Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An has issued a letter to the Kandal governor telling him to look into the situations of 121 families contesting the development of Phnom Penh’s new airport, settle their dispute, and report back.
Kandal’s new airport development has raised tensions in Kandal Stung’s communes — residents have spoken about officers firing warning shots and loss of land. With the commune election a month away, Candlelight candidates are taking up the issue looking to capitalize on the growing discontent in the district.
The floating communities in Phnom Penh have been allowed three more years on the water, but the majority ethnically Vietnamese families say they have few options on Cambodian land.
The Senate has urged action from Kandal authorities after receiving a complaint that the powerful developers of Phnom Penh’s new international airport are “bulldozing and encroaching land illegally without paying compensation to owners of the land.”
A small community kindergarten in Kandal province’s Sa’ang district is run by a local teacher who wants to give her students a chance to be prepared for primary school.
Military police shot Pov Saroath in the spine at a land protest in 2019. Doctors initially left open the possibility of recovery, but last year he was told he would never walk again. Meanwhile, last June, soldiers shot land disputant Mom Chantha. He is now more than $1,000 in medical debt.
The development of Phnom Penh’s new international airport in Kandal province continues to face resistance, as petitioners gathered outside government institutions in the capital saying they had lost faith in provincial authorities as machines began to dig around their homes.
Around 200 residents protested in Kandal province’s Kandal Stung district last week over the airport’s construction, and said they suspended the protest after being promised a meeting at the district hall on Monday.
Dozens of families in a Kandal village have been marked for eviction to develop Phnom Penh’s new international airport, and have petitioned Prime Minister Hun Sen complaining of the state’s compensation offer that they say is a mere 10th of market prices.
Sixty-six houses are marked for measurement to make way for the airport construction, according to a letter issued by the Kandal Stung district governor. The survey would collect data on affected families in preparation for compensation.
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