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Viewing cable 09PHNOMPENH654, UPDATE ON LAND ISSUES IN CAMBODIA

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09PHNOMPENH654 2009-09-02 08:52 2011-07-11 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Phnom Penh
VZCZCXRO6704
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0654/01 2450852
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020852Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1143
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 000654 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND H 
USAID FOR ASIA BUREAU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAGR SENV KDEM CB
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON LAND ISSUES IN CAMBODIA 
 
REF: A) PHNOM PENH 60, B) PHNOM PENH 285, C) PHNOM PENH 379, D) 
PHNOM PENH 62, E) PHNOM PENH 509, F) PHNOM PENH 538, G) PHNOM PENH 
557, H) 08 PHNOM PENH 991 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  The combination of a lax land titling system and 
the Royal Government of Cambodia's (RGC) push to develop the country 
through land concessions has led to widespread land disputes.  Due 
process rights related to land management, including ownership 
disputes and evictions, remains a hot-button human rights issue in 
Cambodia that receives a high level of attention from civil society 
and donors.  The World Bank's Land Management and Administration 
Program (LMAP) may be suspended until the RGC develops a new policy 
on resolving land disputes, including a consistent policy on 
resettlement and compensation, to avoid forced evictions.  This 
cable provides updates on some of the highest-profile land disputes 
and U.S. engagement on the issue.  END SUMMARY. 
 
WHY LAND IS SUCH A HOT ISSUE IN CAMBODIA 
---------------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) Cambodia's troubled history left its land management sector 
in a disorganized state, the ramifications of which still impact its 
government and people.  Forced collectivization during the Khmer 
Rouge rule, the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees, and the 
late introduction of the concept of private property in the early 
1990's led to the practice of claiming land by simply taking it.  In 
2001, the RGC passed a land law that attempted to bring structure to 
the land ownership and titling process, but implementation of the 
law has been slow due to a lack of funding, capacity, and political 
will.  As a result, today over 90% of Cambodian land owners still 
lack formal documentation of their ownership, leaving them 
vulnerable to challenge (REF A provides detailed analysis of land 
ownership and titling issues). 
 
3. (SBU) The RGC has capitalized on relatively recent political 
stability and security in country to accelerate infrastructure and 
commercial development.  Frequently the RGC outsources development 
initiatives to the private sector in the form of land concessions, 
for projects ranging from industrial agricultural ventures to 
hydropower dams, bridges, and shopping malls.  The land law includes 
categories of state land and rules for how those categories can be 
leased and used.  However, the granting and implementation of these 
concessions is typically non-transparent (see REF B for details on 
land concession and urban development issues). 
 
4. (SBU) The combination of a lax land titling system and the RGC's 
unsystematic push to develop the country through land concessions 
has led to widespread land disputes.  The RGC targets an area it 
considers state land for development, while private citizens, who 
often lack hard titles, claim the same land as personal property. 
The land law provides Cambodians with the right to apply for title 
to certain categories of land they have peacefully possessed for 
more than five years, beginning prior to 2001.  However, because 
most land remains unclassified, disputes center on RGC definitions 
of state and private land versus those of private citizens. 
 
5. (SBU) When communities lose these disputes, the manner in which 
they are evicted varies from case to case and can involve 
significant financial and legal pressure, or police and even 
military force.  In some cases, evictees are offered compensation in 
the form of money or a plot of land, but the compensation is rarely 
adequate, especially in urban eviction cases.  These forced 
evictions without adequate compensation of communities from land for 
which they could assert ownership have earned the attention of human 
rights NGOs, donors, and the media (REF C discusses in detail the 
due process and human rights concerns resulting from land issues in 
Cambodia).  Updates on some of these high-profile cases follow. 
 
UPDATES ON HIGH-PROFILE CASES 
----------------------------- 
 
6. (SBU) DEY KRAHORM (REF D):  In January 2009, police, military 
police, municipal authorities, and employees of Cambodian 
construction firm 7NG forcibly evicted residents of the Dey Krahorm 
community in central Phnom Penh, injuring approximately 18 
individuals.  As of August, all families that "owned" land in Dey 
Krahorm received cash compensation or an apartment in the designated 
resettlement site Damnak Trayoeng.  335 families who were renters in 
Dey Krahorm continued to live in temporary shelters around the 
resettlement site.  Despite government claims that the Dey Krahorm 
land had to be cleared quickly to make way for development, as of 
August the site remained empty. 
 
