I find this slight humorous, if not a Homer Simpson "Doh!" moment. To think that the government ministers are now claiming ignorance of humanitarian policies is certainly a bit far-fetched, but I suppose acknowledging it is the first step. Let's hope that this is a positive sign for future development policies of the Cambodian government.
Monday, 27 December 2010
By May Titthara
A senior government official yesterday expressed “regret” over the forced eviction and relocation of thousands of Phnom Penh residents in recent years, attributing problems to a lack of awareness in resolving government policy.
Speaking at a workshop in Phnom Penh yesterday, Im Chhun Lim, the Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, said that though the removal and relocation of residents’ homes was commonplace in developing countries, it was important that the government takes action based on the proper policies.
He said much confusion stemmed from residents who are living illegally on state land, but who claim ownership and market-price compensation for their properties.
“It is regrettable that [we] were not previously sufficiently aware of how to resolve issues such as the confusion between resettlement based on humanitarian policies and the resettlement based on market price compensation or unreasonably high compensation demands that could not be accommodated,” he said.
Im Chhun Lim added that some relocation cases were complicated by the involvement of politicians, which delayed compensation negotiations or caused standoffs between residents and the authorities. Often, the disputes did not end until the government took “administrative measures”, forcibly removing residents from disputed land.
He stressed that the government wanted to avoid these problems at all costs, and would implement a “humanitarian” policy related to urban evictions and relocations.
Showing posts with label land evictions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label land evictions. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Temple families resist relocation
And so it continues as I thought it would. The villagers don't want to move, but it doesn't matter because the authority goes above and beyond provincial authority. They will more than likely be evicted with little to no compensation (just like in Phnom Penh), all in the name of cultural heritage. This should not be allowed, but it happens because the dollar is perhaps considered more important to the officials than even the welfare and livelihood of their own people.
Today also happens to be the day that my in-laws are meeting with the Apsara Authority (see What's the Apsara's Authority? from July 2009)to seek approval to rebuild their house which was blown down last week in a storm. The previous request last week brought out a truck full of officials with weapons to threaten the family with eviction if they attempted any "new" repairs on the house.
Photo by: Heng Chivoan
A woman cooks outside her home in Preah Vihear province’s Choam Ksan district in February. Her home is one of hundreds that have been marked for removal.
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
By Rann Reuy
MORE than 250 families in Preah Vihear province’s Choam Ksan district yesterday rebuffed entreaties from officials to relocate to make way for UNESCO and Preah Vihear National Authority offices.
A notice from the authority dated October 18 said 70 families from Kantuot commune’s Svay Chrum village would need to move by Saturday, with the remaining families expected to clear out not long after.
The families have been offered 2 million riels (US$475) in compensation as well as 50-by-100-metre plots of land in Thamacheat Samdech Techo Village (Samdech Techo Nature Village). The same village has taken in hundreds of other families that have been moved to make way for development at Preah Vihear temple, which was enshrined as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008.
Residents said yesterday that they had been living on their land since 2000, and that they had previously been promised by local officials that they would never be evicted.
“Samdech Techo village has no market. It is far, it has a dirty road, and the land is small,” said 45-year-old Sao Yat.
Another resident, 43-year-old Keo Nith, said she did not want to part with her 5 hectares of rice fields, which she described as productive.
“They might control this area,” she said of the PVNA and UNESCO officials, “but we are asking to live here.”
Provincial officials yesterday visited the site and attempted to negotiate with the residents, who responded by saying they would not move. Long Sovann, the deputy provincial governor, said the decision to kick them out had come from higher than the provincial level.
“This is the national principle. It is not the provincial decision,” he said.
He then referred further questions to PVNA General Director Hang Soth, who could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
What's the Apsara's Authority? (reading between the lines)
The Apsara Authority in Cambodia is the Authority for Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap.
It's this "region of Siem Reap" that catches my attention and is the source of questionable conduct against the people in Siem Reap.
Here is how they describe themselves:
[T]he government has created APSARA, the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap, in charge of research, protection and conservation of cultural heritage, as well as urban and tourist development. This legislative and institutional framework marks the beginning of a new active role Cambodia will take, responding to the call of her own people in the voice of her King, as well as to that of the international community, in managing Angkor as a national and world heritage for the generations to come.
APSARA, in collaboration with other governmental agencies, is responsible for:
"Taking action against illegal territory occupation as well as anarchy activities in Seimreap-Angkor" is what really concerns me. How do they define "anarchy activities?" Is re-storing or building a house considered anarchy?
Apparently the answer is YES because in a certain village in Siem Reap Province, villagers are being threatened of eviction from their land and homes if they attempt to re-build their traditional homes, or build anything new on their own land. Yes, they have land titles!
