Villagers To Keep Some Land, Be Paid for Rest: R'kiri Court
By Pin Sisovann
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
Ratanakkiri Provincial Court on Wednesday ruled that 106 ethnic minority families fighting their eviction from 200 hectares of land claimed by a businessman should be allowed to retain 49 hectares and be compensated $3,000 for the loss of the remaining 151 hectares, a court official said.
Norng Sok, presiding judge and Ratanakkiri court deputy director, said that his ruling was in accordance with an agreement reached between the minority villagers from three villages in O'Chum district's Ekkapheap commune and Seng Piseth, who was granted their land under a government concession deal.
"I ruled in favor of what had been previously agreed between both sides," Norng Sok said.
"The dispute was solved," he said, adding that some 30 villagers, commune chiefs and village chiefs had attended the hearing.
However, Legal Aid of Cambodia lawyer Kuy Veasna, representing the interests of the Ekkapheap villagers, said he was surprised during the hearing to find out that an agreement had been reached before the hearing. He also questioned whether the villagers present in court, most of whom were from Rarch village, had the authority to speak on behalf of all 106 families and for the residents of the other two villages: Ph'or and Om.
"I am worried that this is not over," Kuy Veasna said. Some villagers were not aware of the negotiation, and it is not clear how the 49 hectares and $3,000 will be divided among the families, he said.
Meas Thoeun, a staff member at the provincial office of local rights group Adhoc, also said that representatives from Ph'or and Om villages were not present in court, and he, too, doubted that the case was closed.
"We will follow up and check with the other villagers," he said.
The provincial court imprisoned two Ekkapheap residents in January after their protests to prevent concession holder Seng Piseth from leveling their crops. Both were released in March following an order by Prime Minister Hun Sen to free all those jailed as a result of land dispute protests.
Norng Sok, presiding judge and Ratanakkiri court deputy director, said that his ruling was in accordance with an agreement reached between the minority villagers from three villages in O'Chum district's Ekkapheap commune and Seng Piseth, who was granted their land under a government concession deal.
"I ruled in favor of what had been previously agreed between both sides," Norng Sok said.
"The dispute was solved," he said, adding that some 30 villagers, commune chiefs and village chiefs had attended the hearing.
However, Legal Aid of Cambodia lawyer Kuy Veasna, representing the interests of the Ekkapheap villagers, said he was surprised during the hearing to find out that an agreement had been reached before the hearing. He also questioned whether the villagers present in court, most of whom were from Rarch village, had the authority to speak on behalf of all 106 families and for the residents of the other two villages: Ph'or and Om.
"I am worried that this is not over," Kuy Veasna said. Some villagers were not aware of the negotiation, and it is not clear how the 49 hectares and $3,000 will be divided among the families, he said.
Meas Thoeun, a staff member at the provincial office of local rights group Adhoc, also said that representatives from Ph'or and Om villages were not present in court, and he, too, doubted that the case was closed.
"We will follow up and check with the other villagers," he said.
The provincial court imprisoned two Ekkapheap residents in January after their protests to prevent concession holder Seng Piseth from leveling their crops. Both were released in March following an order by Prime Minister Hun Sen to free all those jailed as a result of land dispute protests.
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