LIBRARY

29 August 2007

Although Cambodia has seen rapid economic growth in recent years, it is still one of the poorest countries in the world with most of its citizens living in poverty. The reality of poverty is that it is indiscriminate and affects not only adults but also children. This sadly forces many young children to engage in domestic and manual labor to support their families, with a large proportion working under severe conditions.

31 July 2007

During the wet season in Cambodia, many people suffer from the notorious dengue virus, a virus which is carried by mosquitoes that thrive in the waters that collect during the wet season. For many people, escaping the virus means vigilantly covering up and closing windows or doors; however for women and children living literally behind prison bars, this is very difficult to do. Thanks to an extremely generous donation from the Women's International Group (WIG), LICADHO was able to distribute blankets and mosquito nets to 664 minor prisoners, pregnant women and children living in 14 Cambodian prisons.

31 July 2007

"Before, a husband would beat his wife and children, now he just insults them..." chilling yet sobering words from a woman surveyed by LICADHO's Women's Rights Office (WRO) following the end of its pilot project in Kandal Province, which aimed to educate the community on violence against women issues.

27 July 2007

At a time when the incidence of land grabbing is becoming more frequent in Cambodia and impunity for this crime is increasing for individuals with connections, wealth and power, three villagers are suffering from the results of such an unjust system. Initially, these villagers had been victims of a land grabbing dispute, however by the time their trial was over, they had been handed a six-month suspended prison sentence, lost their farming land, and had been ordered to pay a fine of 1.5 million Riel (USD $375). These villagers have now lost the ability to provide for their families and to even pay the exorbitant fine, now that their land has been unjustly taken from them.

10 July 2007

On the morning of April 20, 2007, 13 residents from Village 6 in Sihanoukville's Mittapheap district were arrested after they tried to defend their homes against the onslaught of 150 police attempting to evict them and 105 other families. On Tuesday July 3, 2007, the 13 appeared before the Sihanoukville Municipal Court for their trial; the next day five were acquitted and nine were convicted (one in absentia).

21 June 2007

Eight foreign nationals were detained by Cambodian immigration police on Tuesday, June 19th, for more than nine hours after gathering to publicly appeal for justice for Born Samnang and Sok Sam Ouen. These two men, who are currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, are widely believed to have been wrongly convicted of murdering trade union leader Chea Vichea in January 2004.

15 June 2007

Five residents of Phnom Penh's Dangkor district were detained on the morning of June 7, 2007 after they photographed police while facing a land eviction. The residents were taking photographs of the police while they were executing orders from a letter claimed to be issued by the National Police Chief, Hok Lundy following a complaint made by the alleged land owner Ms Tei Vavanny.

10 June 2007

All around the world one day of the year marks the celebration of the next generation - children. For many children around the world their childhood is a time of innocence and play, carefree of the world's troubles. Yet in Cambodia for many children, their childhood has been taken over by poverty and life's struggles and for the unlucky few of about 600 their childhood is spent behind bars.

To remember these children and to bring the festivities to them LICADHO celebrated 1 June, International Children's Rights Day at eight locations throughout Cambodia and in nine prisons that currently house minor prisoners, children living with their mothers in prison and pregnant women.

23 May 2007

In 2003 it was touted as a great leap forward into developing a social housing program, an alternative to the widespread forced land evictions in Cambodia. Four years later, in May 2007, men, women and children are living under tarpaulins amid the rubble of their demolished houses. This is the plight of families living at Borei Keila in the heart of Cambodia's capital.

22 May 2007

On the morning of May 21, 2007 approximately 1000 workers from the River Rich Textile Factory based in Kandal Province's Sa'ang district gathered to stage an ongoing peaceful strike and encountered more than 150 riot police ready to disperse the crowd. The workers had staged the strikes to protest the dismissal of 10 fellow workers who had planned to form a union within the factory. Those 10 workers had been dismissed in November 2006 due to their involvement in a local union and continued to be refused entry back into the factory.

At around 8:30 AM, riot police fully equipped with tear gas, guns, electric batons and shields were dispatched to the factory after its owner made a complaint against the workers for instigating a strike and not coming to work. The workers had previously staged strikes the week before with each strike garnering more numbers however there was no sign of riot police or violence.

3 May 2007

As the construction excavator made its way towards the residents of Commune 4, police brandishing riot shields and guns marched behind it in its wake. The residents stood behind their make-shift barricades of barbed wire and household materials, steadfast in the path of the massive excavator and its entourage. This was the scene at Commune 4, Mittapheap District in Sihanoukville - a municipality best-known as a beach holiday destination - early in the morning of April 20, 2007.

Some 150 military police and police officers armed with guns, electric batons and tear gas were there to conduct an eviction raid on the disputed land which is home to over 110 families. No warning or official notice of the eviction had been given and a violent confrontation between police and villagers ensued.