APSARA Authority members are arriving in large groups (around 20 people) with guns to threaten and scare villagers. They warn that no one can have any new materials put on their homes. If they do, the APSARA Authority will return and take it away from the villagers.
So, what is a poor villager supposed to do if their traditional wooden house is being eaten away by termites and falling down around them? They cannot do anything to protect the house, so it must crumble around them. If they write a letter to the APSARA Authority to request to restore parts of the house, it is an invitation for the mob with guns to arrive at their doorstep.
And when there is no more house to live in, the only choice being offered by the APSARA Authority is to move to a small piece of land in a district which is more than 30km away! It would be just enough land to build a house. They would lose all of their land that they own and farmed on!
Does this sound familiar? Do the land evictions in Phnom Penh ring a bell?
What can be done? How can they stop their land from being taken away from them? This is land that many have lived on for generations, which pre-dates the Khmer Rouge.
Unfortunately in Cambodia, the poor are no match for the rich, or those authority.
Why is the APSARA Authority doing this? Why do they want this village's land so much that they are threatening the villagers by force? What is the plan behind the action?
The villagers do not know. They can only speculate. The APSARA Authority certainly doesn't tell them why they come when they arrive with their guns.
I have an idea, and it relates to the purposes outlined above from the APSARA Authority itself. However, you must read between the lines to discover how the APSARA Authority truly plans to implement its goals.
If you think that this is a human rights issue and that justice is not being carried out, please respond and let's start a discussion for developing a solution to this challenge.
It's this "region of Siem Reap" that catches my attention and is the source of questionable conduct against the people in Siem Reap.
Here is how they describe themselves:
[T]he government has created APSARA, the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap, in charge of research, protection and conservation of cultural heritage, as well as urban and tourist development. This legislative and institutional framework marks the beginning of a new active role Cambodia will take, responding to the call of her own people in the voice of her King, as well as to that of the international community, in managing Angkor as a national and world heritage for the generations to come.
APSARA, in collaboration with other governmental agencies, is responsible for:
- Protecting, maintaining, conserving and improving the value of the archaeological park, the culture, the environment and the history of the Angkor region as defined on the World Heritage List.
- Refining and applying the master plan on tourist development according to the five zones, defined in 1994 in the Royal Decree on the protection and management of Siemreap-Angkor and taking action against deforestation, illegal territory occupation as well as anarchy activities in Siemreap-Angkor.
- Finding financial sources and investments.
- Participating in the policy of cutting down poverty of the Royal Government in Siemreap-Angkor.
- Cooperating with the Cambodian Development Council on the investments of all the projects that are involved with APSARA Authority’s mission.
- Cooperating with ministries, institutions, funds, national and international communities as well as international governmental institutions and non-governmental organization on all projects related to APSARA Authority.
"Taking action against illegal territory occupation as well as anarchy activities in Seimreap-Angkor" is what really concerns me. How do they define "anarchy activities?" Is re-storing or building a house considered anarchy?
Apparently the answer is YES because in a certain village in Siem Reap Province, villagers are being threatened of eviction from their land and homes if they attempt to re-build their traditional homes, or build anything new on their own land. Yes, they have land titles!
APSARA Authority members are arriving in large groups (around 20 people) with guns to threaten and scare villagers. They warn that no one can have any new materials put on their homes. If they do, the APSARA Authority will return and take it away from the villagers.
So, what is a poor villager supposed to do if their traditional wooden house is being eaten away by termites and falling down around them? They cannot do anything to protect the house, so it must crumble around them. If they write a letter to the APSARA Authority to request to restore parts of the house, it is an invitation for the mob with guns to arrive at their doorstep.
And when there is no more house to live in, the only choice being offered by the APSARA Authority is to move to a small piece of land in a district which is more than 30km away! It would be just enough land to build a house. They would lose all of their land that they own and farmed on!
Does this sound familiar? Do the land evictions in Phnom Penh ring a bell?
What can be done? How can they stop their land from being taken away from them? This is land that many have lived on for generations, which pre-dates the Khmer Rouge.
Unfortunately in Cambodia, the poor are no match for the rich, or those authority.
Why is the APSARA Authority doing this? Why do they want this village's land so much that they are threatening the villagers by force? What is the plan behind the action?
The villagers do not know. They can only speculate. The APSARA Authority certainly doesn't tell them why they come when they arrive with their guns.
I have an idea, and it relates to the purposes outlined above from the APSARA Authority itself. However, you must read between the lines to discover how the APSARA Authority truly plans to implement its goals.
If you think that this is a human rights issue and that justice is not being carried out, please respond and let's start a discussion for developing a solution to this challenge.
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