LIBRARY

6 June 2009

In recent years it has become a tragic cliche to say that Cambodia is suffering from an "epidemic" of land-grabbing by the rich and powerful - an epidemic which is resulting in the loss of residence and livelihoods by the poor and vulnerable on a massive scale.

In the 13 provinces in which LICADHO works - roughly half the country - more than a quarter of a million people have been affected by land-grabbing and forced evictions since 2003.

1 June 2009

In recent years, senior Cambodian government officials including Prime Minister Hun Sen have stated the government's wish is to have a Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations, commonly referred to as the “NGO Law”. In late September 2008, the Prime Minister announced that the NGO Law would be one of three priority laws to be completed.

But while these officials have claimed a need to address crime and corruption on the part of NGOs, a brief examination of the reasons they put forward suggests that the reverse is actually true - in reality, this proposed legislation is intended to restrict the lawful activities of Cambodian civil society organizations.

28 May 2009

Staff of a small environmental watchdog organization, the Cambodian Natural Resource Protection Organization (CNRPO), have come under repeated attack in recent months in a bid to deter them from their work to combat illegal logging in Koh Kong province.

On December 21, 2008, six CNRPO staff who were patrolling for illegal loggers in a small boat were shot at by police officers.

2 May 2009

Cambodia's media is often described as one of the freest in the region, especially relative to the likes of Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos or China where the media is all but controlled by the government. But the reality is that Cambodia's media still exists in a repressive environment where the government controls the majority of the media. Those that it does not control, it is not afraid to attack, threaten or censor.

2 May 2009

This briefing paper updates the LICADHO report published in May 2008, Reading Between the Lines: How Politics, Money & Fear Control Cambodia’s Media . It highlights the ongoing restrictions to Cambodia’s media, providing an updated listing of Cambodia’s news media covering newspapers, radio, television and internet sites, and also has a table highlighting reported attacks and threats made against the media during the period 1 January 2008 to 31 March 2009.

30 April 2009

Over 30 families living with HIV/AIDS in the "green shed" at the Borei Keila social land concession are facing the prospect of eviction. The families living in the temporary "green shed" have been waiting for new apartments to be allocated to them for the past 2 years, but they are now faced with the prospect of being evicted to the Toul Sambo relocation site 20km outside of Phnom Penh. At Toul Sambo there is inadeuqate housing, no clean water and is far from any markets, schools, employment opportunities and most importantly medical facilities.

Learn more about Borei Keila from our partner WITNESS.

29 April 2009

Cambodian civil society organizations condemn the reported threat to lift the parliamentary immunity of National Assembly member Mu Sochua.

The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) MP last Thursday announced her intention to sue the Prime Minister for defamation, in connection with comments he made in a public speech in Kampot province on April 4. Within 24 hours of this, a pro-government television station quoted a Prime Ministerial advisor as saying the government would counter-sue Mu Sochua and that all Cambodian People's Party (CPP) MPs would support the lifting of her immunity.

10 April 2009

This report was prepared for the forthcoming Universal Periodic Review of Cambodia's human rights record to be conducted by the UN Human Rights Council, scheduled to be held in Geneva , Switzerland, in November-December 2009.

2 April 2009

In November 2008, villagers in Preah Neth Preah commune lost farmland which they had used for 30 years when armed soldiers and tanks occupied the land. What was once peaceful fertile farmland is now home to military tanks, which has frightened and impoverished the local people.

27 March 2009

LICADHO today called upon the Royal Cambodian Government to take urgent action in response to the unjustified violence by authorities against villagers involved in a land dispute in Chi Kreng district of Siem Reap province last weekend.

"This was extremely serious violence against villagers committed by government armed forces, and it demands a strong response by the government," said LICADHO president Kek Galabru. "The police and other officials who committed this violence must be punished, and there must be a fair resolution to this land dispute."

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.

22 March 2009

LICADHO condemns the Kampong Thom Provincial Court's conviction of former Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) commune chief Tuot Saron on a charge of kidnapping and illegal confinement. This prosecution and conviction is baseless and politically-motivated, LICADHO believes.

On Friday, March 20, Tuot Saron was convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Three other provincial SRP officials, who have all fled and are in hiding, were convicted in absentia of the same charge; two of them, Men Vannak and Hour Sarath, were also sentenced to three years' imprisonment, while the third, Thorn Rithy, was sentenced to five years in prison.

