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

[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.]

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.

 

 

 

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