Phnom Penh authorities are in
the process of assessing land titles for hundreds of families, who have
been promised resettlement on 12 hectares of the 133-hectare site.

Nearly 800 families sought to be
resettled, following years of protests by residents who refused buy-out
or off-site resettlement offers, officials said.

Among those who will not get
land is Heng Mom, 41, who said her house does not fall within the
designated land area offered by the city.

“Now it seems we’ve lost
everything and we are in shock,” she told VOA Khmer. “This is a
violation of not only my rights, but for the other people who will not
get justice.”

The resettlement plan came at
the order of Prime Minister Hun Sen earlier this month, following
threats from the World Bank that it would freeze funding to Cambodia if
the dispute between villagers and the city-backed development company
was not resolved.

Heng Mom said her rejection was against the spirit of that order.

“There are some bad officials who want to swindle us and swallow the people’s land,” she said.

Tep Vanny, a representative of
lake residents, said that so far 54 families have been denied plots of
land. The community has seven villages and 794 families. She said the
villagers will struggle to make sure that all families have homes as
part of the deal.

In Saphorn, deputy chief of Srah
Chak commune, said that the authorities are working on solutions for
the families who are not being provided a land title.

The World Bank said in a statement it continued to encourage negotiation over the land.