In Kong Yu, a remote part of Ratanakiri province, ethnic Jarai villagers are fighting for their land against a wealthy and well-connected member of Cambodia’s political elite. PILAP lawyers represent the villagers in this fight which has become a cause celebre among Cambodia’s human rights community and among Cambodia’s indigenous peoples.
The case alleges that in 2004, a relative of a government minister collaborated with local authorities to illegally obtain 450 hectares of indigenous peoples’ land. The villagers allege numerous instances of threats, fraud, and violations of both Cambodian contract law and the 2001 Land Law. In January 2007, PILAP, along with lawyers from Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC), assisted the villagers to file civil and criminal complaints aimed at obtaining a court order returning the land to the villagers. The case has garnered wide international attention, including an article in the Washington Post and a visit to the site by UN Special Representative for Human Rights to Cambodia, Yash Ghai.
PILAP continues to work for a resolution of the case. Most recently, PILAP lawyers pressed the judge assigned to the case to generate written orders or otherwise take definitive steps to end what has become a deadlock.
Group 78
PILAP represents the citizens of the Group 78 community, which sits on some of Phnom Penh’s most valuable real estate – riverfront property next to the planned Australian Embassy. In addition to the site’s proximity to the planned Embassy, it is adjacent to Koh Pich, making the case an important successor to the Koh Pich case, a ground breaking PILAP land rights case. The issues are also similar, involving possession rights and the right to fair and just compensation prior to any taking of land.
The case dates to mid-2006, when the families living at Group 78 received the first of a string of eviction notices from the city. PILAP took on the case and has represented the people of Group 78 ever since, formulating legal and advocacy strategies, and assisting the community prepare its own proposal for a development upgrade of the site as an alternative to forced relocation to a dismal resettlement site. Relations with City Hall have been tense at times. For some residents the stress has been too much and they have accepted cash offers and left their homes. For the majority the struggle continues, and PILAP continues to represent them.
Reak Reay Case
In late 2007, PILAP began formally representing the Reak Reay community. Located less than two kilometers south of Group 78, Sahakhum Reak Reay (in Khmer: “Happy Community”) consists of 229 families living on 4 hectares of land parallel to the Tonle Bassac river. Residents received an eviction notice in November 2007, in which City Hall stated that the community’s land was needed for construction of a bridge to Koh Pich, as well as a road along the river bank.
Like Group 78, Reak Reay is an important successor to the Koh Pich case. It is affected by the same overall Tonle Bassac development plan put forth by Canadia Bank. It involves the same fundamental legal issue – the validity of possession rights under the 2001 Land Law.
PILAP staff held a series of meetings with the community to select community representatives and formulate legal and advocacy strategies. The PILAP team also worked with residents to survey the community to develop accurate residency statistics and maps of the site and also arranged for a property appraisal of the site. Shortly after PILAP began its efforts, workers involved in the development project came in conflict with the Reak Reay residents in the process of trying to clear land the villagers claimed was theirs. After a series of altercations over the land clearing, residents staged a protest outside Canadia Bank’s offices. This got the attention of the developers and PILAP helped the residents negotiate with them. While the negotiations have not resulted in a concrete resolution, there has been no further violence or provocation.
In recent months, some residents have accepted compensation offers and moved from Reak Reay. Others remain, and the struggle continues.
Srei Ambel Case - PILAP, LICADHO, CCHR Collaboration
The Srei Ambel case dates from November 2006, when the directors of the Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), agreed to jointly pursue representation of community members involved in the case. The dispute pits three villages in Koh Kong province against a powerful Cambodian businessman. The businessman established sugar plantations on two land concessions that cover land villagers’ claim to be theirs. PILAP lawyers have judged these concessions to be illegal under Cambodian law and have filed a case on behalf of the villagers in Koh Kong provincial court to asking the court to cancel the concessions.
Court proceedings have been ineffective to date and the villagers face severe hardship due to the loss of their rice fields. Villagers have traveled to Phnom Penh to press their claims at various ministries on numerous occasions but to no avail. The case continues.
