CCHR welcomes the initial commitment of the new Phnom Penh Municipality Governor to the resolution of land conflict at Boeung Kak Lake

CCHR PRESS RELEASE– 13 May 2013

CCHR welcomes the initial commitment of the new Phnom Penh Municipality Governor

to  the resolution of land conflict at Boeung Kak Lake.

CCHR welcomes the commitment of the recently appointed Phnom Penh Municipality Governor, His Excellency Pa Socheat Vong, to solving land disputes at Boeung Kak Lake, as well as other areas of Phnom Penh where residents have been affected by land disputes and faced with eviction.

On the morning of 9 May 2013, His Excellency Pa Socheat Vong met with six representatives from the Boeung Kak community to engage in discussion regarding the land conflict[1]. Through meeting with the representatives he aimed to further understand the goal of community members who had recently submitted a petition requesting for his intervention in the distribution of land. More specifically, the petition related to the marking of boundaries, which they claim should integrate forty-eight families, and to the provision of land titles to those who do not yet possess them. The community members argue that these actions would be compatible with the Sub-Degree affected by the Royal Government on 11 August 2011, which grants 12.44 hectares of land to villagers of Boeung Kak who have remained on the site of the Boeung Kak Development Project. In addition, Boeung Kak community representatives demanded the construction of a functioning sewage system for the community, and the deliverance of justice for imprisoned activist, Ms. Yorm Bopha.

In response to these demands, His Excellency Pa Socheat Vong promised that he will visit the sites of land conflicts in Phnom Penh by the end of May 2013, in order to understand how to best seek resolutions. He also promised that he would look into the case at Boeung Kak first, beginning this week.

President of CCHR Mr. Ou Virak Comments: “I welcome the new Governor’s open commitment to those who need his immediate assistance and I hope that the promises he made to community representatives bear fruit. I called for the Phnom Penh Municipality to organize a formal meeting with the Boeung Kak community representatives as soon as possible, in order to discuss a concrete plan to resolve this dispute, with input from civil society. Meanwhile, I urge the Court of Appeal to set up the date of hearing on Ms. Yorm Bopha’s case as soon as possible and drop all charges, releasing her immediately without condition.”

For more information, please contact Ou Virak via telephone at +855 (0) 12 40 40 51, or e-mail at ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org or CCHR Land Reform Project Coordinator at +855 (0) 12 94 12 06, or email at vann.sophath@cchrcambodia.org.