Phnom Penh (Cambodia). 19/03/2009: Boeung Kak lake resident at a press conference held at the CLEC.©John Vink/ Magnum
Ka-set
By Ros Dina
19-03-2009
Some thirty representatives for the 4,252 families living under threat of eviction on the Boeung Kak lakeside, at the heart of Cambodia's capital, insisted on denouncing publicly at a press conference held on Thursday March 19th, “false information” broadcast by the television channel Bayon TV, according to which 70% of families accepted to leave their dwelling and let the Shukaku Inc. company develop the zone into a vast urban complex.
Inside the CLEC (Community Legal Education Centre) premises, in front of journalists and non-governmental organisations, Duong Bophary, one of the representatives of the Boeung Kak community, formally denied figures given by a Bayon TV journalist, the director general of which is none other than Hun Mana, the daughter and assistant to the office of prime Minister Hun Sen. According to the families representative, to this day, only 20% of them accepted to leave their home, and this mainly concerns families living in small floating houses in Groups 2 and 4 in Boeung Kak, located just next to the pipes from which sand is already pouring down and progressively filling the lake.
The reportage at issue, broadcast on February 24th and 25th, presented images shot in Boeung Kak in February, followed by comments from a journalist, asserting that in the meantime, the Shukaku Inc company had already started to develop that zone and that almost 2 families out of 3 had accepted to resettle on another site. The journalist stressed that the government should be given credit for this progress as it is an active part in the development of a new city.
In the same reportage, oknha Lav Van, who represents the concessionary company, boasted about the advantages granted by his company to lake residents. “They had the opportunity to transform their life by going from a home on the water, in an unhealthy environment, to a real house. Moreover, they can sell [their new home] whenever they want to and I think that price would bring them twice the amount back in! The value of their house in Boeung Kak, where they have been living for twenty years, will never be appreciated like that. And anyway, they can neither buy nor sell, because they do not possess legal title deeds”, the businessman explained. He was also very pleased about the transformation of the Boeung Kak lake and the neighbouring plots of land, which gather 133 hectares, into a new town, adjoining to Phnom Penh, with accommodation, shopping malls, hotels, banks and conference rooms.
That optimism was not share d at all by representatives of the families who were present at the conference. Indeed they particularly reminded that the Shukaku Inc company said they wanted to follow the “pattern” of another private company called 7NG [read also Land violences in Cambodia: Dey Krohom razed to the ground following a tough eviction] and offer residents three solutions: owning a house in Santepheap II, a sillage built by... 7NG, in Damnak Trah Yeung, located some 20 km west of Phnom Penh ; receiving a sum of money equivalent to 8,000 USdollars and 2 million riels (around 500 USdollars) ; or benefit from a new house, on the same site of Boeung Kak. Out of these three solutions, the first two were indeed presented to residents, but not the third one, families representatives denounce: like the waters of the lake, it evaporated somewhere... “In a letter dated April 25th 2008 from the Municipality and answering a question of the National Assembly on that topic, it is written that discussions were in progress with the population to study these three possibilities. But in fact, this is not the case at all”, Choung Chou Ngy, a lawyer for Boeung Kak inhabitants, claims.
According to Duong Bophary, Shukaku Inc officials never started any discussion with inhabitants. “Until now, we do not clearly know the criteria of the company. Is there a difference between those who live in floating houses and the others? On land, people have large houses and guest houses... What will their compensation be?”, Duong Bophary asks, urging the company to think about specific and “reasonable” solutions in favour of all the residents and within respect of their rights, rather than finding inspiration in what has been done in other areas of Phnom Penh
Most of the inhabitants in the 93-hectare zone concerned by the eviction, of which 40 ha are under the waters of the lake, are civil servants at the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Health, and they have been there since 1980 or 1982, Duong Bophary pointed out.
Despite the absence of agreement with all the residents, works for filling the lake with sand have already started, causing flooding and blocking access to some areas. Several houses have collapsed after the first discharge of sand. This is the case of the house of Keo Malay, a widow. The company did not allow her to rebuild her home and offered her a 200-dollar compensation, which she refused.
