Not all economic land concessions listed [-Shenanigans at the Chan Sarun's ministry?]

Villagers affected by an economic land concession granted to CPP Senator Ly Yong Phat’s Phnom Penh Sugar Company protest outside the Kampong Speu provincial court in March, 2010. Photograph: Will Baxter/Phnom Penh Post

Chan Sarun, the fishy minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Thursday, 05 July 2012
David Boyle and May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

“The ministry’s silence is a reflection of a systematic lack of transparency surrounding ELCs and the recent order to review these concessions.”

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ latest list of economic land concessions reveals some peculiar discrepancies with known records of ELCs. Some that have recently been granted are missing, while others known to have been cancelled remain.

The June 8 MAFF list makes no mention of ELCs granted by Prime Minister Hun Sen on May 18 to SK Plantation (Cambodia) Pte Ltd for 8,000 hectares in Ratanakkiri province and 7,710 hectares for Le Ye Rubber in Siem Reap province.

The premier fiercely rejected claims late last month that he had breached his own May 7 moratorium on ELCs by granting these concessions, pointing to a loophole in the sub-decree that exempted those that had already been agreed to in principle.

But an ELC that was cancelled in Kampot’s Chhouk district for First Bio-tech Agricultural (Cambodia) Co, Ltd’s 10,000-hectare corn plantation and processing factory also remained on the list.

Three Huge Land Grants to Companies Despite Hun Xen Ban [-Chan Sarun enriches himself?]

Khek Chan Raksmey of Boueng Kak holds a protest sign as she participates in a rally to ask King Norodom Sihamoni to help release of villagers including her mother in front of Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Monday, June 11, 2012. The villagers were arrested when they tried to rebuild their homes on the land where their old houses were demolished by the developers, and were sentenced to two years and half in prison by Phnom Penh Municipality Court late last month. Phnom Penh's Boueng Kak is a lake area the government awarded to a Chinese company for commercial development, including a hotel, office buildings and luxury housing. A banner reads: "Please help villagers of Boeung Kak." (Photo: AP)

Chan Sarun

Thursday, 14 June 2012
Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

“From my point of view, it was really just an election promise that hasn’t been enforced.”

The Cambodian government recently granted more than 21,000 hectares of land to private companies for rubber plantations, despite a written order from Prime Minister Hun Sen banning land concessions.

Hun Sen announced a ban on May 7, but since then, the Ministry of Agriculture granted land to companies in three provinces, according to documents obtained by VOA Khmer.

Lee Ye Rubber received 7,710 hectares in Siem Reap province. HMH Company received 5,915 hectares in Kampong Thom. And SK Plantation received 8,000 hetares in Ratanakkiri, according to the documents.

Chan Sarun: The blameless minister?

The Tonle Sap lake is destroyed,

Trees are destroyed,

But yet, this man is never sentenced

Photo of Chan Sarun (also known as Ngor Hong Srun, Chinese: 吴和顺), the sCambodian minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Cambodia hopes to lead world rice exports

Tuesday, April 29, 2008
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodia is seeking to become one of the world's leading rice exporters, with the country's agriculture minister, Chan Sarun, saying he hopes to produce enough rice to export some 8 million tonnes annually by 2015.

This follows an announcement by Thailand's prime minister that his country, the world's leading rice exporter, will not cut down on exports.

Fears of rice shortages have led to dramatic increases global prices in the price of rice have forced major producers and exporters like India, Vietnam and China to adopt protectionist measures by imposing limits on exports, further exacerbating the problem.

Although Cambodia remains one of Asia's poorest countries, the head of Cambodian centre for the study and development of Agriculture, Yang Saing Koma, has told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program the prospect of becoming a leading rice exporter is a distinct possibility.

"There is the potential to increase the rice production of Cambodia," he said.

"Of course, we still have big land areas and the rice productivity in Cambodia is still low in those areas, and there is still the potential to expand the cultivated area."

Cambodia's ambitions to increase exports follows Sunday's announcement by Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej that his country, won't cut down on rice exports.

