By Sav Yuth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer
A group of about 200 villagers from Lvea village, Sre Noy commune, Varin district, Siem Reap province, armed with knives and axes, have surrounded several pieces of machinery on Tuesday afternoon to oppose the land clearing planned by the Banya Group Co. Ltd. in order to build a satellite tourist city on several thousand hectares of land in the region.
The villagers said that they have gathered based on a company summon because it sent out invitations to district, commune and village officials to a meeting to negotiate on a land dispute case involving the Banya Co. However, when the villagers arrived, there were no officials who came to the meeting, but they were met by the land clearing machinery instead, so they have decided to stop these machineries from clearing the villagers’ rice fields: “They cleared the area in front of my rice field, this is opposite to the promise they made during the negotiation. Therefore, the villagers want the land clearing bulldozers to pull out, but they confronted us.”
The villagers claimed that when they were surrounding the machinery, a large contingent of police officers and soldiers was sent in to the location. Nevertheless, representatives of the Banya Group Co. Ltd. could not be reached to provide clarifications on this issue.
Chhim Chhun, the Varin deputy-district governor who came to the look at the dispute, said that the reason the villagers were protesting against the Banya Co. is because some of their rice fields are included in the area to be cleared, but that the company did not pay them a proper compensation yet: “The company did not resolve the issue yet, so the villagers stopped the land clearing machinery, but the land clearing did not start yet. I don’t know their goal, I only represent the authority helping to facilitate the situation for the people only.”
Suos Narin, an investigator for the Adhoc human rights organization in Siem Reap, said that the constant protest by the villagers stems from the fact that the commune authority did not resolve the issue of money distribution to the villagers from the compensation amount paid by the company. However, the villagers said that they cannot accept the offer of $200 compensation for each hectare of their land. “The protest did not stop because the villagers demand much more for each hectare of their land than the $200 the company is willing to compensate for. They want $7-8,000 per hectare,” Suos Narin said.
In the afternoon of 12 Feb, Sou Phirin, the [CPP] Siem Reap provincial governor, said that he will invite district officials and commune councilors to meet at the provincial administration office in order to find a mean to resolve this issue, and to find out who the land actually belongs to, whether it belongs to villagers or not: “The district governor … must find the truth as to whether the land belongs the state or to the villagers.”
At the end of December 2008, a group of villagers from 6 villages located in Sre Noy commune have demonstrated against the Banya Group for four consecutive days once already when the government provided 7,000 hectare of concession land to this company to develop a satellite tourist city, and to preserve the natural forest in that region.
The villagers said that they have gathered based on a company summon because it sent out invitations to district, commune and village officials to a meeting to negotiate on a land dispute case involving the Banya Co. However, when the villagers arrived, there were no officials who came to the meeting, but they were met by the land clearing machinery instead, so they have decided to stop these machineries from clearing the villagers’ rice fields: “They cleared the area in front of my rice field, this is opposite to the promise they made during the negotiation. Therefore, the villagers want the land clearing bulldozers to pull out, but they confronted us.”
The villagers claimed that when they were surrounding the machinery, a large contingent of police officers and soldiers was sent in to the location. Nevertheless, representatives of the Banya Group Co. Ltd. could not be reached to provide clarifications on this issue.
Chhim Chhun, the Varin deputy-district governor who came to the look at the dispute, said that the reason the villagers were protesting against the Banya Co. is because some of their rice fields are included in the area to be cleared, but that the company did not pay them a proper compensation yet: “The company did not resolve the issue yet, so the villagers stopped the land clearing machinery, but the land clearing did not start yet. I don’t know their goal, I only represent the authority helping to facilitate the situation for the people only.”
Suos Narin, an investigator for the Adhoc human rights organization in Siem Reap, said that the constant protest by the villagers stems from the fact that the commune authority did not resolve the issue of money distribution to the villagers from the compensation amount paid by the company. However, the villagers said that they cannot accept the offer of $200 compensation for each hectare of their land. “The protest did not stop because the villagers demand much more for each hectare of their land than the $200 the company is willing to compensate for. They want $7-8,000 per hectare,” Suos Narin said.
In the afternoon of 12 Feb, Sou Phirin, the [CPP] Siem Reap provincial governor, said that he will invite district officials and commune councilors to meet at the provincial administration office in order to find a mean to resolve this issue, and to find out who the land actually belongs to, whether it belongs to villagers or not: “The district governor … must find the truth as to whether the land belongs the state or to the villagers.”
At the end of December 2008, a group of villagers from 6 villages located in Sre Noy commune have demonstrated against the Banya Group for four consecutive days once already when the government provided 7,000 hectare of concession land to this company to develop a satellite tourist city, and to preserve the natural forest in that region.
8 comments:
Well done people. Stand up for your rights.
Revolution in the making?
Where did you go to school, dramatic theater?
This KI site makes it like a big deal. Apparently, if you are in Cambodia and read the freaking newspaper daily, you would know this sort of thing is normal. The villagers like to yield their knifes and shit a lot. Just read the Koh Son Te Pheap paper, you'll see cases of villagers chopping each other everyday because of disputes. As for you KI, don't be too much of a drama queen that you've always been. Take a break and wash that make up off lol.
you'll see cases of villagers chopping each other everyday because of disputes
NOW, THE FARMERS MUST USE THEIR EXPERIENCES (FROM THEIR PAST DISPUTES) AND USE IT AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT. MACHINE GUNS AND OTHER LETHAL WEAPONS WOULD GREATLY HELP THESE PEOPLE.
PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION IS INEVITABLE.
you'll see cases of villagers chopping each other everyday because of disputes. The question that all of us would raise is that why those people try to do so? No law enforcement? No justice in the country? No unbiased authorities? Uneducated people? and why people like to use their own judgement?
Personal disputes between individuals happen everyday and everywhere in the world, not just in Cambodia. But, disputes between the local community and the business interest require a solidarity among the people in the community.
To say that both are the same thing is like saying a boat is the same as a ship. If the community of people possess the same weapons as the police and the military we know for sure which side will win the battle.
4:18 PM
The people did have the same weapons as military and police. Up until the the end of the 90's, Cambodian civilians all had stash of weapons from the war. Then, the government issued a policy to get Cambodian civilians to turn in their weapons and in exchange get monetary compensation so Cambodia is not a wild wild East it used to be anymore. Maybe you need to learn more about recent Khmer history? Maybe when you do, you learn that the government has done more than people like on this site are led to believe?
and you 1:45 PM can eat shit and die!
We all Kon Khmer, please don't give up, the world will see and will be support to Cambodian people, if we not fight for our right then no one will, now every one understand Leader evil like Hun Sen have been done to his owne people. Hun Sen never feeling good in his mind, everyday he always have a bad dream of someone come to kill him.
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