Posted on 28 October 2008
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 584
“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 same letter went on to say that the residents of the Boeng Kak region had formed communities, had created credit unions, and are supported by non-government organizations with general health services, that also help to construct roads and bridges in the communities. On 6 February 2007, the Phnom Penh Municipality announced to lease the Boeng Kak region for a period of 99 years at a cost of US$79,002,000 to the Shukaku Inc. Company of South Korea, to develop the Boeng Kak Lake area which covers 133 hectares, where 90 hectares are lake, and 4,252 families are affected.
“On 26 October 2008, the Shukaku Inc. Company started to dredge sand to fill the lake, causing flood for some houses and on the roads; some houses collapsed and electricity and water was cut. Moreover, the company threatens and intimidates the residents, which concerns them, and some lost their regular jobs or cannot operate their businesses, due to the threats at present.
“The letter continued to report to the South Korean ambassador that previously, the citizens had sent motions to the Phnom Penh municipality, to the company, to the cabinet of the Prime Minister, and to the president of the National Assembly, asking for intervention from those institutions, but there is no solution. Now the residents of the Boeng Kak region are very worried, that is, they live in a state of being afraid both day and night, and even during their work to earn their living.
“At present, the Shukaku Inc. Company and the Phnom Penh authorities are using every trick to persuade and to force them, and to break the unity among the residents, so that they leave their houses, offering inappropriate compensation and money, forcing them to live at far away places from Phnom Penh and from their places of work, trying to move them to where there is no school, no hospital, no clean water, and no electricity; moving there they would loose their jobs.
"The letter of all residents of the Boeng Kak region to the South Korean ambassador asks the ambassador to help to intervene with the Shukaku Inc. Company and with the Phnom Penh Municipality, to solve the requests of the residents of the Boeng Kak region as follows:
- 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.
“On the morning of 27 October 2008, officials of the South Korean Embassy in Cambodia came to greet representatives of the residents of the Boeng Kak region for a discussion. A representative of the residents, named Kon, who met with officials of the South Korean Embassy, reported to journalists and to around 200 residents of the Boeng Kak region, who protested in front of the South Korean Embassy, that the Shukaku Inc. is not a company from Korea. Therefore, they asked all residents of the Boeng Kak region to stop believing that this company comes from Korea.
“The rally of the residents then dispersed, but their representatives said that they will continue to search for the owners of the Shukaku Inc. Company, to know where it really comes from. When they know it clearly, they will rally in front of any embassy of the country from which the Shukaku Inc. Company came to invest in the Boeng Kak region, to seek compensation for the residents according to market prices, without forcing residents to leave.
“Different sources said that the Shukaku Inc. Company is an investment partner of Ms. Cheung Sopheap, also known as Yeay Phou – Grandmother Yeay - whose husband is Lao Meng Khin, an economic advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen, it is likely they originate from China, because Yeay Phou and her husband have close relations with Chinese businesspeople. Some say that the Shukaku Inc. is a Japanese company; however, there is no source to say from which country the Shukaku Inc. Company really comes.”
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.15, #3599, 28.10.2008
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 584
“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 same letter went on to say that the residents of the Boeng Kak region had formed communities, had created credit unions, and are supported by non-government organizations with general health services, that also help to construct roads and bridges in the communities. On 6 February 2007, the Phnom Penh Municipality announced to lease the Boeng Kak region for a period of 99 years at a cost of US$79,002,000 to the Shukaku Inc. Company of South Korea, to develop the Boeng Kak Lake area which covers 133 hectares, where 90 hectares are lake, and 4,252 families are affected.
“On 26 October 2008, the Shukaku Inc. Company started to dredge sand to fill the lake, causing flood for some houses and on the roads; some houses collapsed and electricity and water was cut. Moreover, the company threatens and intimidates the residents, which concerns them, and some lost their regular jobs or cannot operate their businesses, due to the threats at present.
“The letter continued to report to the South Korean ambassador that previously, the citizens had sent motions to the Phnom Penh municipality, to the company, to the cabinet of the Prime Minister, and to the president of the National Assembly, asking for intervention from those institutions, but there is no solution. Now the residents of the Boeng Kak region are very worried, that is, they live in a state of being afraid both day and night, and even during their work to earn their living.
“At present, the Shukaku Inc. Company and the Phnom Penh authorities are using every trick to persuade and to force them, and to break the unity among the residents, so that they leave their houses, offering inappropriate compensation and money, forcing them to live at far away places from Phnom Penh and from their places of work, trying to move them to where there is no school, no hospital, no clean water, and no electricity; moving there they would loose their jobs.
"The letter of all residents of the Boeng Kak region to the South Korean ambassador asks the ambassador to help to intervene with the Shukaku Inc. Company and with the Phnom Penh Municipality, to solve the requests of the residents of the Boeng Kak region as follows:
- 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.
“On the morning of 27 October 2008, officials of the South Korean Embassy in Cambodia came to greet representatives of the residents of the Boeng Kak region for a discussion. A representative of the residents, named Kon, who met with officials of the South Korean Embassy, reported to journalists and to around 200 residents of the Boeng Kak region, who protested in front of the South Korean Embassy, that the Shukaku Inc. is not a company from Korea. Therefore, they asked all residents of the Boeng Kak region to stop believing that this company comes from Korea.
“The rally of the residents then dispersed, but their representatives said that they will continue to search for the owners of the Shukaku Inc. Company, to know where it really comes from. When they know it clearly, they will rally in front of any embassy of the country from which the Shukaku Inc. Company came to invest in the Boeng Kak region, to seek compensation for the residents according to market prices, without forcing residents to leave.
“Different sources said that the Shukaku Inc. Company is an investment partner of Ms. Cheung Sopheap, also known as Yeay Phou – Grandmother Yeay - whose husband is Lao Meng Khin, an economic advisor to Prime Minister Hun Sen, it is likely they originate from China, because Yeay Phou and her husband have close relations with Chinese businesspeople. Some say that the Shukaku Inc. is a Japanese company; however, there is no source to say from which country the Shukaku Inc. Company really comes.”
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.15, #3599, 28.10.2008
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
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