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)

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: Phnom Penh Resident Speaks Out in Editorial, “National Geographic Right about Phnom Penh”

From a Phnom Penh Post Ediorial by Moeun Cheean Nariddh (10/4/2008)

“In the article “Phnom Penh rated the second-worst city in the world to visit”, October 22, we feel like this rating by the National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations is very correct as far as current development is concerned.

Personally, my family is now badly affected by the double problems caused by the city development, particularly the filling of Boeung Kak.

First, the filling of the lake has disturbed the grave of my eldest sister who was buried on a tiny island in the middle of the lake after she died as a baby some 60 years ago.

Second, the dumping of sewage water from the lake has flooded my and other people’s houses and schools in Russey Keo district. The sewage water brings human faeces, rotting rats and swarms of mosquito eggs into our houses.

One of my neighbours had to hire a crane to lift his car out of the house, because he could not drive through the deep sewage.

One of my sons has not been able to go to school since Monday due to the flooding.”

Actually, we favor any kind of development, but it should be done in a fair and sustainable manner.

Our houses would not be flooded if the developers pumped the sewage water from Boeung Kak slowly until the dry season comes in the next few weeks

To improve the next National Geographic rating, there should be a more sustainable and fair plan to develop Phnom Penh and the rest of Cambodia.

In the News: Radio Free Asia, Voice of Residents’ Eviction Fears

From the Article: “Lake Families Fear Eviction” (Radio Free Asia: 2008-11-06)

“I’m very worried. Under the Pol Pot regime we lost everything. Under the Lon Nol era, we also lost. Since 1979, we’ve had only what we have now, and if we lose this we will be finished. We don’t have anything to depend on,” Ros Sem said.

Some 4,000 families now live around Boeung Kak Lake, which is Phnom Penh’s main catchment for monsoon rain. This includes several hundred residents living on the lake in houses supported by stilts, many of them in disrepair.

Many have had their water supply shut off since September and some wonder if this is part of a bid to force them out, according to the Phnom Penh Post newspaper.

Boeung Kak, Source: RFA

“We fear losing our homes, and we fear there will be violence,” said one, who asked not to be named. “[According to the law], anyone who has lived on the land for five years or so will be granted a legal title.”

“We haven’t received a title but we have suffered emotionally. We have voted for [these officials] through all four elections and they should be considerate towards us.”

In the News: Radio Free Asia Features Boeung Kak in Excellent Online Slideshow

Click Here to Visit the RFA website and view the sideshow.

In the News: 200 Residents Protest, take letter to South Korean Embassy

“Around 200 residents from among the 4,000 families that live at the Boeng Kak region in Srah Chak, Daun Penh, came on the morning or 27 October 2008 to protest in front of the South Korean Embassy in Cambodia, to ask the Korean ambassador to intervene with the Shukaku Inc. company to stop dredging sand to fill the Boeng Kak Lake, and to solve the compensation for houses and land of the residents through market prices.

“A letter of the Boeng Kak residents at Srah Chak, Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, on 24 October 2008, to the Korean ambassador in Cambodia, stated their concerns over their eviction from the Boeng Kak region.

“In the letter asking for an intervention by the South Korean ambassador in Cambodia, all residents at the Boeng Kak region said that they have lived in this area starting between 1979 and 1982, and they are recognized by the local authorities, having family books, residence cards, birth certificates, identification cards, house numbers, defined residential groups, villages, communes, and districts; furthermore, residents at the Boeng Kak region have access to clean water and electricity, and they have jobs such as working at guesthouses, shops, cosmetics, car maintenance, garments shops, hairdressers, washing and ironing shops, hardware shops etc.”

The letter details the request:

“To ask the Shukaku Inc. Company to stop dredging sand using it to fill the Boeng Kak Lake.

To ask the Shukaku Inc. Company to come to solve the effects on the land and on the houses of the residents living on the land and on stilt houses above the surface of the water, directly with the citizens, according to market prices.”

-Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.15, #3599, 28.10.2008, Translated by The Mirror

The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 584