In the News: Boeung Kak residents prepare press conference, recieve threats (Phnom Penh Post)

After requesting a halt to the filling until negotiations could be conducted, residents frustrated with the lack of response are holding a press conference, today, May 28th, to air their grievances.

Boeung Kak resident protests earlier this year (from the Post)

Residents have reported receiving threatening letters:

“Yesterday, I got an anonymous letter. They wrote that if we did not agree to move, they would arrest us and put  us in jail from one year to five years, and fine each of us 5 million riels (US$1,250). But I don’t care; they just want to threaten us,” (From the Phnom Penh Post Article, May 28th)

In the News: Lake residents protest over money (Phnom Penh Post)

From the Article in the Phnom Penh Post on May 19th:

“Boeung Kak evictees ask government to halt filling of lake until compensation is agreed upon.”

“Soy Kolab, a representative of the lake community, said that Cambodia’s ministries and lawmakers were their last chance for help, but that Cambodian law was on their side.

From the Post: A Boeung Kak resident talks to the press outside the Court of Appeals

“Cambodia has laws to protect its people,” she said. “I want them to delay pumping sand into the lake and to negotiate suitable compensation for us. I am not against the government’s development plan, but any development in which the poor have to be evicted without proper compensation will only benefit powerful people,”

A lawyer representing the community, Choung Choungy, said only a small number of the 4,252 families living at Boeung Kak have agreed to the municipality’s compensation offer of US$8,000 cash, or replacement housing on the outskirts of Phnom Penh with $500 cash. He said the residents did not want to be relocated far from their children’s schools and their livelihoods.”

In the News: Residents denounce disinformation. Majority have not accepted compensation.

Boeung Kak resident at March 19th press conference (Image: KA Set / John Vink)

During a press conference, residents of the 4, 252 strong Boeung Kak community denounced recent statements broadcast on Cambodian television during a news conference at the Cambodian Legal Education Centre.

From the Ka Set article:  (Click here to view)

“…in front of journalists and non-governmental organisations, Duong Bophary, one of the representatives of the Boeung Kak community, formally denied figures given by a Bayon TV journalist, the director general of which is none other than Hun Mana, the daughter and assistant to the office of prime Minister Hun Sen. According to the families representative, to this day, only 20% of them accepted to leave their home, and this mainly concerns families living in small floating houses in Groups 2 and 4 in Boeung Kak, located just next to the pipes from which sand is already pouring down and progressively filling the lake. “

In the News. Report: “filling will lead to ’significant’ impacts on nearby properties.

Child in the partially submerged home of a neighbor in Boeung Kak. (Image: Phnon Penh Post)

From the Article (” New report warns of Boeung Kak flooding”):
“The Boeung Kak Area Drainage and Flooding Assessment report, prepared by a team of Australian drainage and flooding engineers in 2008, found the filling of the lake for a 133-hectare commercial and housing project would eliminate a major rain catchment area, leading to”significant impacts on property” in areas adjacent to the lake.”

“…a representative from Boeung Kak’s Village 22, agreed with the study, saying that more and more villagers were losing their homes as the lake’s reclamation continued to drive up water levels.”

New Report warns of Boeung Kak Flooding

A report by Australian based engineers working in cooperation with Cambodian nonprofit Teang Tnaut warns that the continued filling of Boeung Kak could lead to increased severity of flooding especially to the area north of the lake. ‘The report confirms what many have suspected – that the development at Boeung Kak is being undertaken without full regard to the environmental impacts.’ commented Samakhum Teang Tnaut’s advisor. Media statement BK
report (pdf)

In the News (KA Set): Rage and despair of Boeung Kak residents after their complaint is dismissed by the Court of Appeal

Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 25/12/2008. Boeung Kak resident fainting outside the Court of Appeal © John Vink / Magnum

From the KA Set Article:

Complaint Dismissed

“With no surprise, the Court of Appeal dismissed the complaint lodged by Boeung Kak lake residents against private company Shukaku on Thursday December 25th. The Municipality of Phnom Penh had agreed for the latter to develop the area under a 99-year concession. After the hearing, there were tears and cries among the Phnom Penh residents living on and around the lake, which is in the heart of the capital. People’s houses have been collapsing in turn into the water since the company started filling in the lake in August. A shopping centre and other facilities are due to appear in this area inhabited since the 1980s. “

Role of Shukaku (the company filling in the lake):

The hearing went on for three hours. The Court’s decision confounded the lawyer of the residents, Choung Chou Ngy. “The President of the Court declared in his ruling that the Shukaku company had nothing to do with the case!”, he said, considering the decision to be simply “unfair”. “How can he say they have nothing to do with it? We can clearly see that by pumping sand into the lake, the company is causing my clients to lose their homes!”, the lawyer fulminated. However, he has no intention to give up the fight.

