By Nhim Sophal
Cambodge Soir
Unofficial translation from French by Luc Sâr
Click here to read Cambodge Soir’s original article in French
“The results of the election are worrisome with the entry of SRP members in the commune council in all communes in the province, even in the most remote areas” - Oum Ming, CPP MP from Kompong Thom
Far behind the CPP, the great winner of the Cambodian commune election, the SRP nevertheless, made a clear advance, in particular in the provinces. Some observers see in there the results of a constant denunciation of land conflicts led by the opposition party.
Even though the CPP came out the great winner from the commune election, as expected, the SRP made an advance among the voters. This advance is most noticeable in the provinces. Some observers see in there the results of the opposition party’s rejection of the land grabbing in rural areas, and its support to the victims of land disputes. “Land disputes can create a lot of worries for people living in isolated areas,” Mu Sochua, SRP Secretary-General, underscored. “This is an even more important problem than anything else.”
Sam Rainsy, SRP President, noted that “the land dispute cases are numerous on the province of Kompong Thom, Kompong Cham and Kratie, in particular. And it is notably there that the SRP gains new communes: we jump from 1 to 6 in Kompong Thom, from 1 to 7 in Kompong Cham, and from 0 to 4 in Kratie.” Claiming the fact that it now counts elected officials in 1,500 communes in the country, versus 950 in 2002, Sam Rainsy assured that “the violation of property, the losses of lands, and deforestation made people change their minds about the SRP.”
Houn Chundy, an official with the CLEC, an organization which provides legal assistance and which is following land disputes issues, believes that “nothing proves that it was the land disputes which push the SRP forward,” but he recognized that the SRP’s frequent interventions in land disputes convinced some people to join it.
On the majority CPP side, its members are convinced [of the advance of the SRP] as Kompong Thom CPP MP Oum Ming candidly recognized: “The results of the election are worrisome with the entry of SRP members in the commune council in all communes in the province, even in the most remote areas,” he declared. The CPP MP blamed this situation on the local administration “which caused the loss of the CPP reputation.” “The local authorities are also looking into the land dispute issues, but their resolutions take too long and they are not always fair,” Oum Ming believes. He also announced, without giving further details, “a new strategy” in view of the 2008 legislative election.