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On the Internet
- Site of the campaign "Save Boeung Kak ", launched by the NGO Housing Rights Task Force
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By Ros Dina
19-03-2009
Some thirty representatives for the 4,252 families living under threat of eviction on the Boeung Kak lakeside, at the heart of Cambodia's capital, insisted on denouncing publicly at a press conference held on Thursday March 19th, “false information” broadcast by the television channel Bayon TV, according to which 70% of families accepted to leave their dwelling and let the Shukaku Inc. company develop the zone into a vast urban complex.
Inside the CLEC (Community Legal Education Centre) premises, in front of journalists and non-governmental organisations, Duong Bophary, one of the representatives of the Boeung Kak community, formally denied figures given by a Bayon TV journalist, the director general of which is none other than Hun Mana, the daughter and assistant to the office of prime Minister Hun Sen. According to the families representative, to this day, only 20% of them accepted to leave their home, and this mainly concerns families living in small floating houses in Groups 2 and 4 in Boeung Kak, located just next to the pipes from which sand is already pouring down and progressively filling the lake.
The reportage at issue, broadcast on February 24th and 25th, presented images shot in Boeung Kak in February, followed by comments from a journalist, asserting that in the meantime, the Shukaku Inc company had already started to develop that zone and that almost 2 families out of 3 had accepted to resettle on another site. The journalist stressed that the government should be given credit for this progress as it is an active part in the development of a new city.
In the same reportage, oknha Lav Van, who represents the concessionary company, boasted about the advantages granted by his company to lake residents. “They had the opportunity to transform their life by going from a home on the water, in an unhealthy environment, to a real house. Moreover, they can sell [their new home] whenever they want to and I think that price would bring them twice the amount back in! The value of their house in Boeung Kak, where they have been living for twenty years, will never be appreciated like that. And anyway, they can neither buy nor sell, because they do not possess legal title deeds”, the businessman explained. He was also very pleased about the transformation of the Boeung Kak lake and the neighbouring plots of land, which gather 133 hectares, into a new town, adjoining to Phnom Penh, with accommodation, shopping malls, hotels, banks and conference rooms.
That optimism was not share d at all by representatives of the families who were present at the conference. Indeed they particularly reminded that the Shukaku Inc company said they wanted to follow the “pattern” of another private company called 7NG [read also Land violences in Cambodia: Dey Krohom razed to the ground following a tough eviction] and offer residents three solutions: owning a house in Santepheap II, a sillage built by... 7NG, in Damnak Trah Yeung, located some 20 km west of Phnom Penh ; receiving a sum of money equivalent to 8,000 USdollars and 2 million riels (around 500 USdollars) ; or benefit from a new house, on the same site of Boeung Kak. Out of these three solutions, the first two were indeed presented to residents, but not the third one, families representatives denounce: like the waters of the lake, it evaporated somewhere... “In a letter dated April 25th 2008 from the Municipality and answering a question of the National Assembly on that topic, it is written that discussions were in progress with the population to study these three possibilities. But in fact, this is not the case at all”, Choung Chou Ngy, a lawyer for Boeung Kak inhabitants, claims.
According to Duong Bophary, Shukaku Inc officials never started any discussion with inhabitants. “Until now, we do not clearly know the criteria of the company. Is there a difference between those who live in floating houses and the others? On land, people have large houses and guest houses... What will their compensation be?”, Duong Bophary asks, urging the company to think about specific and “reasonable” solutions in favour of all the residents and within respect of their rights, rather than finding inspiration in what has been done in other areas of Phnom Penh
Most of the inhabitants in the 93-hectare zone concerned by the eviction, of which 40 ha are under the waters of the lake, are civil servants at the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Health, and they have been there since 1980 or 1982, Duong Bophary pointed out.
Despite the absence of agreement with all the residents, works for filling the lake with sand have already started, causing flooding and blocking access to some areas. Several houses have collapsed after the first discharge of sand. This is the case of the house of Keo Malay, a widow. The company did not allow her to rebuild her home and offered her a 200-dollar compensation, which she refused.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the Internet
- Site of the campaign "Save Boeung Kak ", launched by the NGO Housing Rights Task Force
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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