After the ruling, the Shukaku company’s lawyer, Cheng Peng  Hâb, played shy with the journalists and tried to avoid them. His phone stuck to his ear, he returned inside the courtroom for shelter, until he was forced to come out after court staff turned the lights off. He then finally gave a terse comment on the verdict, “This case concerns the Municipality and the residents. It is therefore up to the Municipality to solve it. I cannot tell you anything more since I am only the company’s lawyer!”

In the News: Japan Times Writes About Boeung Kak, Corruption

Article: “Overseas Aid Benefits Whom?”

From the Article:  “Boeung Kak was long ignored by Phnom Penh’s powerful elite — until recently, when they found a way to profit. In February 2007, the city entered into a 99-year lease agreement with Shukaku, Inc., a private domestic firm with close links to local politicians and Chinese developers. For a mere $79 million, Shukaku now controls 133 hectares, including Boeung Kak and surrounding land.”

“This contract, which threatens to displace at least 4,252 families, was negotiated in a shroud of secrecy without even the pretense of participation from the tens of thousands of people who will be directly affected,” says David Pred, Cambodia Country Director of Bridges Across Borders (BAB), a member of the Cambodian Housing Rights Task Force. “If these families are forcibly removed from their homes, this would mark the largest single displacement of people in Cambodia since the privatization of land in 1989.”

In the News: Will more houses be destroyed?

Monday, 08 December 2008
Written by Chhay Channyda 
The Phnom Penh Post

Day-and-night filling by Boeung Kak developers has remaining residents worried more houses will be destroyed

RESIDENTS of Village 4 on the edge of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Kak lake live in constant fear of losing their homes after another house collapsed on Saturday, with two more likely to topple soon, locals say.

Srah Chak commune chief Chhay Thirith said he was not aware of the latest house collapse. When contacted on Sunday, he said he will “look into the case later”. 

Resident Hok Lang’s house partially collapsed on November 19, forcing the 11 residents to now live in cramped conditions in the remaining front section.

According to Hok Lang, when the house collapsed, she was away in her hometown, leaving her children behind. No one was injured in the incident, she said.

“We are worried more houses will collapse if no solution to this problem is found,” she said, adding that authorities have ignored residents’ complaints and have tried to force them to accept US$8,500 per house in a compensation deal or a house at a relocation site.

In a letter written to Kep Chuktema, governor of the Municipality of Phnom Penh, on Thursday, four international human rights organizations slammed the development of Boeung Kak lake, claiming it breached the 2001 Land Law.

The letter, written by the International Federation for Human Rights, the Center on Housing Rights and Evictions, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, said that the sand-filling of the lake by private developer Shukaku Inc, started on August 26, has “worsened flooding and caused destruction of some homes”.

It went on to note concern with the prevalence of forced evictions – evictions carried out without adequate notice, consultation with those affected, legal safeguards or assurances of adequate alternative accommodation – which violate Cambodian law and Cambodia’s international human rights obligations.

The letter stated that “recent research by Amnesty International and local partners indicates that 150,000 people in Cambodia are living under the threat of forced eviction, including up to 70,000 in Phnom Penh alone”.

Open Letter to Mr. Kep Chuktema, Governor of the Municipality of Phnom Penh:

Open Letter by International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International Regarding the Forced Eviction of Residents of Boeung Kak Lake in the Phnom Penh Municipality.

 

To Mr. Kep Chuktema, Governor of the Municipality of Phnom Penh:

We write to you to express our deep concerns about recent developments affecting residents of the Boeung Kak Lake area in central Phnom Penh. Some residents near the lake have been forcibly evicted, while others are facing eviction amid rising water levels, and threats and harassment. Government officials and company workers have threatened residents in and around Boeung Kak Lake and NGOs supporting them, when they have campaigned against the filling of the lake and imminent eviction. Heavily armed police, including military police, frequently harass community leaders and NGO workers and block access to the area. Journalists face intimidation when reporting about the developments, including on 27 November 2008 when police took reporters in for questioning about their coverage of the situation.

As you know, in February 2007 the Municipality of Phnom Penh entered into a 99-year lease agreement for US$79 million for 133 hectares, including Boeung Kok lake and surrounding land, with a private developer, Shukaku Inc. According to the government, the company will turn the area into “pleasant, trade, and service places for domestic and international tourists,” including by filling in 90% of the lake. On 26 August 2008 a company began filling the lake, which has worsened flooding and caused the destruction of some houses.

