14 February 2008By Pen Bona
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr
A rumor was spread out that a law was being prepared to allow foreigners to buy lands in Cambodia. On Thursday 14 February, Hun Sen put an end to this controversy.
“The government never thought of drafting a law that allows foreigners to buy lands in Cambodia,” Hun Sen is firm on this issue. On Thursday 14 February, during his travel to Kampong Speu province for the inauguration of a school, Hun Sen categorically denied the rumors about this issue.
“I want to remind the public that no leader will ever come up with a law to sell (the country’s) territory to foreigners. If it were to exist, lands along the Thai and Vietnamese borders would most likely be bought out by the neighbors,” he indicated while adding that this idea is unthinkable within in government.
Hun Sen’s reaction came at a time when the debates on this issue are starting to take off among the politicians and the civil society. For Hun Sen, the rumor was started to create difficulties prior to the election. “I don’t know where this information came from. Was it invented to attack the government during this pre-electoral period?” he asked. He concluded by saying: “It is completely false.”
Currently, in Cambodia, a foreigner cannot buy directly real estates or lands. He must ask a Cambodian citizen to sign all the transaction documents.
“The government never thought of drafting a law that allows foreigners to buy lands in Cambodia,” Hun Sen is firm on this issue. On Thursday 14 February, during his travel to Kampong Speu province for the inauguration of a school, Hun Sen categorically denied the rumors about this issue.
“I want to remind the public that no leader will ever come up with a law to sell (the country’s) territory to foreigners. If it were to exist, lands along the Thai and Vietnamese borders would most likely be bought out by the neighbors,” he indicated while adding that this idea is unthinkable within in government.
Hun Sen’s reaction came at a time when the debates on this issue are starting to take off among the politicians and the civil society. For Hun Sen, the rumor was started to create difficulties prior to the election. “I don’t know where this information came from. Was it invented to attack the government during this pre-electoral period?” he asked. He concluded by saying: “It is completely false.”
Currently, in Cambodia, a foreigner cannot buy directly real estates or lands. He must ask a Cambodian citizen to sign all the transaction documents.