A spokesperson for the International Rice research Institute in the Philippines Duncan Macintosh welcomes the initiatives by both government, and says such moves could help quell the panic that's gripped the international rice market.

"Clearly both...responses by Thailand and Cambodia to try help stabilise the market - they make good sense and seem to be very good decisions," he said.

"I think most governments in Asia are looking to calm things down, because there's every reason for the markets to be stable."

Chan Sarun calls on farmers to stop catching frogs

Thursday, April 10, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Chan Sarun, the minister of agriculture, forestry and fishery, called on all Cambodian farmers to temporarily end the catching of frogs for consumption because they are useful in eliminating rice insect pests and thus help save the rice crop from being damaged by these insect pests. In an interview with The Mekong Times on Tuesday, Chan Sarun said that frogs at the main catcher of rice insect pests and they do it free of charge, therefore the farmers should not eat these frogs. He said: “We are not preventing the farmers from eating frogs, but we are asking them to stop this practice temporarily for one month so that the rice crop can grow strong first. Currently, the rice plants are still young and rice insect pests could destroy them.” Chan Sarun added that: “To protect rice during the early phase, I am calling all farmers to stop catching frogs and not to spread urea fertilizer because this fertilizer will make the rice plants look greener and they will attract the rice insect pests even more.

If there's plenty of rice as Chan Sarun claims, why Hun Sen still maintains the export ban to Thailand?

Cambodia lifts ban of rice exports for three provinces

April 09, 2008
Xinhua

Prime Minister Hun Sen has lifted the ban of rice exports for three provinces neighboring Vietnam due to their difficulty of processing and storing newly-harvested paddy, English-Khmer language newspaper the Mekong Times reported on Wednesday.

The premier made the decision on Monday under the request of Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh to allow Prey Veng, Kandal and Takeo provinces to export rice, while the ban still remain valid for other provinces.

Hun Sen imposed the two-month-long ban of rice exports on March 26 in order to help curb the spiraling price of the staple food.

Minister Agriculture and Fisheries Chan Sarun said that the permission is being offered because the farmers in these three provinces have harvested dry-season rice and found it difficult to store.

"Cambodia will not face a problem of food security because plenty of rice is already in stock," he added.

At the end of March, as another measure to help bring down the price, the government released national stockpile of rice into the market. High-quality rice once sold one U.S. dollar per kilo, almost two times the previous price.

Experts believed that the decrease of global rice production and the over purchase by Vietnam and Thailand from Cambodia had caused the price hike on the Cambodian market.

Unlike his boss, Hun Sen, Chan Sarun is concerned about farmland price increase

“Land is a granary. You should not sell it”

27 February 2008
By Ky Soklim
Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

Experts are concerned about the progressive disappearance of cultivable lands. The minister of agriculture issued a warning to farmers, advising them against selling their lands.

During a visit to Takeo, Chan Sarun, the minister of agriculture, called on farmers to resist from the temptation of money and to preserve their lands. He said that he is concerned that the pursuit of consumer products will push more and more farmers to get rid of cultivable lands to buy for themselves TV, radio sets, or motorbikes with the money they earn.

This call follows the concerns expressed recently in a report issued by agriculture experts. The latter insist on alerting the government about the upcoming dangers created by a progressive disappearance of cultivable lands which are currently under strong land speculation influence from investors.

“Agriculture land is a granary in which money lies dormant. You should not sell it because it will bring income to you year in year out, and with this money, you can buy material things to help you live better and work better. If you sell it, you will get money only once, then it will all be gone. If you sell all your lands, you will no longer produce rice. Rice does not come from the sky,” Chan Sarun tried to explain, adding that the price of lands will continue to rise in Takeo in the upcoming years.

