In a contest of stubbornness several communities, well… the usual ones actually, gathered in front of the City Hall gates to seek a resolution to the ongoing land issues they are having. It is not the first time. It will not be the last time.
This is a follow-up post on the ‘Quest for Land‘ story which is available as an iApp on iTunes and which reports on land issues in Cambodia since the year 2000 with texts by Robert Carmichael and over 700 photographs.
About 30 members from the Borei Keila community who live in shacks since their eviction in January 2012 (see HERE) gathered in front of the Municipal Court. They request information about the complaint they filed last week regarding the violent behaviour from municipal guards when they were occupying a building which was promised to them.
This is a follow-up post on the ‘Quest for Land‘ story which is available as an iApp on iTunes and which reports on land issues in Cambodia since the year 2000 with texts by Robert Carmichael and over 700 photographs.
‘Development Landscapes’ is a series of photographs, initiated a few years back, which tracks the evolution of the landscape in areas where people were evicted from in Phnom Penh.
Much more at THIS LINK.
The +-300-strong crowd of workers at the EZ International Garment factory extended their bid today for a modest salary rise, a meal and transportation allowance and clean toilets by picketing at the front gate and by dancing under umbrellas to the beat of a sound system. Negotiations at 2:00PM…
An ebook on the Cambodian garment sector by Robert Carmichael and John Vink is available for your iPad on iTunes at THIS LINK.
This second day of a strike in the garment sector, proclaimed by just a couple of unions, to push for the $160 salary and the release of the 21 people who were jailed during the violent crackdown by the army of early January, seems finding it difficult to gain momentum as the workers are being intimidated and are afraid of losing their salary ahead of Khmer New Year.
A few individual factories however, like the E-Z International Garment Factory Co., Ltd., were confronted with walkouts for motives specific to the factory and not directly related with the guidelines of the general strike.
An ebook on the Cambodian garment sector by Robert Carmichael and John Vink is available for your iPad on iTunes at THIS LINK.
Boeung Kak lake members staged a protest in front of City Hall, requesting that the 39 last families finally receive the land title they were promised in a conflict which started in 2007, when the lake they were living next to was granted as a concession to a developing company which filled the lake and evicted over 3000 from the 4000 families living on its shores. The protesters were rather gently pushed on the side by the helmeted security guards.
The full Boeung Kak lake saga can be seen HERE and HERE
This is a follow-up post on the ‘Quest for Land‘ story which is available as an iApp on iTunes and which reports on land issues in Cambodia since the year 2000 with texts by Robert Carmichael and over 700 photographs.
Members of the Borei Keila community marched to the municipal court to file a complaint about the violence with which municipal security guards handled a protest by the community on Valentine’s day (see HERE).
Of course there is a judicial system in Cambodia. One might as well make good use of it. But as long as the public has doubts about the judicial aparatus being clearly separated from governing instances, the results of a trial will remain questionable. Justice is about laws, but also about having faith in the system.
The whole Borei Keila story is HERE…
This is a follow-up post on the ‘Quest for Land‘ story which is available as an iApp on iTunes and which reports on land issues in Cambodia since the year 2000 with texts by Robert Carmichael and over 700 photographs.
A demonstration ban from the Ministry of Interior, a sealed off Freedom Park and the equation of important riot police forces, few workers and a fair amount of observers or journalists (at times larger than the number of workers) showing up at Freedom Park resulted in an informal demonstration/meeting/gathering/protest in the garden adjacent to the park. Many opposition figures, ranging from opposition CNRP co-presidents Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy, to Mam Sonando, Rong Chhun, Ty Savanntha and several others showed up, spoke a few words in the bullhorn and left.
A simultaneous attempt by land rights activists from Borei Keila and Boeung Kak lake, joined by monks from the Independent Monk Network for Social Justice (IMNSJ) attempted to march and deliver a petition to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs -this after all IS International Women’s Day- was thwarted by truckloads of riot police who prevented the group from reaching Monivong boulevard.
Peace prevailed. But the demonstration ban returned…
