CAMBODIA: illegal deprivation of the land; illegal?destruction of property; intimidation; impunity of the military; collapse of rule of law; no orders in the military
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Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that there has been a series of brutal actions committed by members of the Royal Cambodian Air Force after they had been in contact with two alleged masterminds, Mr. Som Taing, vice director of Kirirom National Park in Kompong Speu province and Mrs. Seng Vouch Leang, a business woman living in Phnom Penh since June 2006.?These two persons claimed that the land in Ampil Choam Klaing village belong to them and allegedly asked the members of Royal Air Force to forcibly evict 18 families of the village.?They later set fire to fire to and destroyed the plantation of the 18 families. These families who have been illegally evicted from their land and had their property destroyed by public authorities have not received appropriate legal remedies and compensation.
FACTS OF THE CASE:
The 18 families living in Ampil Choam Klaing village in Treng Trayeung commune, Phnom Srouch district, Kompong Speu province, were forcibly expelled from their land where they had about 10 hectares including plantation fields of mango and jackfruits, by men of the Royal Air Force who were equipped with assault rifles.?They were accompanied by more than 10 gangsters, also equipped with hacking knives and sticks. In June of this year the same armed men came into the village and intimidated the families with brutal actions in order to force them to leave from the land. When the villagers refused to leave their land, the Royal Air Force members and gangsters started to burn the villagers’ houses down one after another.?A total of eight were destroyed.?The armed men also used tractors and bulldozed the families’ mango and jack fruit plantation estimated to be worth US$ 10,000.
The perpetrators beat up the villagers and injured a local journalist who went to the site to report on the brutal expulsion. All 18 families have now been expelled from their land.
According to the information we have received, more than 10 members of the Royal Cambodian Air Force and 10 gangsters were employed by Mr. Som Taing, Vice Director of Kirirom National Park in Kompong Speu province, and Mrs. Seng Vouch Leang, a businesswoman living in Phnom Penh who claim that the land belonged to them.
Mrs. Seng Vouch Leang has a son who is Air Force General and his name has not been divulged. The General, and the son of Mrs. Seng Vouch Leang, had allegedly assigned his subordinates to carry out the expulsion of the villagers where his mother claims her right to the land. After the expulsion of the villagers and destruction of the property in the village, the members of the Air Force have guarded the land to prevent the return of evicted families. Mr. Sam Taing and Mrs. Seng Vouch Leang had not paid any compensation to the families except for two families that had been forced to accept the compensation of US$ 200 each.
The land where families had been living was uncultivated land covered with forest until these 18 families started to clear the land to build their houses and cultivated for the use of fruits plantation in 2001. Based on the assurances made by the prime minister at the cabinet meeting in 2004 and by his speech later on, the land would become the property of any person who has occupied it continuously for 5 years.?Accordingly, the 18 families who had been forcibly evicted should have been deemed as the rightful owners of the land.
According to a local human rights investigator in Kompong Speu, the victims have made their complaint against their forced expulsion to the National Assembly and to the Kompong Speu provincial court. However the prosecutor of the case has said that no action can be taken by him because the other party possesses more power. Meanwhile, the families those who were forcibly evicted continue to suffer from the blatant injustices they have faced.
The AHRC strongly condemns Mr. Sam Taing and Mrs. Seng Voch Leang together with her son who is an air force general for taking the law into their own hands in evicting those families from their land and destroying their property without following fair legal procedures. It also strongly condemns the abuse of power by the Royal Air Force General and his assignment of members of the Air Force for private interests. The lawlessness carried out by these three persons is highly reprehensible and its authors must be punished.
The AHRC urges the Cambodian government and courts to take immediate action against the Air Force General, Mr. Sam Taing and Mrs. Seng Voch Leang, and return the land to its rightful owners with all appropriate compensations for their loss of properties. It also urges the Ministry of National Defense and the High Command of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces to take action against the concerned Air Force General.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the relevant authorities mentioned below urging for immediate remedies and investigation into the members of Royal Cambodian Air Force involved in the forced eviction and destruction of villagers’ property so that disciplinary action may be taken against the alleged perpetrators.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear _____________,
CAMBODIA: Members of the Air Force have continuously conducted their brutal acts against civilians including the forced eviction of 18 families and the destruction of their houses and plantations
I am writing this letter to show my deepest concern over a series of alleged forced eviction and destruction of properties including houses and plantation fields of 18 families from the Ampil Choam Klaing village in Treng Trayeung commune, Phnom Srouch district, Kompong Speu province, carried by more than 10 armed members of the Royal Cambodian Air Force and gangsters in June 2006.
