LIBRARY

10 June 2011

LICADHO strongly condemns the violent confrontation yesterday in Kampong Speu province, where hundreds of armed police and villagers clashed over a land dispute. At least 10 people were injured on both sides, including seven seriously.

Regrettably, the incident may be a sign of things to come, as more and more ordinary Cambodians are pushed aside by a development agenda designed to enrich the elite.

3 June 2011

On May 25 2011, demonstrators came to Phnom Penh to protest the destruction of Prey Lang forest. Recent economic concessions have put at risk the livelihood of thousands of people.

2 June 2011

HRTF urges the organisers of the Bayon Challenge to find an alternative venue for the football tournament planned to be held at Phnom Penh's 7NG Field this weekend. The field sits on land that was illegally and violently seized from the Dey Krahorm community in 2009. If an alternative venue cannot be found, we call upon participating teams and sponsors to withdraw from the tournament.

21 April 2011

The Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF) strongly condemns the violence used earlier today against peaceful Boeung Kak lake protesters and the arrest of 11 villagers - including young children - in front of the Phnom Penh municipal cabinet.

At around 8:30AM, about 100 villagers from the Boeung Kak lake gathered in front of the Phnom Penh municipal cabinet to attempt once again to meet authorities to discuss two issues: i) to stop the lake filling causing flooding in the area, and ii) to stop evictions until authorities enter into negotiations with the villagers and reach an agreement with the affected residents.

21 April 2011

More than 100 Boeung Kak villagers gathered at Phnom Penh municipal cabinet, demanding a resolution to their land dispute. A group of armed anti-riot police forces used violence against villagers, arresting 11 people including women and two children.

6 February 2011

This LICADHO production offers a glimpse into community activism to resist land evictions throughout Cambodia The video was shown during the land grabbing workshop leading up to the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal in February 2011.

The Khmer language version of this video was put together after the Senegal workshop. Its content differs a little and is targeted at grassroots activists.

27 January 2011

We, the undersigned members of civil society, deeply regret the conviction on defamation charges of community representative Reach Seima and ADHOC staff member Sam Chankea, following their work to help the victims of a land-grab in Kampong Chhnang province. The verdict is a setback for freedom of expression, and represents yet another instance where the Cambodian judiciary has been misused to punish a human rights defender who dared to
publicly demand justice for victims of human rights abuses.

Sam Chankea, ADHOC's Kampong Chhnang provincial coordinator, was convicted and sentenced by the court on January 25, 2011. The court ordered him to pay a 1 million riel fine and an additional 3 million riel in compensation to the plaintiff, the K.D.C. International Company. Last week, the same provincial court also sentenced community representative Reach Seima, who was a victim of land grabbing by the same company. He was also convicted of defamation and sentenced to pay a 2 million riel of fine and an additional 8 million riel of compensation. He faces 6 months in prison if he cannot pay.

15 December 2010

Venerable Loun Sovath has many hats: he is a monk, a human rights defender and a representative for the disenfranchised Chikreng community in Siem Reap province.

Sovath has acted at great risk to his personal safety, struggling to find justice for the victims of the Chi Kreng land grab.

Venerable Sovath was threatened very often, like many other human rights defenders, dispite his robes. In fact, he may face an even greater threat, given his willingness to speak out, appear in the media, and openly document abuse perpetrated by the authorities.

3 November 2010

The incident took place during a protest in front of the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital on the morning of October 28, 2010, where a group of fifty protesters gathered to seek intervention by the UN Secretary-General into the ongoing Boeung Kak land grab in Phnom Penh. ;Around 10:15AM, as the UN Secretary-General was visiting the Hospital with government officials, a mixed group of armed anti-riot police and administrative police officers launched a violent assault on standing protesters, pushing people to the ground, beating some with walkie-talkies and shocking others with electric batons.

During the incident, Suong Sophorn, an activist who lives in the Boeung Kak Lake area, was arrested and viciously beaten, resulting in a severe bleeding wound to the head. The police dragged him away as he felt unconscious and was further beaten by officers. Sophorn is one among the Cambodians who were protesting the forced eviction of the Boeung Kak Lake community, and was appealing for a meeting with the Secretary-General.

1 November 2010

* Cambodia Still Ranking Low on Corruption Index * UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Visits Cambodia

28 October 2010

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) condemns the authorities’ brutal response to peaceful protesters who demonstrated during the visit of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The incident took place during a protest in front of the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital this morning, October 28, 2010, where a group of fifty protesters gathered to seek intervention by the UN Secretary-General into the ongoing Boeung Kak land grab in Phnom Penh by Shukaku Company, owned by a ruling party senator.

