In its drive to develop and beautify Phnom Penh, the Cambodian government and city municipality have made land concessions to private developers and have used excessive force to evict inhabitants. Evictees have been forced to accept compensation at well below the market price of their land, and made to live in resettlement areas far away from their jobs and other public services. In some resettlement areas, there are virtually no utilities at all. With tenuous livelihoods and low standard of living seriously affected, the targetted people are left to fend for themselves.
In July 2006, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported on some recent instances of violent eviction in and around Phnom Penh. In one, some 168 families already left homeless after their forcible removal from Sambok Chap village on the Bassac River in May were again removed from an area of land next to Monivong Hospital in June. The AHRC has learnt that they have been forced to a site in Ansnuol district of Kandal province, more than 30 kilometres away from the city.
The AHRC has also learned that thousands of people with established legal rights to occupancy are among those being forced out of their houses. In July some 146 families living in Group 78, Village 14 were threatened to be removed to make way for an access road, even though they have certificates of title issued by the Municipal Cadastral Office in 1992. Meanwhile, a dangerous standoff has emerged in Village 4 of the Bassac River commune in Chamcar Mon district–near the city centre. Some 1465 families in Dey Krohom there have been ordered to leave in favour a private company, 7NG Co. Ltd. These families were authorised to live on the land by the prime minister in July 2003. Unlike other companies benefiting from evictions, 7NG has built new houses with public utilities for the evictees at Trapang Anjahn village in Chorm Chao commune, Dorng Kor district, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. It has also offered some financial help for resettlement. Over 300 families have accepted the offer. However, others have insisted that they be allowed to stay on, while some have said that they must be paid market value for their land and obtain assistance to relocate small businesses. These demands have so far been ignored. On the night of August 27, the district authorities brought two truckloads of equipment with which to construct metal fences around the community. On August 28, more than 100 police officers armed with assault rifles and electric batons led by district police chief Uk Sokhon and the governor, Lo Yuy, together with company officials, went to evict those families. After the people begged that their homes be spared, the two sides have returned to negotiations.
While the building of new houses and facilities for evictees is a good development in Cambodia, the willingness of some affected persons to accept the offer does not oblige others to do the same. There is under any circumstances no justification for force. In each of these cases, the tenants have had a legitimate right of habitation. The state, as the owner of the land, has the right to obtain the full market price from the company to which it is conceding the land: anything less would suggest corrupt dealings. In turn, it must pay the occupants what they are truly owed, before asking them to resettle elsewhere. The families whose lives are being deeply inconvenienced by the demands of the authorities and the doings of big businesspeople must not be forced to pay for the lining on others’ pockets.
The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the government of Cambodia and municipality of Phnom Penh to handle all land transactions with fairness and openness. The details of exchanges must be made public, as they affect the lives of large numbers of persons directly, and even more indirectly. The profits earned from concessions must be made known, and an appropriate percentage passed on to relocated people. And representatives of affected communities must be involved in discussions and arrangements, to ensure that no one is made worse off, and above all else, that violence is avoided.
The AHRC also urges all donor governments, UN agencies, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and international aid agencies to pay close attention to the circumstances of relocated communities, and to work with all parties to ensure that people can maintain their livelihoods. The cost of the beautification and development of Phnom Penh must not be carried by the same persons who are being beaten out of town.
