Two more families have accepted compensation to leave the Borei Keila area to make room for development, as the long-running land dispute creeps ever closer to an end.
Hundreds of families saw their homes destroyed in 2012 to make way for a project by developer Phanimex. Although the majority of residents have since accepted compensation or moved to relocation sites, some holdouts remain.
One group of 11 families was given an ultimatum in December to accept City Hall’s offers or face eviction empty-handed. They have since been offered more in compensation, but all but two families are still holding out.
Danh Kongkea, a member of the group of nine families, yesterday said she was still waiting to hear from the municipality about the next steps. “We will have a meeting again with our group to discuss what we will do next – whether to protest or wait to hear from the municipality,” she said.
Read more: Borei Keila eviction, 6 years on
Twenty-six of another group of 30 residents have accepted financial compensation, a home at a relocation site on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, or both.
The most recent are Kao Chanthou and Moeun Bunthoeun, who agreed on Friday to move to Andong village and accepted $2,000.
Chanthou yesterday said she had no choice but to take the offer. “It is hard for us to wait and get what we want,” she said. “So I have to close my eyes and accept that compensation.”
An additional 11 families are also being considered for compensation by City Hall, said Vann Sophath, of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
City Hall spokesman Met Measpheakdey and District Governor Lim Sophea declined to comment yesterday.
