the Sihanoukville Governor Say Hak has no legal basis to accuse Mr. Chhim Savuth, the human rights activist, of incitement. We think that Sihanoukville Governor Say Hak is attempting to shift the focus to Mr. Chhim Savuth in order to get less attention from the people and the NGOs over this brutal land eviction.

We also urge the Cambodian authority to immediately conduct investigation into this case and bring all the responsible officials including the Sihanoukville Prosecutor Meas Sopheak before court. We also urge the Cambodian authority to conduct thorough investigation into the responsibility of the Sihanoukville Governor Say Hak for illegally mobilizing the police officers and soldiers to carry out a violent eviction.

The AHRC also urges the Cambodian government to seek for the appropriate compensation for the ownership of the land that 107 families have not been awarded. 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 end this abuse of power and to establish a strong rule of law in Cambodia.

SUGESTED ACTION:
Please immediately write to the relevant authorities listed below demanding their immediate intervention into the brutal eviction of 107 families. Please also urge them to inquire about the alleged illegal eviction and attack on the villagers led by the Sihanoukville Governor Say Hak, Sihanoukville Deputy Governor Prak Sihara and Prosecutor Meas Sopheak and the Sihanoukville armed forces.

To support this appeal please click:

Sample letter:

Dear ________,

CAMBODIA: Alleged eviction of 107 families in Sihanoukville by the order of the Governor

Victims who were forcibly evicted: 107 families, Sangkat Number 4, Metapheap district, Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Name of the victims who have been detained:
1- Chry Choeun, 23 years old, also beaten by authorities
2- Ra Vy, 16 years old, also beaten by authorities
3- Chrey Chan, 21 years old, also beaten by authorities and his knees were shot, the bullet had also hit lightly to his head during the clash
4- Deur Sambath, 24 years old, also beaten by authorities
5- Yeang Ren, 25 years old, also beaten by authorities
6- Nom Chry, 53 years old, also beaten by authorities
7- Sem Khoeun, 27 years old, also beaten by authorities
8- Sem Sopheap, 56 years old, also beaten by authorities
9- Chom Pet, 47 years old, also beaten by authorities
10- Sok Run, 33 years old, also beaten by authorities
11- Sang Rom, 24 years old, also beaten by authorities
12- Keo Nov, 24 years old, also beaten by authorities
13- Chan Sitha, 56 years old, bruise all around the body and was shock by the electric baton, his head was also bleeding
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Say Hak, Sihanoukville Governor
2. Mr. Meas Sopheak, Sihanoukville court prosecutor
3. Mr. Prak Sihara, Sihanoukville deputy governor
4. Sihanoukville police commissioner
5. Sihanoukville military police commander
6. Sihanoukville army commander
7. 100 police officers and soldiers present at the time
 
I am writing to express my deep concern about the Sihanoukville authorities who have allegedly used 150 coalition forces consisting of police, soldiers and military police armed with rifles and electric batons, and using fire trucks, tractors, and bulldozers, to brutally and violently evict and demolish the homes of 107 families from a plot of 17-hectare-land in Sangkat number 4 commune, Mitapheap district, Sihanoukville on 20 April 2007. In this cruel eviction, the Sihanoukville authority arrested 13 people and beat up four others. One of the four was seriously injured and shocked unconscious by an electric baton. Three of the four were lightly injured then were immediately arrested along with ten other people.

I am informed that more than 100 families' houses were demolished along with their properties and crops. The authorities' forces also allegedly shot at the air and the ground to scare the families. Moreover, the forces allegedly seriously beat 13 men and many women. I am informed that a 75-year-old man was beaten up seriously then shocked by the electric baton until he became unconscious; his nose and his head were bleeding and he had bruises all over his body.

According to the information I have received, Prosecutor Meas Sopheak allegedly misused his authority to issue a search warrant based on a false allegation of possessing illegal weapons against the families. However, the security forces illegally evicted the families, instead of checking illegal weapons as the search warrant originally declared.