The development will lead to the eviction of almost 4,000 families,despite many of the affected families having strong legal claims to the land under the Land Law. Without prior meaningful consultation, affected communities are currently being made non-negotiable offers of compensation or houses in a relocation site on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. The compensation offered is insufficient for families to obtain comparable alternative housing. Housing at the relocation site is not adequate: infrastructure is poor, basic amenities including clean water is lacking, and access to work opportunities is very limited given the distance from the city. Moreover, offers include no formal security of tenure for those agreeing to move.

Residents have sought to halt the filling of the lake which is gradually destroying homes, and have requested more compensation. However, the Municipality has told residents that they do not have the right to demand anything more than the offered compensation.

We also note with concern the prevalence of forced evictions in Cambodia. Forced evictions are evictions that are carried out without adequate notice, consultation with those affected, legal safeguards or assurances of adequate alternative accommodation. They violate Cambodian law and Cambodia’s international human rights obligations.

The development of the lake breaches Cambodian law. According to the 2001 Land Law, the lake itself is inalienable state land (so-called state public property), and as such cannot be leased for longer tha 15 years, during which time the function of the property must not change. In August 2008, a subdecree reclassified Boeung Kak Lake into private state land, in what appeared to be an attempt to validate the lease.

The agreement also appears to breach other domestic law and implementing regulations as the environmental impact assessment has not been made widely available to the public or to the affected communities, and because no open bidding process preceded the agreement.

As noted above, the development of the Boeung Kak lake breaches Cambodia’s international human rights obligations. According to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Cambodia, as a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), is obliged to ensure, before any planned evictions, that all alternatives are explored in consultation with those affected by the eviction. Evictions may only occur in accordance with the law and in conformity with international standards, including genuine consultation with those affected; adequate notice and information on the proposed eviction, and provisions of legal remedies for those affected. Evictions may only occur if they do not render individuals homeless or vulnerable to the violation of other human rights.

We therefore call on the Municipality of Phnom Penh to ensure that the rights of the residents of Boeung Kak lake are respected and protected, and that victims of forced evictions are provided with effective remedies, including restitution of housing, land or property. We also request that arbitrary arrests, intimidation and restrictions of the right to peaceful protest be stopped immediately.

Recent research by Amnesty International and local partners indicates that 150,000 people in Cambodia are living under threat of forced eviction, including up to 70,000 in Phnom Penh alone. The government should end forced evictions and introduce a moratorium on mass evictions until the legal framework and relevant policies are in place to ensure that evictions are conducted only in accordance with Cambodia’s international human rights obligations.

The evictions taking place to pave the way for the development of Boeung Kak are emblematic of a broader problem of violations of the right to adequate housing in Cambodia. The Cambodian government has an obligation under international law to protect the population against forced evictions. Everyone — whether owners, renters or unregistered settlers — should possess a degree of security of tenure which guarantees legal protection against forced eviction, harassment and other threats.

We sincerely hope that you will take into consideration our concerns. In this regard we would like to request a meeting with you and relevant officials to discuss Boeung Kak lake and related matters.

Yours sincerely,

Souhayr Belhassen, President, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Salih Booker, Executive Director, Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)
Brad Adams, Asia Director, Human Rights Watch
Sam Zarifi, Director, Asia-Pacific Programme, Amnesty International.

In The News: Lake Family’s House Collapses into the Water, Filling Blamed

 

Police Block investigators as House Sinks into Lake at Boeung Kak. (c) John Vink / Magnum (from ka-set)

Family’s house Falls into Lake, Pumping Blamed, Legal Investigators blocked from interviewing the family.

 From CambogeSoir:

“On Thursday 27 November, cops prevented Cambodian and foreign investigators from Licadho to meet with a family living on Boeung Kak Lake which is currently being filled in for a major real estate development project.”

In the evening of Wednesday to Thursday, Sun Ratanak’s home on stilt sunk into the lake water. Chea Nara (a Licadho investigator) said that he and his colleagues were prevented from meeting the family of the victims. “We can only get into the location if we ask the authorization from the Phnom Penh governor,” Chea Nara reported.

From Ka-Set:

(Selections of the article translated from French by saveboeungkak)

Original Article in French Here

“Touch Narot, Phnom Penh Police Commissioner says he is surprised that journalists are so concerned by what he considers a small issue.  ’People (journalists) should not all rush to Boeung Kak over a little story like this, the collapse of a little house in this development zone.  The owner of this house should go negotiate compensation with the company…’”

The article also highlighted the use of police to block investigators, and Shukaku’s methods:

“‘There was no reason to send in armed officers of the Intervention Police.  Where is the harm in taking photographs of the damage?  Today we saw how an invisible company used the authorities to harrass people who were doing their job.  No Cambodian law forbids taking photos and filming!’”

“Rather than conducting a mass eviction that would produce strong reactions and resistance, the company prefers to wait until all the houses disappear one after another into the water…’”

-Ka-set, quoting Naly Pilorge,  Director of LICADHO