Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Land Grab Movement May Set Off 'Peasant Revolution' in Cambodia

Deforestation (Photo: www.alongmekong.com)

Tens of Thousand Hectares of Forest Land in Steung Treng Province Are Being Seized Arbitrarily by Businessman An Mardi

By Pheakdei
Moneakseka Khmer
15 May 2006
Translated from Khmer


People in Steung Treng Province's Sesan District have reported that tens of thousand hectares of forest in the locality have been cleared for land by a man by the name of An Mardi, who is president of Kampong Cham Province's Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Cambodian People's Party [CPP], according to a report by Pheakdei carried by the pro-opposition Sam Rainsy Party [SRP] newspaper Phnom Penh Moneakseka Khmer in its 15 May edition. Click here to read the original article in Khmer (Adobe Acrobat required)

Felled large trees were shipped out, while the small ones burned down in an uncontrollable way in the areas of Veal Rumpe and O Leang Kruos, which used to have dense forests as heavenly sanctuaries for all kind of wild animals, the report says.

The people pointed out that, the report adds, intelligence officers of the First Military Region commanded by Two-Star General Huot Chheang "heavily protected" An Mardi, who was one of Prime Minister Hun Sen's associates and who committed the crime of felling logs devastatingly. No official of the province's agriculture or environment office cared about investigating the unrestrained illegal log felling activities in the least.

According to Cambodia's laws, the report further says, each company is allowed to receive or own "no more than 1,000 hectares" of concession forests or land from the State. Nevertheless, in fact scores of companies, close to the CPP, such as Phanimex and Pheapimex owned by Madam Phu and the company controlled by An Mardi, are in the process of "arbitrarily seizing tens of thousand hectares" of forest land that are animal habitats and that offer byproducts for the people in Sesan District to make a living.

The report also says it was reported that most of the tens of thousands hectares of land in the hands of companies and individuals, having close connections with the CPP, were "obtained through unscrupulous means," using authority, money, and corrupt tribunals' power.

To stop government officials and merchants close to him from taking possession of land belonging to the State and people, the report says, Hun Sen used to "warn that revolution by peasants would break out." However, some circles assessed that Hun Sen's remarks about the peasants' sufferings were just an "artful language to craftily lull" Cambodian people, who face the losses of their homes and land that they need to making a living. In truth, Hun Sen had "no desire" whatsoever to look for solutions to provide the Cambodian people with happiness. "Hun Sen and the strategy to grab land from the citizens are the one and only thing," they said.

Some analysts viewed that the peasant revolution warned by Hun Sen "might actually break out," because the movement grabbing land belonging to the people and State by those having power at present "infuriated people from almost every nook and cranny," the report adds. "This movement would set off a peasant revolution sooner or later," and it would not be different from a communist slogan saying: "Where there is oppression, there is resistance."

The people in Sesan District also indicated that they "planned to stage a protest" against the land grab by Hun Sen's close associate An Mardi in Phnom Penh" soon, the Moneakseka Khmer report concludes.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The problem of land-grape is becoming national epidamic. More and more Cambodian poor are suffering by the handful elits of CPP thugs. There is no drastic measure from the Hun Sen government to effectively solve this problem. The Samlot problem in the 1960s caused from the same problem when Battambang authority tried to confiscate peasant's land. The Samlot history will repeat if the problem continues.

Anonymous said...

Businessmen too are at gun point by Hun Sen only his tugs, cronies are bless by him. I saw An Mardi drow tank acrosse Kampong Cham once!
United Nation you have to disarme the Royal Cambodia Ganster Gorvrment!!!!!!!!! So Cambodia can survive, please we need help.

Anonymous said...

Land grabbing and deforestration are the chronic problems in our country. How can we solve these problems? No any country in the world has such a serious problem like us. In order to solve this problem effectively, the govenment should take a bold move against any government or military official who continues to committ such a crime against our people and country. Those officials must be striped off the power and prosecute in the court of law. We can solve this problem for our country if the government has a political will to do so.

Anonymous said...

Start from the hight top, do you know?
Hun Sen and Fanily and Friend Corp.