Villagers petition Prime Minister over land dispute

Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Kim Yuthana
The Phnom Penh Post

Thirty villagers from Banteay Meanchey province’s O’Chrou district came to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house in the capital yesterday to deliver a petition concerning a decade-long land dispute.

Representative Keat Kith said officials from the Banteay Meanchey provincial hall had grabbed 113 hectares of land from more than 50 families since 2002 and, in turn, sold it off to land merchants without the villagers’ consent.

Keat Kith accused several officials in particular of stealing land, including provincial chief of land management Or Narath and former Banteay Meanchey deputy governor Sar Chamrong.

“The local authorities conspired with local officers, starting with the provincial, then at the district level.

Thais seize border rice paddies: military

Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Written by Thet Sambath
The Phnom Penh Post

THAI soldiers have prevented two Cambodian farmers from cultivating rice paddies along the border in Banteay Meanchey province's O'Chrov district, Cambodian military officials based in the area said Sunday.

Sing Touch, deputy commander of Border Military Unit 503, said 15 armed Thai soldiers forced farmers in O'Chrov district's Sila village to cease their cultivation Friday, claiming their were operating illegally on Thai soil.

"Farmers have temporarily ceased their cultivation because we are working to resolve this with the Thai soldiers. Then they will be able to continue their farming," he said Sunday.

"These soldiers have constantly tried stirring up problems along the border by claiming land here and there without respect for Cambodian sovereignty. Cambodian farmers have farmed rice on this land for many years."

Sar Chhong, deputy police chief of O'Chrov district, said the two Cambodian farmers have worked their 14-hectare lot since about 1993 and criticised the actions of the Thai military.

"We see that the Thai soldiers are attempting to make problems along their border with Cambodia. There is no reason to demand that Cambodian farmers stop farming their land."

He added that on questions of sovereignty, local officials could do little and that the incident had been reported to higher levels of government.

Provincial Governor Ung Oeun said he was too busy to provide a comment Sunday.

Thai embassy officials could not be reached for comment.

The Siamisation of Cambodia and the Loss of Khmer National Identity

Picture: Welcome to Cambodia’s Poipet, a Thai town or a Khmer town? A town full of Khmer people but all signs are written in Thai. The only things absent are the Khmer alphabets and the Khmer currency.

Koh Santepheap newspaper
15th January, 2009
Reported in English by Khmerization


Poipet - Banteay Meanchey Province: Near the gate of the Poipet International Checkpoint, signs in the front of all restaurants, casinos and shops are all written in foreign (Thai) language, without the Khmer language being written on them. And if there are any signs written in Khmer at all, they are just written in fine prints underneath the Thai alphabets.

This is not all. Furthermore, all financial transactions must be done in Thai Baht. From a meal in the restaurants, to a game of poker in the casinos and a night of stay in the local 5-star hotels, all monetary transactions must in Thai Baht.

Welcome to Poipet and the Siamisation of Cambodia. This is the reality of Cambodia today.

These trends have concerned many local officials. A Khmer senior military officer has told Koh Santepheap that he is very worried because these restaurants, shops and casinos are located inside Khmer territories. And he asks why there is a need to use Thai money at the expense of the Cambodian currency? The same military officer added that he cannot understand why all the signs in front of the shops, the hotels and the casinos are not written in the Khmer alphabets, but instead written in the Thai alphabets?

He added that, at a time when Cambodia has border disputes with Thailand, these practices could confuse unsuspecting international tourists who might think that the area is located on Thai soil. The officer added that this is a neglect of our Khmer culture, our national identity and our nation as a whole.

Mr. Keo Sen, Governor of O’Chrov district, said that under Cambodian laws, all signs in front of all shops, hotels and casinos that are located on Khmer soil must all be written in the Khmer alphabets. If there is a need to write the signs in foreign languages, they must be written under the Khmer alphabets and in fine prints. He added that what have been practised in Poipet now is illegal under Cambodian laws.

The governor of O’Chrov district said that he was aware of all these practices and the local authority has informed all the businesses and companies to make them aware of the Cambodian laws, but it seems that they did not heed the request of the local authority. Now he has passed this issue to the chief of the Poipet International Checkpoint to ask him to help tackle the problems so that people are not confused that this area belongs to Thailand.//

Please don't call the O'Chrov border police if you ever lose money ... because they are merely kleptocratic officials

Police Took $42,000 From Seized Migrant Workers, Rights Group Says

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21 November 2007

Police on the border seized 33 workers returning from Thailand recently and took $42,000 for their release, the rights group Adhoc said Wednesday.

Sum Chankea, an investigator for the group, said police in Bantey Meanchey province arrested a group of men and forced them to empty a bank account of Thai baht worth $42,000, after arresting them on allegations of illegal border crossing.

One of the detained said a group of workers had pooled their money into one account for fear of it being confiscated by police.

"This more than 1 million baht is the sum of money collected by 33 workers from Thailand who deposited it in one account," Sum Chankea said.

Police charged one man with illegally bringing Cambodian workers into Thailand, he said, but the money was never returned.

Bantey Meanchey's O'chrov District Police Chief Oeung Song You said the provincial police chief had ordered them now to return the money to the workers.

"We're not taking the money," he said.

Villagers near Thai Border protest over unfair flood aid doled out to CPP supporters only

Villagers on Thai Border to Protest Over Unfair Flood Aid

Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18/06/2007

Villagers on the Thai border were set to demonstrate Monday, following what they call unfair distribution of flood relief.

The villagers, from Aur Chreuv town, Bantey Meanchey province, said aid was doled out in exchange for political support by the ruling Cambodian People's Party following heavy flooding in the region.

Tae Kim Long, a Sam Rainsy Party commune clerk in the area, said a high-ranking general from the region disbursed aid to a number of towns hit by flooding, but he accused a local commune chief of politicizing the aid.

Chap Saroeun, a villager from Aur Bey Choan, said crops worth $1,000 were ruined by flooding, but he couldn't receive aid, because he did not support the Cambodian People's Party.