Chan Sarun signed the order to gov't officials to stake land belonging to the villagers to the private Heng Bros Co.Villagers Protest Company's Plans for Their Land
By Kuch Naren
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
"Officials never care about the effect on villagers of economic concessions."
—Pen Bonnar Adhoc Coordinator
More than 100 ethnic minority villagers in Ratanakkiri province's Andong Meas district lodged a complaint with local rights group Adhoc on Tuesday to protest plans by a private company to take 2,400 hectares of their land.
Adhoc Provincial Coordinator Pen Bonnar said the land confiscation, under the pretext of providing a government land concession to logging firm Heng Brothers Co Ltd, will seriously impact the livelihoods of the minority villagers.
"Those villagers need to keep the forest in their community," Pen Bonnar said by telephone.
"Officials never care about the effect on villagers of economic concessions," he said.
"Although the area suggested by the company will really have a negative impact on that community, [government officials] will still say the location is OK for a concession."
Nam Deng, 45, a representative of 109 families in Andong Meas' Ka Nath village, said the complaint was lodged with Adhoc so that the government would intervene to stop the demarcation of their communal village land as an economic concession.
"The company just tries to get our forestland but they do not build or conduct any development in our commune," he said.
According to Nam Deng, provincial and local authorities accompanied several Heng Brothers representatives as they set out the boundary of the 2,400-hectare concession in the district's Talav commune.
Villagers in the bordering commune of Keh Chung, in neighboring Bokeo district allege that they were forced to thumbprint a document giving up claim to 1,600 hectares of land in return for $1,000 for the entire territory, Nam Deng.
Provincial Governor Muong Poy declined comment on the Heng Brothers concession when contacted on Tuesday.
According to an Oct 23 document signed by Minister of Agriculture Chan Sarun, officials from the ministries of environment, land management and interior were ordered to travel to Ratanakkiri to stake out the Heng Brothers' concession between Nov 1 and 4. The letter was also sent to Muong Poy.
Adhoc Provincial Coordinator Pen Bonnar said the land confiscation, under the pretext of providing a government land concession to logging firm Heng Brothers Co Ltd, will seriously impact the livelihoods of the minority villagers.
"Those villagers need to keep the forest in their community," Pen Bonnar said by telephone.
"Officials never care about the effect on villagers of economic concessions," he said.
"Although the area suggested by the company will really have a negative impact on that community, [government officials] will still say the location is OK for a concession."
Nam Deng, 45, a representative of 109 families in Andong Meas' Ka Nath village, said the complaint was lodged with Adhoc so that the government would intervene to stop the demarcation of their communal village land as an economic concession.
"The company just tries to get our forestland but they do not build or conduct any development in our commune," he said.
According to Nam Deng, provincial and local authorities accompanied several Heng Brothers representatives as they set out the boundary of the 2,400-hectare concession in the district's Talav commune.
Villagers in the bordering commune of Keh Chung, in neighboring Bokeo district allege that they were forced to thumbprint a document giving up claim to 1,600 hectares of land in return for $1,000 for the entire territory, Nam Deng.
Provincial Governor Muong Poy declined comment on the Heng Brothers concession when contacted on Tuesday.
According to an Oct 23 document signed by Minister of Agriculture Chan Sarun, officials from the ministries of environment, land management and interior were ordered to travel to Ratanakkiri to stake out the Heng Brothers' concession between Nov 1 and 4. The letter was also sent to Muong Poy.
1 comment:
Adhoc should lodge on behalf of the minority to the united Nation insteed of trying to solve the problem by themselve.
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