According to the information I have received, the perpetrators, among them are the members of Royal Cambodian Air Force, were armed and they came to the houses of 18 families where they were living at the time of the incident one day in June with other armed gangsters, and severely intimidated them with assault rifles and hacking knives and sticks insisting that they give up and leave their land.
Despite the resistance of villagers against the intimidation, the perpetrators started to burn the villagers' houses following which they lost 8 houses in total.?The perpetrators then bulldozed the plantation fields estimated to be worth US$ 10, 000. The perpetrators also beat up the villagers and injuring them and one local journalist who was at the site to report the brutal expulsion that members of the Royal Cambodian Air Force carried out. The 18 families have now been completely expelled from their land where they possess their right of ownership and have not yet received any legal remedies and compensations.
I have been informed that the incident was carried out by two masterminds named Mr. Som Taing, Vice Director of Kirirom National Park in Kompong Speu province, and Mrs. Seng Vouch Leang, a businesswoman living in Phnom Penh who claim that the land where 18 families were living and cultivated as their fruit plantation, belong to them. However, I have learned that according to the assurance made by the prime minister at the cabinet meeting in 2004 and by his speech later on, , land ownership would be entitled to persons who have continuously lived in the place for five years. These 18 families had lived in the land since 2001 and they should have been deemed as the owner of the land as is their right.
I have also learnt that the two masterminds hired more than 10 members of the Royal Cambodian Air Force and other gangsters to evict the land of the villagers forcibly so that they can make the land as their property. It has also been informed that a son of Mrs. Seng Vouch Leang is a General in the Royal Cambodian Air Force and he allegedly assigned his subordinates to carry out the expulsion of the villagers for the sake of his mother.
The land has been guarded by the members of the Air Force since the incident in June and they have barred the families from returning to their own land. The families have also not been paid any compensation from the two masterminds of the forced eviction although two of the families were forced to receive about US$200 each as compensation from Mr. Som Taing and Mrs. Seng Vouch Leang.
The members of 18 families have brought the case to the provincial court however the prosecutor said that nothing could be done because of the power that the perpetrators possess. Thus, the families have been living under difficulties without receiving financial compensation and legal remedies to bring perpetrators to justice.
It is my huge regret to say that the situation of 18 families who were evicted from their original land without being given any appropriate legal remedies have shown the collapse of the rule of law in your country. Allowing such injustices in your state will cause large numbers of other victims to suffer from the irresponsible and undisciplined actions of state authorities and greedy persons.
I therefore would like to request your government to conduct a proper and immediate investigation into this case with a view to find out illegal actions of members of the Royal Cambodian Air Force. Also, please give local investigation institutions appropriate resources and authority so that they can conduct fair investigations without being harassed by the powers of other state authorities.
Moreover, I urge you to take stronger role to conduct fair investigation into the abuse of power by the members of the Royal Cambodian Air Force against civilians, especially to investigate an allegation that the General of the Royal Air Force who is a son of Mrs. Seng Vouch Leang as responsible person who assigned his subordinates to do violent acts against villagers with abuse of power as military officer. The lawlessness carried out by these three persons is highly reprehensible and its authors must be punished.
Lastly, I would request the government of Cambodia to take immediate actions to restore the evicted land and return it to 18 families, and that appropriate compensation should be paid to them soon as possible.
Sincerely yours,
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Please send copies of your letters to:
1. 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. H.E. Ang VongVathna
Minister of Justice
No 240, Sothearos Blvd.
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855-23-36 03 27 / 36 32 04 / 36 04 21 / 36 03 29 / 21 26 93
Fax: +855-23-21 66 22
E-mail: moj@cambodia.gov.kh
3. H.E.Mr. Dith Monty
President
Supreme Court
No. 30AB, Trasak Paem (St. 63)
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855-23-21 82 43
Tel/Fax: +855-23-212 826
4. H.E.Mr. Tea Banh
Deputy Prime Minister
Ministry of National Defence
Russian Federation Street
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Tel: +855-23 88 31 84 / 42 81 71
Fax: +855-23 88 31 84
5. Gen. Ke Kim Yan
Commander-in-Chief
High Command Headquarters
Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
Kambol
Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
Thank you
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
