LAND DISPUTE IN THE SHADOW OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000869

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS; GENEVA FOR RMA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KJUS CB
SUBJECT: LAND DISPUTE IN THE SHADOW OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY



1. (U) Summary. On May 2, local authorities began the
eviction of a 1,367-family community of squatters living
near the Tonle Bassac River near the new National Assembly
building in Phnom Penh. The community is due to be
relocated to a new site that is 22 kilometers from Phnom
Penh and inadequate for the needs of those being relocated.
The majority losing their homes are renters who are being
left homeless. NGO leader Kem Sokha is trying to contact
the Prime Minister regarding the situation. End Summary.

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BASSAC COMMUNE LAND ISSUE
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2. (U) Some of the poorest of Phnom Penh's inhabitants
live in small houses in the Tonle Bassac community of Sambok
Chab, which has been in existence since 2001. The
inhabitants are from Prey Veng, Svay Rieng, and Kampot
provinces, as well as from other parts of Phnom Penh. Among
its inhabitants are people selling sugar cane cubes on the
streets of Phnom Penh and construction workers. Some of its
inhabitants can best be described as indentured servants.


3. (U) With regards to the relocation, the community is
divided. The minority favoring relocation are those who own
land at the present site and have been promised land at the
new site. The majority who oppose relocation are renting
houses at the present site. The company that purchased the
land has told these renters that they are not eligible to
receive land at the new site. Even those in favor of
relocating have qualms about the new site. Facilities are
woefully inadequate. The promised new market, clinic and
school do not exist. No electricity supply is ready. The
area is already flooded even though the rainy season has yet
to start in earnest. No sewage system is planned. Only 30
latrines have been built to service the nearly 1,400
families that are due to live there. Each family will
receive only a 5 meter by 12 meter dirt plot.


4. (U) The morning of May 4, people affected by this
relocation began to block trucks coming into and out of the
Tonle Bassac site to remove people. Thirty civilian police
were then deployed. When they proved ineffective, thirty
riot police wielding shields, and armed with electric batons
came to the site. The situation then diffused as the riot
police used their shields to push through the blockade. No
violence occurred.


5. (U) On May 5, the relocations continued slowly as
workers continue to demolish houses once owners give
permission. However, the renters of these houses are now
homeless as they are not eligible to receive plots of land
at the resettlement site. In some cases, they are refusing
to leave to the plot of land where their former home was
situated. The NGO LICADHO offered to provide tents for them
but the local authorities denied permission. NGO workers
from Community Legal Education Center (CLEC),Friends
International, and People Interest Legal Advocacy Program
(PILAP) have asked local authorities to halt the evictions
until they can survey the number of the renters and the new
site is properly constructed. The Governor of Phnom Penh
has refused to halt the resettlement barring an order from
the Prime Minister. Cambodian Center for Human Rights
(CCHR) leader Kem Sokha told us on May 5 that he was trying
to reach the PM regarding the Tonle Bassac matter.


6. (U) An official from the Sour Srun Company purchasing
the land said that he saw no problems. He claimed that the
majority of people were happy to leave, and those who were
unhappy did not really live there. When asked if he knew
when the population had been informed of their relocation,
he replied that was the role of the local government.


7. (U) A letter, dated April 24, notifying the community of
the relocation was posted on one house in the community.
The letter was dated only 9 days before the relocation. The
letter claimed the relocation notice was a result of
proceedings that began April 21. However, local community
members and NGOs claimed that the process was done without
transparency.


8. (U) On May 5, Tonle Bassac community representatives
revealed that they had conducted a census of the community
in 2002 that counted 1,367 families living in the area. At
a later date, however, the local municipal authorities
conducted a census that counted 1,216 families. In
addition, the two surveys only had about 100 families in
common. The municipal authorities are adamant about using
their own census for compensating people being relocated in

PHNOM PENH 00000869 002 OF 002


spite of the fact the community leaders have produced
documents signed by the Sour Srun Company lawyer stating
that the community census was to be used.


9. (SBU) Comment. Land rights remain a contentious issue
in Cambodia and a potentially explosive one. According to
NGOs, the Tonle Bassac issue has the makings of a lose-lose
situation. Many people will likely be moved but will
probably remain at the resettlement site for a few days or
weeks, before returning to their livelihoods in the city.
The resettlement site will go seriously underutilized, with
its land falling into the hands of those who have colluded
with municipal authorities. As a result, Phnom Penh's urban
poverty problems will only increase with the return of many
homeless families. Municipal authorities pay lip service to
resettlement guidelines and indeed another resettlement
scheme is proceeding much better than the Bassac community
scheme, but consistency and minimum humanitarian standards
are still lacking.

STORELLA