6 March 2009

Women and children are suffering immensely from Cambodia's epidemic of evictions, LICADHO said today, International Women's Day.

"Sadly, there is nothing special about this day for the many Cambodian women who are struggling to feed their families because they have been evicted from their homes or are living in fear of eviction,” said LICADHO president Kek Galabru. “It is just another day of hardship and suffering.”

6 March 2009

This report aims to profile female prisoners and their experiences in the prison system and to provide an insight into the crimes they committed and the conditions they live in. Each case study is based on true accounts from prisoners, where names and details have been changed to protect the identity of the prisoners. This report also provides supplementary statistical information for relevant issues collected over the period 2007 and 2008.

2 March 2009

On 24 January, 2009 hundreds of families were forcibly evicted from Dey Krahorm in the heart of Phnom Penh. In the month following the eviction, residents struggled with the poor living conditions at the Damnak Trayeoung relocation site while others mounted protests to demand proper compensation for their stolen land and destroyed houses. However, for three former Dey Krahrom residents the repercussions of their struggle to save their land now includes criminal convictions.

19 February 2009

750 ethnic minority families in Kratie Province, Cambodia are embroiled in a land dispute over farming land, that the provincial authorities say they have leased to a private company for a rubber plantation. In October 2008 the bulldozers came into clear the land and the villagers were there to stop them.

(Music courtesy of the Messengers Band)

18 February 2009

LICADHO deplores today's decision by the Appeal Court to uphold the murder conviction of Thach Saveth, also known as Chan Sopheak. This verdict is yet another example of the injustices that Cambodia's judiciary continues to perpetuate on a regular basis.

Thach Saveth is serving a 15-year prison sentence for the 2004 murder of trade union official Ros Sovannareth, despite a lack of credible evidence against him. He was convicted on the basis of written statements, prepared by the police, from witnesses to the murder who allegedly identified him. These witnesses never testified in court or were interviewed by any court official. One of these witnesses was present at last week's Appeal Court hearing, at the request of the defense lawyers, but the court refused to allow him to testify.

11 February 2009

LICADHO urges the Court of Appeal to provide justice to Chan Sopheak, the man convicted of the murder of trade unionist Ros Sovannareth despite a lack of credible evidence against him, by releasing him from prison as soon as possible. The Appeal Court held a hearing on the case this morning and will issue its verdict on February 18.

There are remarkable similitaries between the case of Chan Sopheak, who is also known as Thach Saveth, and that of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, the two men who were unjustly convicted of killing another trade unionist, Chea Vichea. The Supreme Court, acknowledging the lack of evidence against them and the need for further investigation, ordered the release on bail of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun on December 31, 2008.

8 February 2009

In the early morning hours of Saturday January 24, 2009 approximately 500 demolition workers escorted by 300 mixed police in full riot gear surrounded the community of Dey Krahorm. Their mission, to forcibly evict the approximately 400 families that were living on the disputed land in the heart of Phnom Penh.

At 6am the police armed with electric and steel batons, wooden sticks, tear gas, water cannons and guns moved towards the remaining Dey Khrahorm families who had erected barricades and stood defiantly in front of their houses. The police were able to brake through the villagers' lines and disburse them with the use of tear gas, water cannons and rubber projectiles.

30 January 2009

LICADHO once more calls upon the government and the 7NG company to urgently ensure adequate compensation for all the families who were brutally evicted from Dey Krahorm on January 24.

LICADHO is deeply concerned that 7NG continues to refuse to provide cash compensation to an estimated 144 evicted house owners, insisting that instead it will only provide some (and not all) of them with apartments at the Damnak Trayeoung relocation site outside of Phnom Penh city. 7NG has imposed a deadline of January 31 for 85 of the house owners to register to accept apartments or they will receive nothing at all.

"7NG needs to get serious about providing adequate compensation to these evicted home owners, instead of imposing arbitrary deadlines and issuing threats that these people will receive nothing," said LICADHO director Naly Pilorge. "It is long overdue that 7NG starts to do the right thing, instead of continuing its thuggish behavior.

27 January 2009

This video is a compilation of footage captured by human rights monitors on January 24, 2009 during the violent eviction at Dey Krahorm. Video footage courtesy of Platapus, LICADHO, LICADHO Canada, Bridges Across Borders, and Karl Bille.