Indigenous Cambodians decry foreign land concessions

By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH, March 17 (Reuters) - Indigenous Cambodians on Wednesday urged the government to suspend hundreds of concessions awarded to foreign and local companies they say are operating on disputed land.

Representatives of Cambodia's 17 ethnic groups said the government had not consulted local communities or given fair compensation before approving large concessions to companies to grow rubber, run mines and build hydroelectric dams.

"I ask the government to suspend the concessions in all 15 provinces and cities," said villager Ven Samin, who is embroiled in a dispute over land leased by Chinese firms in Kompong Speu province, 48 km (30 miles) outside Phnom Penh.

"The Chinese concession was agreed without consultation or approval with and from local communities. It has seriously affected indigenous people," she added.

In a bid to attract foreign investment to improve its fledgling economy, the impoverished country has awarded big concessions to companies, mainly from China, Vietnam and South Korea, to run mines, power plants and farms.

Cambodia is relying on foreign help in modernising and expanding its agriculture, mining and energy sectors in the hope of creating jobs and boosting exports, especially of commodities like rice, rubber and sugar.

Rights groups and international donors have long complained that government officials have rode roughshod over people's rights, ordering mass evictions from farmland and prime urban real estate to lease to foreign companies.

Sao Vansey, executive director of Cambodia's Indigenous Community Support Organisation, called on foreign investors and donors to reconsider deals with the government.

"They should examine if their investments support equity, if they are appropriate to the local circumstance and if their activities to date are in respect of indigenous peoples' rights," Sao Vansey said.

Indigenous organisations in 15 Asian countries sent an open letter to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen complaining that concessions were awarded without the consent of local people.

The government has approved nearly 100 mining deals throughout the country, many intruding on land occupied by indigenous groups, according to a report submitted by the Indigenous People NGO Network to the United Nations.

Another Cambodian non-governmental organisation, Forum on Cambodia, said one million hectares of disputed land had been made available for local and foreign companies.

"Their land is being grabbed by these companies, the powerful and investors," said the group's executive director, Chhit Sam Ath. "The violations of indigenous peoples' rights are serious."

(Editing by Martin Petty)