Vol. 11, No. 493, Saturday, 10.2.2007
“Phnom Penh: After the royal government of Cambodia decided that Oknha Depo is the real land owner, those who are behind the protesters are still obstinately claiming the land, even though they have no legitimate documents. However, most of the 120 people whose photos and thumbprints were used as evidence against Okhna Depo, denied that they were involved in the case of this land dispute, and now they lodged a complaint to seek a ringleader who had acted against the law.
“The Council of Ministers issued the Announcement No. 1952, dated 26 December 2006, to inform the Phnom Penh governor, who is also the director of the Phnom Penh Land Registration Committee, to recognize Oknha Depo’s land ownership. The royal government approved a procedure that the Phnom Penh Municipality will provided the ownership documents to Oknha Depo to find justice, so that it is he who has legitimate documents.
“Before this announcement from the Council of Ministers, protracted protests between 120 people and Oknha Depo had occurred for 6 or 7 years.
“According to the various documents obtained by Rasmei Kampuchea, relating to this land dispute, the first land owner had been Mrs. Om Soeung, whose family cleared the land for farming since 1979 and had even received the Award Certificate for Patriotic Contributions in 1983.
“This land covers more than 30 hectares in both Svay Pak and Khmuanh, in Russey Keo Commune, Phnom Penh. In 2000, the Ministry of Interior changed the borders for land administration. This land became part of Village 4, in Chrang Chamreh, Quarter I.
“After the land administration border changes, those who claimed to be representatives of the people [Sam Rithmuth, Muth Sokrin, Soh Ty, and Mom Pay] cleared the land, which had already an owner, and registered it for the 120 villagers.
“Later on, there were protests between those people and Okhna Depo, who had bought the land from Grandmother Om Soeung’s family. The 120 people had lodged a complaint to Samdech Hun Sen’s cabinet. As a result, this case was referred to the Ministry of Land Management, Urbanization, and Construction.
“Lastly, Mr. Chhay Rithy Sen, the director of the Department for Land Management, Urbanization and Cadastre, the department in charge in the Phnom Penh municipal administration, issued the letter No. 1440 for the City Governor and the Director of the Phnom Penh Land Registration Committee about this case. This letter, said that on 21 September 2006 in the afternoon, the department in charge invited the plaintiffs, Sam Rithmuth, Muth Sokrin, Soh Ty, and Mom Pay as well as the defendant, Oknha Depo.
“On 22 December 2006, the department in charge again invited 21 plaintiffs, but they did not appear. On 29 December 2006 the department in charge invited another 20 plaintiffs, but they did not appear either.
“Based on these legal procedures, this case of land conflicts was considered to have come to an end, due to the activities of the party which had made ill-founded and illegal claims. Therefore they had to pay the fees for this land dispute case, they received a legal penalty, which should have prevented the party which had made illegal complaints, from protesting again.
“The letter confirmed that a decision should be made to provide property ownership of the land for Oknha Depo.
“According to the results above, the Council of Ministers issued the announcement described above. However, it was recently known that the 120 people still kept protesting, even though the Council of Ministers had issued its announcement. The representatives of the 120 people made large-sized posters to use the 120 people’s photos and thumbprints as evidence, and they mentioned a number of documents related to this case, but unfortunately, these documents were never shown to the public.
“Some people, whose thumbprints and photos are used, claim that in 1999 and 2000, there were organizers who asked for photos and thumbprints to share and allocate the land. After receiving the photos and thumbprints, Mr. Sam Rithmuth said that he bought the land from the persons who had provided photos and thumbprints at a price of $100 to $150.
“Now, it is surprising that there are photos and thumbprints on large-size posters related to the land dispute with Oknha Depo from the previous 7 or 8 years.
“Concerning the above-mentioned disputes, the authorities in charge should have taken urgent legal action a long time ago, to provide justice to the legal land owners, and to conduct an investigation to look for the ringleader and the persons behind the ringleader to bring the case finally to the court.” Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.15, #4208, 10.2.2007
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Saturday, 10 February 2007
Chakraval, Vol.15, #2649, 10.2.2007
- Scandal Breaks Out in Telecom Cambodia; Employees Accuse Director General of Corruption and Nepotism [procurement prices paid to vendors are double as high as the actual market prices]
- Kandal: Ponheu Leu Village Chief Steals People’s Land For Sale and Sues [Legal] Owners for Their Land Ownership Titles
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1266, 10.2.2007
- There is No Sign of Declining Gasoline Prices in Cambodia
- Civil Society is Concerned about Situation of Ethnic Minorities
- Land Disputes Keep Occurring in Poipet as Authorities Issue Overlapping Land Titles
- Handling of Forest Land Surrounding Sruach Mountain in Taing, Samraong, Causes Outrage
Koh Santepheap, Vol.40, #5963, 10.2.2007
- Male and Female Students Play Cards and Forget Their Schooling [72 students playing cards at a place where boiled corn is sold, are arrested by police]
- Results of [9.2.2007] Cabinet Meeting: Council of Ministers Finance Strategy for 2006-2015 Approved
- A Company from Singapore Signs Agro-Industry Investment Agreement to Grow Castor-Oil Plants in Pursat
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.14, #3085, 10.2.2007
- [Senator] Ly Yong Phat is Making a Storm in Chik Leu Commune [Koh Kong] to Make CCP Leaders Lose Face [land disputes]
- US Navy Ship Arrives in Cambodia [Sihanoukville]
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.15, #4208, 10.2.2007
- Land Disputes between Oknha Depo and People Should Not Be Prolonged
- The Government Decides to Authorize a Chinese Company to Invest in Hydroelectric Station on the Tatay River [located in the triangular area of Kompong Speu, Koh Kong, and Pursat]
- 300 Thmey Villagers [in Sihanoukville] Demonstrate Around Lou Kim Chhun’s House [requesting Lou Kim Chhun, general manager of the port, to postpone filling land in Thmey village]
Sralanh Khmer, Vol.3, #327, 9.2.2007
- It is Said that Sam Rainsy Has No Experience; Sam Rainsy Agrees, Saying He Doesn’t Have Experience In Committing Corruption
- The State Loses US$100 million Every Year Due to the Fact that Local Petroleum Companies Do Not Pay Taxes [Sokimex in connection with CCP top officials, and Tela relating to some CPP leaders’ families]
