January 28, 2008
Prompted by the recent assault of a CPP lawmaker by his security guard, IPS resurveys the country’s eviction problem and notes the growing frustration of those newly landless.
At the beginning of January, Ros Sovann was just another private security guard one sees standing outside fancy restaurants and the homes of the rich in Phnom Penh. By month end, the 28-year-old had catapulted from obscurity to become the symbol of rage spreading through Cambodia over land grabbing.
Ros’ transformation took place shortly before midnight on Jan. 13 in front of a house in the Cambodian capital, owned by Chin Kim Sreng, a 70-year-old parliamentarian from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). Sometime close to 11:30 p.m., Ros brutally attacked Chin with a steel pipe as the latter had got out of his luxury car to open the gate of his house, say reports in the local press.
But Ros was not finished, despite his beatings leaving Chin bleeding and with open head wounds, added an account in the Khmer language ‘Rasmei Kampuchea’ newspaper. He had then got into Chin’s car and crashed it into the gate.
This wasn’t a crime of opportunity. After his arrest, Ros Sovann admitted to police that he took a job as a security guard with the sole intention of getting next to rich and powerful parliamentarians in order to exact his revenge. Nor is it likely that Ros Sovann is an isolated case. Over the last few years, the government has evicted tens of thousands of urban and rural poor. Ros Sovann is simply the first who unleashed his anger on the leaders of the country. He is unlikely to be the last.
The truly sad part is that Ros Sovann probably could have been placated with what the average law maker spends on karaoke in a month, if not less.
Prompted by the recent assault of a CPP lawmaker by his security guard, IPS resurveys the country’s eviction problem and notes the growing frustration of those newly landless.
At the beginning of January, Ros Sovann was just another private security guard one sees standing outside fancy restaurants and the homes of the rich in Phnom Penh. By month end, the 28-year-old had catapulted from obscurity to become the symbol of rage spreading through Cambodia over land grabbing.
Ros’ transformation took place shortly before midnight on Jan. 13 in front of a house in the Cambodian capital, owned by Chin Kim Sreng, a 70-year-old parliamentarian from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). Sometime close to 11:30 p.m., Ros brutally attacked Chin with a steel pipe as the latter had got out of his luxury car to open the gate of his house, say reports in the local press.
But Ros was not finished, despite his beatings leaving Chin bleeding and with open head wounds, added an account in the Khmer language ‘Rasmei Kampuchea’ newspaper. He had then got into Chin’s car and crashed it into the gate.
This wasn’t a crime of opportunity. After his arrest, Ros Sovann admitted to police that he took a job as a security guard with the sole intention of getting next to rich and powerful parliamentarians in order to exact his revenge. Nor is it likely that Ros Sovann is an isolated case. Over the last few years, the government has evicted tens of thousands of urban and rural poor. Ros Sovann is simply the first who unleashed his anger on the leaders of the country. He is unlikely to be the last.
The truly sad part is that Ros Sovann probably could have been placated with what the average law maker spends on karaoke in a month, if not less.
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