I have also learned that Chhim Savuth, an active human rights investigator for the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) based in Sihanoukville has been accused by Sihanoukville Governor Say Hak of helping and inciting the 107 families to create a secession area to oppose authorities. Now Chhim Savuth has gone hiding fearing for the arrest by the authorities.

It has come to my knowledge that the 107 families are now living in tents along the National Road 4 that are sponsored by tourists and non-governmental organizations. These evicted people do not even have a change of clothing; they have no mosquito nets, plates, pots, blankets, pillows, water supply or food supply. Their children don't have time to go to study; they don’t have water to shower; and they cry for lack of food. Some of the pregnant women are getting sick from the poor living conditions, and many women have lost their husbands because their husbands have escaped into the forest to avoid arrest.

It has also come to our knowledge that the Sihanoukville authorities allegedly deprived the 17 hectares of controversial land from the 107 families so that a high ranking tycoon named Sy Kong Triv could occupy the land as his own private property.

To the best of my knowledge, according to Article 253 of the Cambodian Land Law 2001, any person who uses violence against a possessor in good faith of an immovable property, whether or not his title has been established or it is disputed, shall be fined from 1,500,000 Riel (USD 385) to 25,000,000 Riel (USD 6,420) and/or imprisoned from six (6) months to two (2) years, irrespective of the penalty for violence against a person. If the violence was ordered by a person other than a perpetrator, who did not personally participate in the commission of such violence, he shall be subject to the same penalties as the perpetrator of the violence.

In light of the above, I urge the authorities of Sihanoukville to immediately release the 13 victims who are still being detained in the Sihanoukville prison without fair trials. We maintain that it is not the residents who are responsible for criminal offence but the authorities who have brutally committed violence during the land eviction. This action clearly violates the Cambodian Land Law 2001 and the declaration of Prime Minister Hun Sen who had guaranteed to stop and condemn the officials who used violence in land eviction or land grabbing.

I also urge you to immediately order an investigation into this case and bring all the responsible officials, including the Sihanoukville Prosecutor Meas Sopheak, before court. Sihanoukville Governor Say Hak should be held accountable for illegally mobilizing police officers and soldier to carry out a violent eviction. I request that the Governor Say Hak resigns from office for constantly abusing his official authority on several land grabbing cases. The affected villagers should be awarded appropriate compensation for their losses. I also urge the concerned local authorities to take action to provide land ownership to the suffering families who are entitled to it. 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 end this abuse of power and to establish a strong rule of law in Cambodia.

Yours faithfully,


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS 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

4. Mr. Sok An
Deputy Prime Minister
President of the National Land Dispute Authority
# 41, Str Confederation de la Russie
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855 12 970 608
Fax: +855 23 881 045
Email: info@pressocm.gov.kh     

5. Mr. Eng Chhai Eang
Member of Parliament
Vice President of the National Land Dispute Authority
# 71 Sothearos Blvd, Sangkat Tonle Basac,
Khan Chamcar Morn
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855 12 73 1111
Fax: +855 23 211 336
Email: srphq@online.com.kh  

6. Mr. Sar Kheng
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Interior
275 Norodom Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel/fax: +855-23 72 19 05/72 60 52/72 11 90
Email: info@interior.gov.kh, moi@interior.gov.kh  

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

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

9. Gen. Ke Kim Yan
Commander-in-Chief
High Command Headquarters
Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
Kambol
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA

10. Ms Margo Picken
Director
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Cambodia
N 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

11. Prof. Yash Ghai
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for human rights in Cambodia
Attn: 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)

12. Mr. Miloon Kothari
Special Rapporteur on adequate housing
Attn: Ms. Cecilia Moller
Room 4-066/010
UNOG-OHCHR
CH-1211, Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9265
Fax: +41 22 917 9010 (ATTENTION: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ADEQUATE HOUSING)


Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-063-2007
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.