Previous PILAP Cases
Koh Pich Case
In December 2004, PILAP became involved in the Koh Pich case, which involved residents on an island just a few meters offshore from downtown Phnom Penh - right across from the Naga Casino, in the heart of a rapidly developing area of the city.
In late 2004, Phnom Penh Municipality issued an eviction order to the island's residents, and the matter was brought to the Housing Rights Task Force, of which CLEC/PILAP is a member. Those on the Task Force determined that the government's efforts to force the islanders to sell their land were blatantly illegal.
The PILAP Team agreed to take the case, and began to vigorously represent more than 100 families in the matter. PILAP retained a Cambodian real estate firm to perform an appraisal of the properties on the island. Initial results indicated an overall value of more than $7 million for the entire island.
PILAP also conducted a complete survey of the island, producing statistics and a map detailing the amount of land owned by each family, as well as the documents supporting each family’s claim to their land.
PILAP also produced a detailed legal memo detailing the peoples’ “possession rights” under the 2001 Land Law. After a year of advocacy and arduous negotiations with City Hall, by late 2005 PILAP achieved a settlement for almost all of the more than 100 client families that it represented. The total value of the settlement was more than $3 million, a dramatic improvement over the offer City Hall had proposed to the residents prior to PILAP’s engagement ($500 per family, a plot of land in a barren resettlement site, and some rice and fish sauce). Two clients continue their struggle for a greater amount of compensation, and PILAP continues to represent their interests, currently on appeal to the Cambodian Supreme Court.
The Koh Pich case was an important milestone for legal advocacy. It represented the first time that a Cambodian urban community facing eviction stood up, negotiated with the authorities based on its rights, and achieved meaningful results. Based on this groundbreaking success, other threatened urban communities have subsequently framed their struggles in terms of legal rights, particularly their possession rights, and their Constitutionally-provided right to fair and just compensation prior to the taking of their land.
The Phnom Penh Thmei Road Case
This case, begun in mid-2004, involves the representation of ninety-five families in their effort to receive fair and just compensation (as provided under the Cambodian Constitution and the Land Law of 2001) from Phnom Penh’s municipal government in connection with a proposed expansion of the Phnom Penh Thmei Road, near Phnom Penh’s Pochentong Airport. During 2004 and 2005, PILAP developed the legal underpinnings of the case, negotiated with City Hall, and advocated on behalf of its clients through various channels.
As a result of this work, City Hall suspended its plans for the road expansion. Several times during 2006 and 2007, officials contacted the families regarding the prospects for an eventual road expansion. To date there are no concrete plans, and PILAP continues to closely monitor the situation.
Teun Village/Ratanakiri case
PILAP successfully represented an indigenous community in a case that focused on the illegal seizure of land belonging to ethnic minority groups in Teun Village, Ratanakiri Province. In late 2004, PILAP staff traveled to Ratanakiri to investigate the situation. The trip included visits with the villagers and a reconnaissance of their collective land, which the villagers alleged had been seized by a provincial level Forestry Administration official.
PILAP staff returned to Ratanakiri many times to meet with officials and local organizations, including several Deputy Governors, provincial Cadastral Commission staff, provincial Forestry Administration staff, and various NGOs. These meetings included direct negotiations with the Forestry Administration official charged with seizing the villagers’ land. Through persistent negotiations, PILAP eventually secured an agreement with the accused official on a settlement that included the return of the villagers’ land, and the removal of illegal squatters who were brought in by the official to work the illegally seized land. This agreement was reached in close consultation with the Teun villagers, as well as provincial-level officials.
As part of its advocacy efforts on the case, PILAP also reached out to Phnom Penh-based officials, particularly in an effort to persuade the Forestry Administration of the wisdom of avoiding the bad publicity of a high-profile case against a provincial Forestry Administration official for land grabbing.
This case is now closed.