7. (SBU) GROUP 78 (REF E):  Despite outstanding ownership claims 
filed with the Cadastral Commission and the National Authority for 
Land Dispute Resolution, the Phnom Penh Municipal Government gave 
residents of the Phnom Penh Tonle Bassac neighborhood known as Group 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000654  002 OF 003 
 
 
78 (G78) until July 15 to accept one of three compensation offers, 
all of which were significantly lower than the value of the land 
(appraised in March 2009), or face forced eviction.  All families 
but one took the cash compensation and have relocated to areas 
around the city.  On July 17, municipal police removed the final 
family, who did not accept a compensation package but reportedly had 
adequate shelter elsewhere. 
 
8. (SBU) INCITEMENT CHARGES AGAINST NGO WORKERS (REF F):  An NGO 
staffer and Sam Rainsy Party commune councilor who were held in 
pre-trial detention on charges of incitement stemming from a land 
dispute protest in Bantey Meanchey were released on bail August 14. 
A hearing date has not yet been set.  Human rights NGO ADHOC 
relocated two staffers from Ratanakiri Province after they were 
summoned for questioning on incitement charges related to a land 
dispute between ethnic minority villagers and a private company. 
Although a vocal judge made intimidating statements against the 
ADHOC staffers, the Ratanakiri prosecutor indicated that no charges 
would be brought. 
 
9. (SBU) BOREI KEILA (REF G):  In June, Phnom Penh municipal 
authorities moved over 40 HIV/AIDS-affected families from Phnom 
Penh's Borei Keila neighborhood to a resettlement site located 
approximately 15 miles outside of the city, despite the fact that 
some of the families were eligible for on-site resettlement in Borei 
Keila under a social land concession plan.  Catholic NGO Caritas is 
planning to upgrade the housing at the resettlement site to 
integrate the community with the neighboring village, and a 
USAID-funded NGO is providing food and medical support to the 
families. 
 
10. (SBU) KONG YU CASE (SEE CAMBODIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT):  In 
April, a Ratanakkiri provincial court prosecutor dismissed both 
criminal complaints related to an ongoing land dispute between Jarai 
ethnic minority villagers and Keat Kolney, sister of Minister of 
Economy and Finance Keat Chhon.  The civil case against Keat Kolney 
is currently still open.  The village chief had reportedly 
threatened to file unspecified charges against them if they did not 
drop the civil case.  There continue to be reports of Keat Kolney's 
company clearing land in the disputed territory, despite an 
agreement to halt development while the court case proceeds.  USAID 
funding supports the community's lawyers. 
 
Forced Evictions Threaten World Bank Program 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
11. (SBU) The World Bank is currently discussing with the RGC the 
potential consequences of forced evictions to the World Bank's 
on-going Land Management and Administration Program (LMAP).  A 
Senior World Bank official told Econoff that while the RGC is 
unlikely to agree to a full moratorium on forced evictions, it is 
committed to developing a consistent policy on resettlement and 
compensation.  According to the official, the World Bank is 
considering suspending disbursements under the LMAP until a 
comprehensive policy with acceptable standards is in place.  An 
announcement on the status of the LMAP is expected as early as the 
end of this week. 
 
USG ENGAGEMENT ON LAND ISSUES 
----------------------------- 
 
12. (SBU) Many of Cambodia's donors, including the USG, have engaged 
the RGC on land issues.  Because the circumstances surrounding 
individual land dispute cases are rarely clear-cut, never identical, 
and often controversial, however, it is difficult for donors to 
intervene in a fashion that promotes broad, general applicability to 
specific cases. 
 
13. (SBU) On the diplomatic front, we engage the RGC not only to 
resolve the disputes, but also to discuss the fundamental issues 
behind land disputes and to stress that secure land tenure is 
essential for Cambodia's economic growth and social stability.  The 
Ambassador and others have raised USG concerns over land issues with 
senior RGC civilian and military officials; we have released 
statements supporting indigenous community land tenure; and we 
signed a joint donor statement publicly calling for a moratorium on 
evictions until a clear legal framework is in place with workable 
procedures for resettlement and compensation (REF E).  On the 
development front, the USG provides assistance to human rights and 
legal aid NGOs to provide land tenure-related education, legal 
representation, and support for community advocacy efforts in land 
dispute cases. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
14. (SBU) While specific land dispute cases raise important due 
process and human rights concerns, the truth at the heart of many of 
these cases is that the political posturing of RGC officials, the 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000654  003 OF 003 
 
 
advocacy agenda of Cambodian civil society, and the interests of 
communities to protect their livelihoods are all entwined in an 
arena where little legal guidance, and less implementation, exists. 
It is thus crucial to view land disputes in the context of the 
larger institutional issues they highlight, rather than becoming 
bogged down in the details of one or two cases with particular 
notoriety or visibility.  Through diplomatic and development 
channels, our engagement and that of other donors remain essential 
to change the dynamic -- and the results -- both now and in the 
future. 
 
 
RODLEY