Shukaku floods a Boeung Kak house with water and sand under the cover of night. The house is one of nearly 100 that were arbitrarily excluded from the resettlement agreement by Phnom Penh Municipality

The Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF) strongly condemns Phnom Penh's wilful misinterpretation of the government plan to resettle nearly 800 families threatened by redevelopment at Boeung Kak Lake. The municipality has arbitrarily excluded of over 10 percent of the threatened families, while simultaneously granting nearly two dozen land titles to CPP senator Lao Meng Kim - owner of lake developer Shukaku - within the dedicated "resettlement zone."

On August 11, 2011, the government granted formal ownership of 12.44 hectares near Boeung Kak Lake to 779 families. These families are what remains of a community of over 4,000 families who lived in the lake area prior to the government granting Shukaku an illegal concession over the area. Most of the remaining families live in the 12.44 hectare resettlement zone, 96, however, do not. The Phnom Penh Municipality subsequently announced that the 96 families were excluded and not eligible to take part in the resettlement as they donot live within the designated 12.44 hectare zone, whileShukaku has moved to inundate the houses of the families, ramping up sand pumping operations to flood their homes day and night.

While HRTF applauds the government's decision to ensure that most the remaining Boeung Kak Lake families can stay in their homes, HRTF believes the Municipality's actions toward the 96 families is both flawed and unjust.

The 12.44 hectare resettlement zone contains more than enough space to accommodate all 779 families. There are numerous empty plots in the zone, upon which new houses can be built. These plots were left behind by families that were coerced into leaving their homes earlier in the development process; the compensation they received was far below the market value of their property.

Many of these plots are "unavailable" because the Municipality announced that it will grant ownership of them to Shukaku owner Lao Meng Kim. HRTF believes that the Municipality's has intentionally misinterpreted the government order in order to aid Lao Meng Kim and Shukaku.

The CPP senator now claims ownership over at least 21 of these plots in village 22, which implies that he purchased them from their legitimate owners. Of course, when this "purchase" was made, both Shukaku and Phnom Penh authorities systematically refused to recognize that the Boeung Kak residents had any ownership rights over their land whatsoever. Shukaku instead based its claims to their land on a government land concession. But that concession has now been reduced, and it no longer includes the 12.44 hectares in which Lao Meng Kim is making claims to 21 plots.

By claiming land in the resettlement zone, Lao Meng Kim seems to acknowledge that the Boeung Kak residents are, and were, legitimate owners, something the affected families have maintained all along. Consequently, Shukaku obtained plots in the resettlement zone on a false basis.

"The senator should not be entitled to land within the resettlement zone, a scenario that makes a mockery of what appeared to be a fair deal for the Boeung Kak families," said LICADHO Director Naly Pilorge. "While the government has put forward a solution to the ongoing land dispute at Boeung Kak, the Municipality together with the company are actively undermining the fair and just implementation of that solution."

"The Boeung Kak community has been fighting for their land rights for years, " said HRTF Secretary General Siam Phearum. "It is high time the people's rights are respected."

HRTF therefore calls for:
- The Cambodian government to ensure that all of the remaining lake families are treated equally and given land titles within the 12.44 hectares allocated to them in the August 11, 2011, government order.
- The Cambodian government and the Shukaku Company to offer financial support to the 96 families who will need to relocate within the 12.44 hectares to prevent further impoverishment of these families.
- The Phnom Penh Municipality to stop its intimidation campaign against Boeung Kak Lake residents, to fully implement the August 11, 2011, government order and abide by its intent.
- The Shukaku Company to stop its aggressive water and sand flooding of the houses belonging to the 96 families prior to relocating these families and providing them with land titles within the 12.44 hectares.

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