8 February 2007

Many of the 250 families of Chi Kha Leu commue, Sre Ambel district in Koh Kong province have been living on their land since 1979 however their quiet existence on the land came to an abrupt end in May 2006. Since then the villagers have been fighting an uphill battle to save their land. They have petitioned the local authorities, faced bulldozers, excavators and armed military police, have been shot at and they even tried to petition the National Assembly. This week the villagers took their case to the courts.

Trouble began in the commune on 22 May 2006 when demolition workers with bulldozers and excavators, accompanied by armed police including military police, moved into three villages in the commune (Chhouk, Trapaing Kandorl and Chi Kor). The demolition workers cleared and flattened villagers' land, destroying rice fields and fruit plantations. The demolition was commissioned by the Agriculture Duty Free Shop Development Company (later known as the Sugar Industry Company Ltd) and the Koh Kong Plantation Company, which were readying the land for commercial sugar cane production. Both companies are owned by Mr Ly Yong Phat, a wealthy businessman and a Cambodian's People Party (CPP) member in the Senate.

29 January 2007

January 28, 2007 marked three years - or 1,096 days - that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun have spent in prison since their arrests for the assassination of prominent trade unionist Chea Vichea. One day in prison for an innocent man is too long; both men have spent the last three years in prison for a crime that there is considerable evidence they did not commit. To mark the anniversary of their arrests, Cambodian NGOs and trade unions launched a public campaign that will continue until their release from prison.

12 December 2006

A sea of blue kramas filled the Olympic Stadium on December 10 as more than 10,000 people gathered to celebrate the 58th International Human Rights Day. All the participants on the day wore the blue kramas as a symbol representing the day's theme "We are all Human Rights Defenders".

The gathering was supported by more than 90 organizations that aimed to recognize and promote the crucial roles that Cambodians from all vocations or occupations in life play in protecting human rights and to commemorate the struggles for the fulfillment of human rights in Cambodia. Participants included community activists, trade unionists, students, garment workers, people living with disabilities, NGO workers and members of the international community including diplomats.

28 November 2006

On Monday, November 27, 2006 at 9:30am, more than 100 members of the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC) gathered in the park in front of Wat Botum, nearby the National Assembly. The AFEC members were attempting to fly 100 kites as part of a campaign to demand freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia, and the abolition of disinformation as a criminal offence. The motto of the event was "Without wind a kite cannot fly. Without Freedom of Expression society cannot progress."

26 November 2006

On the night of October 16, 2006, police forces resorted to violent and brutal measures as they attempted to disperse 2,000 garment workers during a peaceful strike at the Singaporean-owned Bright Sky Garment Factory in Dangkor district, Phnom Penh. In the clash of riot police and shocked garment workers, police fired several shots over the heads of workers and beat them with their electric batons. The police were sent in to disperse the workers who had gathered in the factory's main compound in order to settle an ongoing dispute over working conditions.

The 2,000 night shift workers had gathered in the compound at around 6pm on Monday, October 16, 2006. During the previous week the workers had been on strike calling for the abolition of six month contracts and the adoption of clear probation periods and permanent contracts.

24 November 2006

A colorful march to Wat Phnom concluded the first ever meeting of Southeast Asian Human Rights Defenders on 18 November, with a surprise guest appearance by perhaps the 'biggest' supporter of human rights in Cambodia: Sambo the elephant. Draped in banners proclaiming "Solidarity to all human rights defenders", the elephant led more than 100 marchers from around Southeast Asia for a lap of Wat Phnom in the searing midday heat.

It was a fitting conclusion to the 1st Southeast Asian Human Rights Defenders forum, held in Phnom Penh from 14-18 November. 33 regional activists joined more than 50 Cambodian human rights defenders for the event, which was organized by FORUM-ASIA and LICADHO, in cooperation with ADHOC. Delegates came from Aceh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, with a guest representative from Nepal.

4 October 2006

In addition to the noticeable impact of Phnom Penh's evictions, land disputes have also become disturbingly problematic in the provinces. What Phnom Penh has been witnessing is the new phenomenon of increasing numbers of communities traveling into the city from their home provinces - some as far as Banteay Meanchey province 350km from Phnom Penh. The villagers, camped under the shade of a tree nearby the National Assembly, make the journey to Phnom Penh to lobby the government in the hope that they will address the land disputes in their home villages.

7 September 2006

Wednesday September 6, 2006 marked the three-month anniversary of the detention of two villagers - Chan Ra and Chhen Sovan - from Sambok Chab village and Hem Chhun, a journalist from Khmer newspaper Samrek Yuthetor (Scream for Justice). The three had been arrested and detained in connection to the Sambok Chab eviction which, on June 6 2006, culminated in an excessive display of force by the authorities to empty the village.

Assembling inside a pagoda nearby Phnom Penh's Prey Sar prison, family members of the three men, surrounded by over 200 supporters, spoke to the media and the crowd.

1 August 2006

On August 1, 2006 at 11:00am approximately 80 family members, friends, monks, union workers and NGO workers, gathered in front of the Police Judicial (PJ) Prison to call for the release of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun. August 1 marks the one year anniversary of their conviction at what was widely considered a show trial for the assassination of union leader Chea Vichea.