Deal finally ends Kratie row and other disputes

[geovalin]

Pech Sotheary

Under growing pressure from Prime Minister Hun Sen, the government on Saturday offered official land titles to hundreds of Kratie villagers, putting an end to their long-running dispute with a South Korean agricultural company.

Im Chhun Lim, minister of land management, urban planning and construction, said that following further inspection of the land in Snuol commune and its disputed ownership, his ministry found that Horizon Agriculture Development Company had failed to meet the conditions of its economic land concession by not adequately cultivating the land.

“The company has not complied with the announcement, so the lands have to be seized back,” Chhun Lim said.

He added that 361 land certificates, covering a total of 1,562.75 hectares of land, would be awarded to 324 families in the commune’s Krong and Thpong villages.

He advised residents to collect the certificates from Kratie Provincial Hall on Wednesday, adding that those who could not make this date could collect the certificates from the provincial land management, urban planning and construction department.

The announcement was made at Phnom Penh’s Samaki Rainsey pagoda, where hundreds of the villagers had been staying while seeking intervention. It came less than two weeks after Hun Sen warned officials that he had “no patience” left for inaction on land disputes.

In a strongly worded speech last month, the premier called on officials to stop being “lazy” and instead seek solutions.

Suon Vicheka, a representative of the villagers, welcomed the decision on Saturday, adding that villagers would return to their homes so that they could collect their official titles.

Vicheka added that a further 51 families in a dispute with Horizon Agriculture Development over 66 plots of land would also return home to await a solution, as promised by Chhun Lim.

Chan Soveth, senior investigator at rights group Adhoc, urged the government to continue to act on disputes.

“It is time for the two parties to create a new government which can end land disputes . . . since land disputes are the root of social problems.”

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/deal-finally-ends-kratie-row

[geovalin]

KDC protests to go on

Mon, 1 September 2014

Khouth Sophak Chakrya

One of five villagers arrested in a land dispute with politically connected company KDC International told the Post after their release on Friday that he would keep protesting “until our community obtains a resolution from the government”.

“Now we are preparing to submit the petitions to the relevant state departments and international organisations, such as the European Union and other embassies in Phnom Penh,” Sngoun Nhoeun explained.

He added that he was ordered to sign a contract promising to stop demonstrating against KDC before being released.

Nhoeun and two other villagers, Srun Tha and Kuch Hok, were arrested during a peaceful march to Phnom Penh last month, while another two, Mang Yav and Seang Heng, were arrested over a violent clash in July with KDC construction workers.

The five were released on bail thanks to a personal guarantee from ruling Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker for Kampong Chhnang province Ker Chanmony.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kdc-protests-go

[geovalin]

Koh Kong gov to bring petition to Say Sam Al

Mon, 1 September 2014

Sen David

Koh Kong Governor Bun Leart has promised villagers evicted from their land by Chinese-owned Union Development Group that he will give their petition to Minister of Environment Say Sam Al today.

The villagers are demanding a review of the company’s $3.8 billion concession, which led to the eviction of about 1,000 families.

“I will take your request to submit to the national level,” Leart said following a meeting with petitioners yesterday.

Pum Tour, 45, said the villagers had struggled to make a living in relocation sites since the company took over the land more than five years ago.

“We need our farmland back. We depend entirely on our plantations,” he said.

In Kong Che, provincial coordinator for rights group Licadho, said the petition was one of many attempts by communities across the country in recent weeks to raise their disputes following a speech by Prime Minister Hun Sen last month in which he blamed local officials for the scale of land rights abuses and forced evictions.