Posted on 12 September 2009. Filed under: Week 629
The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 629 – Friday, 11.9.2009|
“Local human rights organizations said that at present, the government and the court system in Cambodia do not have efficient mechanisms to provide justice to citizens at the community level relating to land disputes. Meanwhile, violence related to land disputes has increased.
“The head of the investigating unit of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Mr. Ny Chakriya, said on Thursday [11.9.2009], ‘We see the government’s intention to address land disputes by creating the National Authority for Solving Land Disputes, but we see that the court system is used as a tool for suing.’ Mr. Ny Chakriya added that those mechanisms do not help the citizens. Human rights organization still point out that land disputes rise because of a lack of efficient solutions from the courts and from the National Authority for Solving Land Disputes. Therefore, citizens frequently go to ask for an intervention by Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“Because citizens are often arrested and jailed over land disputes, Mr. Chakriya, stated, ‘The courts are using their power to solve land disputes by arresting citizens and putting them in prison, and releasing them when they stop protesting.’
“The president of the Phnom Penh Court, Mr. Chiv Keng, told the Phnom Penh Post via telephone that some citizens lose their cases. Then they shout that the courts are unjust. He went on to say that those citizens live on land owned by somebody else, and they do not have evidence to prove their own claims to the courts. He said, ‘We act based on legal procedures monitoring these cases of land disputes.’
“A parliamentarian from the Cambodian People’s Party, Mr. Cheam Yeap, said that the government pays much attention to citizens suffering from land disputes.
“He said, ‘I do not believe that all citizens who file complaints over land grabbing always lose; the government does not tolerate any powerful officials who use their power to threaten to take villagers’ land.’
“According to an ADHOC report, 150 citizens were arrested in 2008, and there have been already 50 citizens arrested and jailed in 2009. Within three years from 2006 to 2008, ADHOC received complaints from 80,000 families over disputes about more than 176,000 hectares of land.”Phnom Penh Post, Vol.1, #3, 11.9.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Friday, 11 September 2009
Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #286, 11.9.2009
* Amnesty International Said that [Cambodian] Citizens Are Losing Land [in 2006, there were 450 cases of land loss, affecting 29,443 families; in 2007, there were 382 cases, affecting 19,329 families; and in 2008, 94,317 hectares of citizens' land were lost, affecting 31,106 families]
* An Apology Letter of Hang Chakra [the editor-in-chief of Khmer Machas Srok who was sentenced to serve one year in prison for disinformation and defamation of government officials] Will Reach [the Minister of the Council of Ministers] Mr. Sok An Today [to ask for his intervention to release him]
* The Ministry of Land Management Is Busy Drafting a Law on Foreign Property Ownership [which will allow foreigners to have property ownerships rights on second floors and above - with a controversy whether this will be restricted to "useful foreigners" already in the country or open the possibility of foreign ownership without a not so clearly defined and applicable distinction]
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2046, 11.9.2009
* Police Do Not Dare to Go Near High Ranking Officials’ Luxury Cars Violating the Traffic Law
Khmer Amatak, Vol.3, #488, 11.9.2009
* Chae Im [a woman well-known for running gambling operations] Runs Casinos on Tourist Boats to Deceive the Authorities’ Eyes
Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #488, 11.9.2009
* Analysts Said that Hun Sen Warned the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Order to Free Himself [from former Khmer Rouge leaders accusations whom he had promised not to prosecute them after they had integrated into the government administered territories in 1996]
Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6752, 11.9.2009
* Bilateral Ties between Cambodia and Japan Will Not Change though the Opposition Party Won the Elections [said Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Kuroki Masafumi - 黒木雅文]
Phnom Penh Post, Vol.1, #3, 11.9.2009
* Civil Society Representatives Said that Cambodia Does Not Have a Mechanism to Protect Citizens in Land Disputes, but the Authorities Deny This
* Human Rights Groups Accused the Total and the Chevron [petroleum] Companies to Support the Burmese Junta [by investing in gas, where the Junta leaders earn money from and have deposited nearly US$5 billion in banks in Singapore]
* An Air Force Officers of Thailand Plans to Visit Cambodia [on 14 September 2009]
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4996, 11.9.2009
* Flood Cut National Road 7 from Snuol to Kratie and Trucks Loaded with Heavy Goods Are Bared from Using National Road 6 in Chi Kraeng District [in Siem Reap]; Nearly 2,500 Hectares of Rice Fields and 1,300 Houses in Kratie Are Flooded
* Khmer Cassava Continues to Get Stuck [at the Boeng Trakuon Border Crossing in Banteay Meanchey], because Siamese [Thai] Hand Tractor Owners Demonstrate in Tapraya District [in the Thai Sa Kaeo Province - จังหวัดสระแก้ว - to block Thai trucks that transport cassava from Cambodia]
* The Thai Prime Minister Discussed the Possibility to Make Some Changes to Article 190 of the Thai Constitutions [which requires the government to ask for permission from the Thai parliament before signing any international agreements] in Order to Ease Border Negotiations with Cambodia
Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1792, 11-13.9.2009
* Khmer Millionaires Are Competing to Control the Media; Kampuchea Thmey Was Sold to [Prime Minister Hun Sen's daughter and director of the Bayon Television station] Hun Mana for US$750.000 to US$1 Million
* [The Spokesperson of the Sam Rainsy Party] Mr. Yim Sovann Criticized the Use of Government Microphones [refering to government speeches] to Insult Persons, Creating a Bleak Atmosphere
Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
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Legal Action( September-12-2009 )
Thanks for calling in with a comment. Well, the situation in Cambodia has been heading towards being more confrontative during the last 6 or 12 months. After many efforts towards mutual communication and understanding, recently even the cooperation between the Cambodian government and the World Bank broke down, after the World Bank had raised the problem that the land titling program they have been supporting financially for some years worked fairly well in many parts of the country, but not when land rights of indigenous (non-Khmer) communities and big businesses were in conflict, and also not, when some "property developers" were interested to get certain pieces of city land (and the resident population was evicted, if they did not agree with the offered relocation - often far away and without schools, water, etc.).
Norbert Klein
(editing The Mirror since 1997)
Legal Action( September-12-2009 )
Sounds like there are a lot of problems with the legal system where you are. We also have similar problems here in the Philippines. Here, unlike there, most legal issues are dicided free of charge by local town Barangay Police. Other issues or ones that an agreement can not be reached in a barangay end up at times in court. Once in court the party who is related in some way to judge or a court offical or the side that has the most money to pay (the judge) will usually win most any case.
In either system, I hat to see people loose their land. What else do they have left if their land is gone??? If like here, they would have nothing.