Hundreds of families living along both sides of the so-called “94 canal” and facing relocation to make way for a new airport in Kandal province called for authorities to give them land titles, on-site development and an end to intimidation, during a public forum in Kandok commune’s Ampov Prey village in Kandal Stung district on Tuesday. The meeting was closely monitored by authorities.
“It will affect our livelihoods if we are evicted because we do not know where to live,” said Korn Run, who said she had lived there for 25 years and earns a living fishing.
More than 400 families in Kandal province’s Kadal Stung district and Takeo province’s Bati district are set to be displaced to allow for construction of a $1.5 billion airport built by Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC), owned by influential tycoon Pung Kheav Se. Families said their homes were spray-painted by authorities in November but they had not been told previously they would be impacted by the project.
The planned airport would cover 2,600 hectares and affect hundreds of families in Kandal province’s Kandal Stung district and Takeo’s Bati district.
Hundreds of villagers whose farmland and houses about five kilometers from the airport site have been affected have since refused the company’s compensation offers of $8 per square meter even though their farmland has already been cleared.
Run believed the upcoming July national elections could lead Prime Minister Hun Sen to consider the villagers’ demands.
“Before the election, I hope Samdech [Hun Sen] will think about us all…he could solve it for us,” Run told CamboJA. “After the election, it will be difficult to demand because authorities always lie to citizens, so we don’t trust them.”
Villagers said airport staff and local authorities continue to patrol the village day and night and ban people from building any new constructions.
While authorities say the families are living illegally on state land, Vorn Chorm, 61, said he has been living on the land for 30 years and has legal documents such as a family book and ID card recognized by district and provincial authorities.
“I went to vote [here] so many times, so why do the authorities consider us living illegally now and want to evict us,” he said.
But Kandal provincial governor Kong Sophorn denied that the families had been living in the area for a long time. Sophorn added the families would not be granted land titles.
“We have not displaced them yet but we do not allow them to build any new constructions,” he said. “They must be moved when it is necessary, and we will provide them with appropriate compensation, but we do not promise them [land titles] right now.”
Chiv Kok Say, who is in charge of land acquisition for the new airport, did not directly say whether land along 94 canal would be used for the airport but claimed infrastructure would need to be developed nearby to avoid flooding of the airport during the rainy season.
“If we think about the airport infrastructure, we have to keep the area clean and we have to develop a water [drainage] system to avoid flooding,” he said. “We do not want to see the new airport development cause flooding in the area, so we need to study the impact and the main problem is to build big canals to release water.”
Soeung Senkaruna, spokesperson of human rights NGO Adhoc, told CamboJA that authorities should provide clear information to residents of 94 canal. He added they cannot force them to leave without providing a new and proper place to live.
“They should find a location that [people] can accept and avoid the use of violence such as evictions,” he said. “The state should have clear statistics about the people who have been affected.”
However, he added that if the airport is far from people’s village and they will not be affected, then authorities should examine the possibility of allowing families to continue living in the area.
Kok Say did not say whether the company would contribute compensation and implied authorities would be responsible for dealing with families living along the canal.
“[The company] helps to collect people’s statistics there and the authorities have a duty to deal with it,” Kok Say said.
