Email to CambodiaWatch about "Violent land grab"
Hello,
I am an Australian who has fallen in love with Cambodia. I spent 3 months there last year volunteering at a small school in Siem Reap which is run by an NGO. I plan to return for another 3 months in October.
I am aware of the many evictions that are taking place in Cambodia and wish that more people in Australia could hear about them. On my first day at the school the directors were told that the homes of about half the children would be razed to the ground and the land taken back. The land had been given to their fathers as compensation for injuries suffered while they were serving in the Cambodian Army. I heard of many other cases where people are relocated from their homes with little or no compensation and often violently.
A Khmer friend of mine has posted a particularly disturbing video on facebook of a violent clash between the police/army (?) over a land grab. I wanted to bring it to your attention in case you have not already seen it. I would like to see it on our news reports here as most Australians do not know what is happening in Cambodia and I believe that they would be horrified to know. Can you please let me know if you have seen the footage and if it has been screened on Australian TV.
As I don't speak Khmer I don't know what is being said or what is written on the signs but obviously you will have much clearer idea of what is going on. I will copy what my friend said when I asked him for some details.
"First of all, some foreigners who were there are the United Nation Investigators. This happened in Kompong Spue Province in Ou Dong District. There were 300 police and only 200 people of 88 family. This fight took more or less about 5 to 10 minutes. The police shot the people and the people use sticks to fight them back. No one died in this fighting but 7 people got seriously injured by the gun shot from the police and 3 police man got injured as well. It happened at around 1 PM on the 16 of June. This is I am pretty sure off. Anyway, This land fighting disputation could happened because there was a private company "and probably has a relation with the government " took their rice land property in many hectors area that use to own by 88 families. But those land the government never give any certificate for ownership and now this company came in and buy the land from the government and after buying from the government successfully, there was a complain from the local people but the court decided to give those rice land property to the local company (corruption) and the company hired the police to drive the people but the people they are struggle and not allow to take their land from their grandfather and many generation ago that is why there was a fighting. In the video, you would see the photos of one man and some writing on the white clothes, that photo is our prime minister and the writing means (no rice land no live) and ( other writing said we dare to lose our live to protect our rice land from our elderly generation)."
I will not give his name as I don't want him to get into any trouble.
Kind regards, Lindy
I am aware of the many evictions that are taking place in Cambodia and wish that more people in Australia could hear about them. On my first day at the school the directors were told that the homes of about half the children would be razed to the ground and the land taken back. The land had been given to their fathers as compensation for injuries suffered while they were serving in the Cambodian Army. I heard of many other cases where people are relocated from their homes with little or no compensation and often violently.
A Khmer friend of mine has posted a particularly disturbing video on facebook of a violent clash between the police/army (?) over a land grab. I wanted to bring it to your attention in case you have not already seen it. I would like to see it on our news reports here as most Australians do not know what is happening in Cambodia and I believe that they would be horrified to know. Can you please let me know if you have seen the footage and if it has been screened on Australian TV.
As I don't speak Khmer I don't know what is being said or what is written on the signs but obviously you will have much clearer idea of what is going on. I will copy what my friend said when I asked him for some details.
"First of all, some foreigners who were there are the United Nation Investigators. This happened in Kompong Spue Province in Ou Dong District. There were 300 police and only 200 people of 88 family. This fight took more or less about 5 to 10 minutes. The police shot the people and the people use sticks to fight them back. No one died in this fighting but 7 people got seriously injured by the gun shot from the police and 3 police man got injured as well. It happened at around 1 PM on the 16 of June. This is I am pretty sure off. Anyway, This land fighting disputation could happened because there was a private company "and probably has a relation with the government " took their rice land property in many hectors area that use to own by 88 families. But those land the government never give any certificate for ownership and now this company came in and buy the land from the government and after buying from the government successfully, there was a complain from the local people but the court decided to give those rice land property to the local company (corruption) and the company hired the police to drive the people but the people they are struggle and not allow to take their land from their grandfather and many generation ago that is why there was a fighting. In the video, you would see the photos of one man and some writing on the white clothes, that photo is our prime minister and the writing means (no rice land no live) and ( other writing said we dare to lose our live to protect our rice land from our elderly generation)."
I will not give his name as I don't want him to get into any trouble.
Kind regards, Lindy
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