Around 10:15AM, as the UN Secretary-General was visiting the Hospital with government officials, a mixed group of armed anti-riot police and administrative police officers launched a violent assault on standing protesters, pushing people to the ground, beating some with walkie-talkies and shocking others with electric batons.

2 September 2010

Since 2007, the human rights abuses and violence encountered by human rights defenders in Cambodia have continued unchecked. Respect for the rights of human rights defenders has continued to deteriorate with dramatic setbacks in press freedom, misuse of the justice system to silence government critics, and the imposition of harsh new restrictions on peaceful protests.

LICADHO has continued to monitor the situation closely in order to provide a report that analyzes the current challenges faced by human rights defenders in Cambodia on a daily basis. Investigations have confirmed that Cambodia remains a dangerous place for human rights defenders.

In 2008 and 2009 representatives of communities engaged in land disputes were threatened with violence, spurious legal action or imprisonment; trades union leaders were assaulted, arrested and persecuted for legitimate trade union activity; and journalists and human rights workers at NGOs were threatened, arrested and obstructed in carrying out their work. The Cambodian government continues to pursue repressive tactics, terrorizing human rights defenders and undermining their ability to defend peacefully the rights of others.

While threats and attacks against human rights defenders have continued - and in some instances increased - since 2007, a number of disturbing trends have emerged.

8 August 2010

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) strongly condemns the violent dispersal and forced removal of about fourty-five villagers from Phnom Penh by the municipal and district police, and security guards. The villagers had peacefully assembled at a distance of a hundred meters from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s villa in central Phnom Penh earlier this morning.

The group of villagers, composed of men, women, and children, including babies, had reached the capital either one or two days earlier. The trip was organized to raise awareness about a longstanding land dispute between the villagers and local authorities, including members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. This dispute involves over 400 families in the Doun Ba commune, Koas Krolar district, in Battambang.

1 August 2010

* Report on Sex Workers in Cambodia by HRW * Verdict of Duch Announced: Majority of Cambodians and International Community Disappointed * Chi Kreng Trial Adjourned

31 July 2010

On March 22, 2009, 80 Chi Kreng villagers protested on the disputed land, demanding that they be allowed to farm. Authorities proceeded in shooting the protesters, resulting in four villagers injured, three of them hospitalized.

1 July 2010

A land dispute in Chi Kreng district of Siem Reap province, turned ugly when four villagers were wounded when members of a joint force - including police, military police, border police and soldiers - opened fire on a crowd of farmers in Anlong Samnor commune on Sunday, March 22.

Over a year later, not a single officer has been prosecuted for the violence committed on that day. However, nine villagers are facing trial in July 2010 on spurious charges of attempted killing in relation to the March 2009 shooting incident.

21 June 2010

On June 15th, 2010, 350 community representatives from 24 provinces and municipalities - including ethnic minority communities - gathered near Wat Botum pagoda to rally for land rights.

Most of the representatives were engaged in land disputes with companies who had received economic land concessions from the government. Some face eviction, while others are being prevented from entering waters where they normally make their living as fishermen. The rally aimed to draw attention to their plight, and to gather petitions to be delivered to Prime Minister Hun Sen. The representatives gathered three boxes full of petitions.

About 80 of the representatives from Memot Disrict, Kampong Cham, initially gathered in front of Wat Botum on June 14. They were dispersed by about 20 police and authorities and forced to leave Wat Botum. LICADHO and other NGOs provided food, accommodation, and mediated with authorities on their behalf. The authorities ordered them to return home.

2 April 2010

The use of military police by government-affiliated companies and individuals to forcibly evict villagers featured prominently in land grabbing cases in first quarter of 2010, leaving over 2,500 families at risk of losing their homes or livelihood.

LICADHO received 23 complaints of land grabbing between January and March 2010, ten of which involved the violent eviction of individuals following the grant of economic land concessions by government ministers to relatives or elites, and their affiliated companies.

2 April 2010

On 26 March 2010, more than 600 - entangled in a land dispute with Okhna Ly Yong Phat's sugar plantation - villagers gathered on National Road 4, blocking the road for almost two hours, and demanded the release of their two representatives, Khem Vuth and You Tho, who had been arrested two days earlier. This led to heavy traffic congestion and prompted the deputy provincial governor, court officials and provincial police commissioner to talk with villagers. After lengthy negotiations, the villagers agreed to move and discuss the matter at the provincial court.

On 29 March 2010 Mr. You and Mr. Vuthy were released on bail and placed under surveillance.

1 April 2010

* Report on Rape in Cambodia * Anti-Corruption Law Adopted * Royal Government of Cambodia Accepts Recommendation from UN Human Rights Council * Land Grabbing Protest Forces Release of Arrested Community Representatives