By Sav Yuth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
A number of villagers form Angkanh village, Svay Leu commune, Siem reap province, are unhappy with the Krek rubber plantation Co. which is currently clearing forest lands to plant rubber trees. The villagers claimed that the company is also clearing their rice fields and the authority does not dare resolve this issue.
On Thursday 25 October, a group of villagers publicly claimed that the company used mechanical equipments to clear several hectares of their rice fields yesterday. “5-hectare of my rice fields were cleared yesterday, please help resolve this issue for me, if they clear and take over all my rice fields, what do I have left? 3-hectare of my rice fields were cleared by the Krek rubber plantation company, they destroyed all my rice crop,” the villagers said.
The group of villagers said that several hundreds of families are very concerned about the land clearing operation by the company to plant rubber trees. The villagers had also complained to the local officials, but no officials dare come out to resolve this issue. However, the company rejected the villagers’ claims saying that they are not ture.
Siek Pisith, the deput director of Krek rubber plantation, said that his company did not touch any rice field belonging to the villagers. However, Siek Pisith said that after the harvest season, he will re-organize all these rice field lands into farms for the villagers to live in and work as laborers, and if the villagers do not accept the company conditions, they are simply not allowed to work on the lands as their properties.
Siek Pisith said: “The lands they are using for their rice fields, (the company) did not touch them yet. But the problem of the lands occupied by the villagers, the ministry of agriculture ordered the provincial authority to go check and resolve this issue, because all these lands cannot be claimed as the villagers’ property, they are all located along the road.”
Ho Sophany, the Svay Leu deputy district governor, said that up to now, the district authority did not receive any complaint from the villagers yet. When the district authority will receive the complaint, then it will resolve this issue with the company regarding the land encroachments.
Nevertheless, Suos Narin, an investigator for the Adhoc human rights organization for the province of Siem Reap, said that, recently, he received a complaint bearing 140 thumbprints from the villagers who claimed that 620-hectare of their rice fields will be grabbed by the rubber company soon, and that there is no authority which would venture out to resolve this issue, and quite to the contrary, all that the authorities did was to prevent the villagers from protesting.
Suos Narin said: “It affects a number of rice fields and orchard fields … We did not see any resolution to this issue, all that we saw were arrests made against villagers who went into the forest to cut trees, or to rummage on the lands located in the Krek rubber plantation zone.”
The Krek rubber plantation is a company belonging to the state. In mid-2007, the government provided 9,100-hectare of lands located in Svay leu district, Siem Reap province, to the company to plant new rubber trees, following the shortage of cultivable land in Kampong Cham province.
On Thursday 25 October, a group of villagers publicly claimed that the company used mechanical equipments to clear several hectares of their rice fields yesterday. “5-hectare of my rice fields were cleared yesterday, please help resolve this issue for me, if they clear and take over all my rice fields, what do I have left? 3-hectare of my rice fields were cleared by the Krek rubber plantation company, they destroyed all my rice crop,” the villagers said.
The group of villagers said that several hundreds of families are very concerned about the land clearing operation by the company to plant rubber trees. The villagers had also complained to the local officials, but no officials dare come out to resolve this issue. However, the company rejected the villagers’ claims saying that they are not ture.
Siek Pisith, the deput director of Krek rubber plantation, said that his company did not touch any rice field belonging to the villagers. However, Siek Pisith said that after the harvest season, he will re-organize all these rice field lands into farms for the villagers to live in and work as laborers, and if the villagers do not accept the company conditions, they are simply not allowed to work on the lands as their properties.
Siek Pisith said: “The lands they are using for their rice fields, (the company) did not touch them yet. But the problem of the lands occupied by the villagers, the ministry of agriculture ordered the provincial authority to go check and resolve this issue, because all these lands cannot be claimed as the villagers’ property, they are all located along the road.”
Ho Sophany, the Svay Leu deputy district governor, said that up to now, the district authority did not receive any complaint from the villagers yet. When the district authority will receive the complaint, then it will resolve this issue with the company regarding the land encroachments.
Nevertheless, Suos Narin, an investigator for the Adhoc human rights organization for the province of Siem Reap, said that, recently, he received a complaint bearing 140 thumbprints from the villagers who claimed that 620-hectare of their rice fields will be grabbed by the rubber company soon, and that there is no authority which would venture out to resolve this issue, and quite to the contrary, all that the authorities did was to prevent the villagers from protesting.
Suos Narin said: “It affects a number of rice fields and orchard fields … We did not see any resolution to this issue, all that we saw were arrests made against villagers who went into the forest to cut trees, or to rummage on the lands located in the Krek rubber plantation zone.”
The Krek rubber plantation is a company belonging to the state. In mid-2007, the government provided 9,100-hectare of lands located in Svay leu district, Siem Reap province, to the company to plant new rubber trees, following the shortage of cultivable land in Kampong Cham province.
8 comments:
IF nice, poor , innocent people can't get justice. They should rebel. I know its easy said then done. But it need to be done.
I were them, I would BURNED it down. I can't have what belong to me, They shouldn't have it either.
These currupted official and invader vietcong need to see the RAGE of the victims.
What we need here is a law to fine those who protest land grabbing without ownership title. They are making ridiculous allegation and defame the entire country. And I can smell Ah Khmer-Yuon in the picture right through the internet cable. Go back to South Vietnam, you morons!
Where is Ah Eng Chay Eing? the representative foe Khmer's land rubbres defender? You SRP just another Hook too? Mots of the grom Yuon Hanoi.
Hey, there is no deffence if you don't have the land title.
Black-teeth Yuon Vietcong troller on KI-media like this animal@1:51 AM that is pretending to be khmer and calling khmer "Ah Khmer-Yuon" must be euthanized asap...
Yep, someone will have to keep a close eye on Ah tootless Khmer-Yuon.
Of course google will keep their eyes on you freaking Viet troller...
Ask me if I care?
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