"Endgame at Boeung Tamok: Samraong Tboung Villagers Accept Government Settlements After Protests and Convictions", 21 August 2024

After nearly six years of resisting displacement from government land grabs, the generational families around Boeung Tamok lake have reached their breaking point.

…, a heated protest over excavation for a canal project in their backyards led to criminal charges against the Samraong Tboung community, a village in the Prek Pnov district on the banks of the Boeung Tamok. Since then, the villagers have petitioned Phnom Penh City Hall for fair market-value compensation and the dismissal of their charges…

Once the last holdouts in this protracted land dispute, the Samraong Tboung community’s acceptance of the government’s offer may set a precedent for similar disputes across the country, where claimants feel pressured to accept a low-ball compensation package and relinquish their land to be used for commercial and development projects.

… Seang Muy Lai, program manager at Phnom-Penh based Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, an NGO that supports impoverished urban communities, backed Davy and others’ claim to equitable compensation.

“Prek Pnov authorities cannot resolve the land dispute through the exchange policy. It is not enough,” he said.

“Some of the families’ land is private, so they should get compensated based on the market price for land in that area, even if (some) have no land titles.”

…, all of the households on disputed territory in the Samraong Tboung village have accepted the government’s settlement, ...

“We have no choice but to leave and accept the government’s settlement because authorities will charge us which prevents us from working,” Davy lamented, noting that the litigation process from her criminal charges keeps her away during working hours…