Local, Chinese Companies Said Making Money from Logging in Development Projects

Chan Sarun, CPP Minister of Agriculture

26 Jan 08
By Vichheka
Samleng Yuveakchon Khmer (Voice of Khmer Youth)
Translated from Khmer and posted online by Anonymous

The tapioca powder producing company of Kev Vutthy represented by his wife Sok Sovan has received the authorization from the Ministry of Agriculture [MoA] to log and clear a forest of more than 7,000 hectares in Stoeng Treng province to get land on which to grow tapioca. However, since getting the permit in 2000 and since the actual destruction of the forest in 2001 Kev Vutthy's company has done nothing except denuding that forest of all standing trees. There is another company called JJ Wood, which has also conducted similar logging activities like the company of Kev Vutthy. The authority of Stoeng Treng province, Loy Sophat, has been said to be the big beneficiary of these two companies.

According to a report from Stoeng Treng, the logging activities under the pretext of forest concession permitted by Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun to Kev Vutthy's company under the pretext of growing tapioca are now in full swing because in the dry season it is easy to clear the forest. The source went on to say that the area of more than 7,000 hectares that the agriculture minister has allowed Kev Vutthy's company to log is now being planted with just a dozen tapioca seedlings and a few teak trees. This forest concession given to Kev Vutthy's company by the MoA is located in Stoeng Treng district, Stoeng Treng province.

The source said that in reality this company has not yet done anything substantial as stipulated in the contract with the MoA besides logging the forest. The source added that the logs the company cut on this forest of more than 7,000 hectares have brought the company millions of dollars in income. At the same time, the company has to share the proceeds with the local authorities, including Governor Loy Sophat and Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun. Because the forest concession has become a logging venture with the proceeds shared among the responsible, the operation has been conducted successfully to these days. In other words, Kev Vutthy's company has not planted tapioca as promised. On the contrary, what the MoA has done is to give this company a permit to log the forest at will and then get a share of the money from the sale of the trees.

In addition to the tapioca-growing company of Kev Vutthy whose wife is Sok Sovan there is also JJ Wood Company representing a company from China in logging forests in Thalaborivat district, Stoeng Treng province. The source said that a few weeks ago this company was very busy logging trees. The activities of JJ Wood Company, which is cutting trees in Stoeng Treng province, have been authorized also by the MoA.

It was said that the MoA has given JJ Wood Company the right to log trees on 5,000 hectares of forest to get land for an agricultural development project. However, it is obvious that this company's main objective is to cut trees to make money that it shares with the big shots in the MoA and the provincial authorities.

As for Kev Vutthy's tapioca growing company, it is said that its activities are exclusively confined to logging trees, and its land clearing activities over the past few weeks are merely to get land for sale now that the prices of real estate are rising. Therefore, what Kev Vutthy's company is doing is not what was agreed upon in the contract. On the contrary, it is merely to log trees, sell the timber, and when the prices of land are rising to sell the cleared land.

There are many stories that the source said will be exposed about Kev Vutthy's tapioca company and JJ Wood Company, as well as the MoA officials, especially concerning the corruption of these companies and officials.

According to the source, just during the past couple days Kev Vutthy's company has been seen suspending its activities. The reason why this company has suspended its logging and land clearing activities is unknown. However, under the authorization of the MoA this company still has the right to continue logging and selling timber to make money for all of them.

According to a report, during these past several years that Kev Vutthy's company has been cutting trees ostensibly to clear the forest for land on which to grow tapioca, it has accumulated millions of dollars from logging. Now they are planning to sell the cleared land already denuded of trees. The government should take a close look into this venture.

Keat Chhon is concerned about rice export, Chan Sarun is happy about rice export, does anybody in the gov't know what they are talking about?

Cambodia expresses worry over local rice supply due to mass export

Click here to read the article about Chan Sarun on rice export

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is very concerned about food supply for local people after Vietnamese and Thai merchants bought too much rice products from the kingdom, Cambodian Minister of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon said Thursday.

Recently, merchants from Vietnam and Thailand flocked into Cambodia to buy rice products at high price, especially in the provinces along the border, Keat Chhon told reporters at the National Assembly.

"When we sold rice products wholly, we remain nothing to eat," he said.

