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Media Album | Thousands Demand Justice for Human Rights Day Celebrations17 December 2015
To celebrate International Human Rights Day (IHRD), about 10,000 people from rural and urban communities participated in 20 marches and events across the country from December 6 to December 10. These were organized by the informal network Friends of December 10th, which includes youth, land communities, associations, farmers, monks, and NGOs.
On December 10, groups peacefully marched from various locations in Phnom Penh toward the Ministry of Justice to demand that the government resolve Cambodia’s land conflict epidemic; reform the judicial system and release human rights defenders and activists; raise the minimum wage and respect labour rights; end state-sponsored violence; and respect freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly. This year’s IHRD theme was ‘Justice’.
5 October 2015
This morning, over 1,400 community members, monks and grassroots groups from across Cambodia gathered in Phnom Penh to celebrate the 30th World Habitat Day and to call on authorities to respect Cambodian people’s right to housing.
28 November 2014
At around 8.30am this morning, one volunteer from local NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) and one tuk tuk driver were arrested near the National Assembly before being detained for part of the morning by Chamkarmon district authorities at Wat Toul Tompong. The STT volunteer and tuk tuk driver had been attending a demonstration with over 250 land activists and monks who were calling for the release of recently arrested activists and monks, currently detained at Prey Sar’s CC1 and CC2 prisons. Authorities also confiscated one loudspeaker.
The land activists – from Boeung Kak lake, Borei Keila, Preah Vihear, and Lor Peang – and monks, had gathered in front of the Buddhist Institute before marching towards the National Assembly to submit the petition.
The peaceful protestors were met by over 100 security forces who threatened violence as they blocked off access to the National Assembly while Prime Minister Hun Sen was in attendance.
29 August 2014
Today at around 4pm, five Lor Peang community members who were arrested and detained in the last month have been provisionally released by the Investigating Judge of Kampong Chhnang Provincial Court. Three of the villagers were arrested during a 60km-long peaceful march from Kampong Chhnang province to Phnom Penh. The march was undertaken to call for a resolution to a long-standing land dispute between the villagers and K.D.C Company, while also calling for the release of two community members, arrested weeks earlier.
All five members have been released under judicial supervision with three conditions: 1. That they appear before the court when summonsed; 2. That they do not change residence without informing the court; and 3. That they present themselves to their local police station every month.
The release follows repeated attempts by the Lor Peang community to submit petitions to various government institutions over their conflict with K.D.C Company.
22 August 2014
This morning approximately 100 land activists from Borei Keila, Lor Peang and Boeung Kak Lake communities marched to the Council of Ministers to submit petitions for the resolution of their respective land disputes.
Their peaceful assembly was disrupted by riot police and 7 Makara district security guards, who temporarily detained three activists amid an unsuccessful push to disperse people.
This morning, Prime Minister Hun Sen plans to meet at the Council of Ministers with a number of top officials to discuss unresolved land disputes across the country.
12 August 2014
LICADHO condemns the violent dispersal of more than 50 villagers from Lor Peang community who had begun their 60km-long peaceful march from Kampong Chhnang province to Phnom Penh, calling for a resolution to their long-standing land dispute. Amid the violent dispersal, three villagers – including the husband of the main Lor Peang community representative Um Sophy – were arrested and sent to the provincial court.
29 September 2009
On August 27, 2009, the Phnom Penh municipal court sentenced Toch Ly, a village chief from Kompong Chhnang, to 16 months imprisonment after she was found guilty of forging thumbprints in an ongoing land dispute. She was also ordered to pay a fine of 1 million riel (USD$250) and compensation of 5 million riel (USD$1250) to the private company KDC International. Toch Ly was accused of forging a thumbprinted document in which 77 families denied that they sold their land to KDC International. The company is owned by Chea Kheng, the wife of Suy Sem, the Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy. Despite testimony from community members supporting the authenticity of the document, the court ruled that some of thumbprints did not belong to the people named on the document, but were instead made by their relatives.