The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 643
“Citizens from eight provincial and city associations met at the Sunway Hotel, to express their opinions about the loss of their land to businesspeople and to some powerful officials, including to private companies that have received concession land from the government.
“Representatives of citizens came to protest, and to express their concerns about land grabbing committed by businesspeople and by some powerful officials.
“The head of the investigating unit of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Mr. Ny Chakriya, said that in view of the provision of only small economic land concessions to citizens, it is found that in 2008, the government provided tens of thousands of hectares of land to private companies as economic concessions, where 225,090 hectares were provided to 71 private companies as economic concession land. The provision of many hectares of land by the government every year might lead to a lack of land for citizens in the future. Moreover, the provision of economic concession land to different companies, without caring about the impact on citizens, is a big problem, resulting in a situation where citizens, who own little land for cultivation, to have no land, because 80% of the citizens are farmers in rural areas.
“Mr. Ny Chakriya added that forced evictions, where citizens lose ownership of land, victimize them easily. In 2008, there were 25 evictions involving 526 families or 66,095 citizens, who were evicted by force and did not receive any care or solution from state institutions that just use the words that there it is development. Tens of thousands of poor citizens live with fear with the development policy of the government, that frequently issues notifications to evict citizens from a district, a villages, or from a whole area, where they live legally, according to the land law, to leave their houses and land, accusing those citizens of setting up illegal settlements on state land, claiming that the land was taken for development through concessions, sale, or by leasing it to private companies. When such things happened, they ordered hundreds of armed forces and workers to help protect those companies, by shooting and using machinery to remove the houses of citizens, and to hit and to jail them, offering them little compensation, and vacating them to live in new locations that are remote and insecure and lack infrastructure.
“In the meantime, ADHOC has released a statement about land issues, in regions where the citizens were accused and arrested, because the courts serve the interests of businesspeople and of companies. ADHOC voiced regret and concerns over land disputes, that are not solved in some provinces and cities by the authorities, making thousands of citizens to encounter problems, and resulting in family separations, as their representatives were continually accused and arrested over land disputes in Cambodia.
“The statement of ADHOC says that according to its note about unsolved land disputes, there are not less than 200 cases each year, and not less than 250 citizens were accused by provincial and city courts, which produced fake evidence to sentence them to go to jail for years. At least there are 150 representatives of citizens and land activists imprisoned each year. The accusations and arrests of those citizens result from the incompetence to solve land disputes by the authorities at all levels who are biased, and did not provide justice to citizens. They did this to serve the interests of businesspeople and of companies, where some officials back them in each case.
“It should be noted that land disputes have occurred continually in Cambodia relating to poor citizens facing businesspeople and some powerful officials, so that citizens were evicted by force, and evacuated from their houses, to grab their land for businesspeople and for companies.” Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1834, 16.12.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #363, 16.12.2009
- The Cambodian Economy Is to Grow by 3% to 4% in 2010, [according to the 34th annual conference of the Federation of ASEAN Economics Associations in Phnom Penh]
- The Director of the Sambok Khmum Radio [Mr. Mam Sonando] Said He Will Enter Politics Again [if the Sam Rainsy Party and the Human Rights Party unite for the next term elections; he does not have the intention to form his own party]
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2125, 16.12.2009
- Sam Rainsy Party Parliamentarians Injured 15 Persons of the Authorities at the Border [after a clash – but the Sam Rainsy Party denied this information]
- The Cambodia-Vietnam Insurance Company Operates with Cambodian Angkor Air [in providing flight insurance]
- Climate Negotiators in Race against Time [the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon warns that negotiators face a race against time to prevent the meeting ending in failure, after developing nations staged a five-hour walk-out]
Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #556, 16.12.2009
- World Bank: The Number of Poor People in Cambodia Increased by 3%, or More than 400,000, Adding to the Previous Number of Millions of People [because of the impact of the global economic crisis on the economy of Cambodia]
- The Khmer Authorities’ Strange Procedures in Preventing Security for Mr. Thaksin in Cambodia [when he arrived at Phnom Penh to release the Thai spy, the Cambodian authorities allowed national and international journalists to take pictures and ask questiond without restrictions – but during his lecture on economics, his security was protected very strictly – journalists were not allowed to take pictures or even to listen to his lecture]
Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6832, 16.12.2009
- A Beauty Contestant Winner Was Attacked with Acid to Destroy Her Beauty, [while she was in a hairdressing salon, by two unidentified men – Phnom Penh]
- Twenty Four Kampuchea Krom People Seek Intervention from the Government to Live in Cambodia, after Thailand Sent Them Back
Phnom Penh Post [Khmer Edition], Vol.1, #68, 16.12.2009
- Thaksin Shinawatra Promised to Develop the Cambodian Agriculture [by creating two model family farms], while Thailand Sets Conditions for Cambodia to End the Dispute [requesting to dismiss Mr. Thaksin as economic advisor and withdrawing the derogatory words insulting the Thai judicial system; but the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia said these conditions are nonsense]
- China Warned the Refugee Organization [of the United Nations] in Cambodia Regarding [22] Uighur People [who are seeking asylum in Cambodia, saying, ‘It should not be a heaven for criminals’]
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5074, 16.12.2009
- The Chinese Company [KH Qinglong Mining Investment Group – phonetic] Presents an Investment Plan to Explore Minerals in Cambodia [on 2,000 square kilometers in Kampot and Preah Vihear]
- Thaksin Shinawatra: Just by Exporting Rice Alone, Cambodia Could Earn US$1 Billion [he said during a meeting about agricultural development, at the government house, prepared by the Council for Development of Cambodia, suggesting to the Cambodian government to encourage the provision of loans to Khmer poor farmers to do cultivation, in order to maintain food security and especially to have surplus for export]
- [About 400 people, including officials from the Ministry of Environment, representatives of civil society, and of other relevant institutions, students, and citizens:] Cambodia Demands that World Leaders Agree on a Fair-for-All Global Climate Agreement Soon
Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1834, 16.12.2009
- Mr. Ny Chakriya: The Provision of Land to Companies Is Pushing Citizens to Face Serious Problems
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