Cambodian government will take some measures to resolve the problem, he added.

"Meanwhile, we are very happy that our people have a good harvest this year and sell their products at high price. We could not ban local people from selling rice products to merchants from neighboring countries because it's their rights," Keat Chhon said,

The Cambodian government has requested Thai and Vietnamese authorities to provide information on rice products imported from Cambodia, he said, adding that it is difficult for Cambodia to obtain the real data because some rice products are smuggled to neighboring countries.

According to a report from the agriculture ministry, Cambodia is expected to export about two million tons of rice products to foreign market this year.

Cambodia has a surplus of 2 million tons of rice for export [to Vietnam mainly]

Monday, December 17, 2007
Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

A high ranking government official indicated that based on this year’s estimates, Cambodia has a surplus of about 2 million tons of rice for export.

Chan Sarun, the minister of agriculture, forestry and fishery, told the Cuban No. 1 vice-minister of economy, during a meeting in Phnom Penh last week, that based on the results of the 2007-2008 rice production, Cambodia has a surplus of about 2 million tons of rice for export, after subtracting out the amount of rice needed for consumption and for use as next year’s crop.

Chan Sarun added that, currently, farmers are busy harvesting, and about 40% of the crop has been harvested on 2,241,020 hectares of planted lands. He also told the Cuban minister that, along with the harvest, the farmers are also getting ready to plant dry season rice and other crops.

According to a report from the ministry of agriculture, up until 13 December, Cambodia harvests about 1.87 million tons of rice more that last year. The average rice yield is 2.061 tons per hectare. At the same time, Cambodia also sees along the an export of rice to VietnamCambodian-Vietnamese borders in Romeas Hek border gate, Svay Rieng province. During the second week of rice export to Vietnam, and up until 13 December, the amount of rice export is 935 tons, this is an increase of 186 tons from the previous week. Middle men bought the rice at an average cost of 950 riels (~$0.25) per kilogram.

At the same time, the ministry of agriculture hopes that the 2007-2008 rice production will be better than last year due to a change in attitude of the farmers.

Kun Kim Said Behind Timber Smuggled in Boats Towing Dragon-Boats to Phnom Penh

Left to Right: 4-star General Kun Kim, Chan Sarun, and Touch Naroth

23 Nov 07
By Savery
Sralanh Khmer
Translated from Khmer and posted online

The crime of transporting good quality timber from the provinces to timber depots in Phnom Penh takes place everyday before this timber is smuggled out of the country and sold in Vietnam, China, and a number of other foreign black markets. The timber transporting traders claim that they enjoy the backing of the wives of high-ranked government officials, police or army generals, or relatives of Prime Minister Hun Sen, as well as senior officials in the Agriculture Ministry.

During the recent Water and Moon Festivals this year some of the large motorboats that towed the dragon-boats for the race in Phnom Penh hid luxury wood in their hulls with some of them reportedly smuggling hundreds of cubic meters of high-priced timber in this manner. In the timber shipment via the motorboats towing the dragon-boats to Phnom Penh this time some timber merchants claimed that four-star General Kun Kim, deputy supreme commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and one of the officials closest to Prime Minister Hun Sen, was the main share holder in their business.

Sources said that there were about 10 motorboats towing the dragon-boats to Phnom Penh and each of them carried hundreds of cubic meters of luxury wood arranged at the bottom of the hulls with tree saplings placed atop. The dragon-boat rowers were arranged to sit atop the tree saplings in a bid to deter inspection by the authorities. The sources said that these timber carrying motorboats moored in Tonle Sap River off Phsa Toch Market close to the Caltex gas station. Both the Economic Police [EP] officers and Forest Administration [FA] officials were said to be afraid to search the boats. In fact, they were afraid not of the power of Kun Kim but of the power of the timber traders' dollars.

