Tuol Kork residents rebuff officials

Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Will Baxter

Phnom Penh Post

RESIDENTS of a Tuol Kork district community devastated by a March 8 fire have prevented district authorities from tearing down newly constructed wooden homes, prompting officials to warn that those who are rebuilding homes on the site are breaking the law and could face arrest, villagers and rights groups said.

Sia Phearum, secretariat director of the Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF), said several dozen police arrived in the community, located in Boeung Kak 2 commune, on Saturday with the intent of removing the new structures, and that they were rebuffed by villagers.

“The local authorities told residents they would not be allowed to rebuild their houses; if they try to rebuild, the local authorities will use force to take down the houses,” he said.

A joint statement released the same day by the HRTF and rights groups Licadho and Adhoc said residents had been warned that they would “be arrested and construction equipment and lumber would be confiscated” if they continued building new houses.

Following the blaze, which destroyed 178 houses and 31 dormitory rooms at Neak Von pagoda, local officials told residents that they could rebuild in the commune, provided that they accept 3.92-by-5.5-metre plots of land – a downgrade for many of the families – and leave sufficient space for new access roads.

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