A Phnom Penh FA official told Sralanh Khmer that in the night of 21 November 2007 a few FA officials and EP officers drove cars and piloted outboards to negotiate with and take bribes from the tycoons behind the shipment of sawn timber in motorboats from Kampong Cham and Kracheh provinces that were at anchor off Phsa Toch Market. When the local police officers came to question and inspect the boats, the timber traders told the workers who were unloading the timber to tell the police that Kun Kim had shares in their stocks.

The sources said that one of the timber smuggling motorboats that night was named Vatthanak-Sambat. Another motorboat mooring nearby, named Chey Chumneah II, was also suspected of transporting good quality wood. However, the names of the other motorboats in that area were covered up with pieces of cloth.

A witness of this incident said that before 9:00 PM in the night of 21 November outboards of the FA officials and those of the EP officers were seen racing behind these 10 motorboats that were towing the dragon-boats. Three large motorboats suspected of transporting hundreds of cubic meters of wood (in each boat) left the Phsa Toch Market mooring place and sailed to drop anchor at another place in Prek Phneou. It was suspected that these boats were taking their shipments of timber to a timber depot belonging to a businesswoman named Chae Moy.

The sources said that this wood smuggling incident was also reported to Phnom Penh Police Commissioner Touch Naroth, Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun, FA Director-General Ty Sokhun, and the EP bureau head and deputy heads. But these men did not dare to stop the boats. They instead sent representatives to negotiate with the timber merchants. After pocketing the bribes, they just let them go, presuming that Kun Kim was behind these shipments of timber to Phnom Penh.

The sources said that luxury wood transported by motorboat, car, and train come to Phnom Penh everyday with the merchants who are waiting to buy the timber ready to pay off the EP officers and FA officials each time a shipment reaches Phnom Penh. However, if the timber smugglers fail to pay the bribes their shipments would be immediately sequestered. No matter where the smuggled timber is hidden, the EP and FA know about it. And each time there is an arrest and confiscation the media would be invited to take pictures and telecast the captured goods with these officials and officers acting as if they have just made a big score in suppressing forest crime. In reality, this usually follows the failure in the negotiation to extort bribes from the timber traders.

Sralanh Khmer yesterday was unable to contact General Kun Kim and many other figures involved for clarification on these criminal shipments of luxury wood through motorboats towing dragon-boats from the provinces that were moored off Phsa Toch Market in the night of 21 November.

It should be noted that a number of local newspaper reporters were beaten up by unidentified persons and powerful officials and some of them were given death threats in Pursat province just because they took pictures of cars transporting timber and published news about the illegal logging and timber transporting in Pursat. Concerning these warnings and persecutions, the authorities have never discovered and arrested any criminals behind them.

7 land concession agreements cancelled

22 October 2007
By Huy Vannak
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

Son Chhay, a member of the National Assembly (NA) permanent committee, talked on Monday afternoon about pushing the government to seize back economic land concessions from various companies which did not follow up on the investment agreements, and turn back these seized land concessions into national properties.

Son Chhay said: “There are not just 6-7 companies, based on what we know, there are more than 10 companies which obtained land concessions more than the 10,000-hectare limit set by the land law, (these lands exceeding 10,000-hectare) should be taken back, and regardless whether the concession is less than 10,000-hectare, if these concessions do not follow up on their agreements, they should be seized. At the same time, it is necessary to resolve the issue of our people who were victimized by these land concessions, such as the villagers in Sre Ambil and other areas. These (seized concession) lands should be officially turned to poor people urgently.”

According to a statement issued by the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fishery, dated 31 September, the Royal Government of Cambodia plans to seize concession lands from at least 7 companies and turn these lands into state properties. However, up until now, the government has not yet provided information about the results of these seizures.

Regarding the cancellation of the agreement with the companies above, Chan Sarun, the minister of agriculture, declared at the National Assembly, last week that: “Under the reviewing process of the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fishery, and the direction for fruitful investment push, as well as under the efficient use of concession lands, the government has decided to cancel the agreements with 5 companies and the development goal must be corrected for its application action. Activities for 2 other companies have been stopped for further inspection. Until now, 2 companies have been definitively removed.”

Based of the declaration from the ministry of agriculture, the companies which the government decided to cancel their development agreements consist of 4 companies which agreed to set up developments in Kampong Speu province, among these companies are: (1) the Cambovector Co. which had an agreement to develop 26,550-hectare of lands, (2) the Hainan Cambodia Co. with 4,100-hectare, (3) the Chinese Cooperation Co. with 8,000-hectare, and (4) the Kim Weil Co. with 3,200-hectare.

The other 3 companies are: (1) the agricultural development and investment AV Sky which has an agreement to develop 10,000-hectare of lands in Kampong Thom province, (2) the Tay Nam BPM with 7,600-hectare in Mondulkiri, and (3) the Tay Nam K with 7,560-hectare in Kratie province.

Chan Sarun clarifies about illegal logging ... by evading the issues

Minister of Agriculture clarifies about illegal logging

19 October 2007
By Huy Vannak
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

On Thursday morning, for the first time, the minister of agriculture, forestry and fishery, provided clarification to the National Assembly (NA) on important issues involving illegal logging in Cambodia.

The clarification of the minister of agriculture, Chan Sarun, was done based on a request made by MP Son Chhay who demanded that the minister explains on at least 5 points.

Regarding the question of illegal logging on more than 5,000 hectares in the Tumring area of Kampong Thom province, Chan Sarun clarified by saying: “After seeing that the Chub rubber plantation no longer has the ability to expand its area to plant rubber trees anymore, Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has a long term vision, said that we must find additional lands that are fertile for rubber trees planting in order to expand the capacity of these rubber plantations.”

Regarding MP Son Chhay’s question about the ministry of agriculture’s authorization to allow the Seng Keang company to conduct business on the harvested woods, Chan Sarun said: “(Regarding) the transfer of land, if the government decides about the transfer, there is no need to think about preserving the forest, it’s a transfer for other crop plantations. Therefore, we transfer (the lands) just like Malaysia, they cut down the trees to plant palm tress, then they cut down the palm trees to plant something else. This is the transfer, but after the transfer, we talk about “cutting down all the trees,” because we feel sorry about the cutting of the trees, we gave the right to a private company, that was the Seng Keang company, to do business with all these trees (that were cut down) … (and they) have to pay tax to the government before they can take the woods to sell.”

After Chan Sarun’s 2-hour clarification, MP Son Chhay told a group of reporters: “There are some points which we didn’t know and were clarified, however, on important issues, they went unanswered. We know about the issue of using (government officials’) relatives to do business, that is they gave the right to their relatives to do business for them, this happens in many ministries. And, the ministry of agriculture is a ministry which is involved the most in this type of dealings. Like I raised about the issue of the Seng Keang company, this case involves the brother-in-law (of Chan Sarun), his nephew-in-law (Ty Sokhun) who is the director of the forestry department, for example. For this case we must settle the account, and for this case, the tribunal should investigate.”

Chan Sarun was also questioned about the land concessions for the development of rubber plantations also.

Regarding illegal logging, on 01 June 2007, the London-based Global Witness environmental protection organization issued a report about illegal logging perpetrated on thousands on hectares of lands in a number of provinces in Cambodia. These illegal logging activities were conducted by relatives of Cambodian government leaders.

Immediately after the Global Witness publication, the Cambodian authority issued a ban on its distribution, and it also rejected the report titled “Cambodia’s Famity Trees” (in Khmer: “Relatives of the thieves of the nation”). The government accused the report of having a political aim, and it was a revenge against the government of Cambodia which kicked Global Witness out of the country in 2003.

Nevertheless, MP Son Chhay hoped that there will be more questioning about illegal logging in the future.

Chan Sarun to clarify the National Assembly

Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Chan Sarun, minister of agriculture, forestry and fishery, said that he will provide clarifications at the National Assembly floor on 18 October (tomorrow), regarding plans for administering forests, and for the development of rubber plantations. Chan Sarun’s clarification visit to the National Assembly was requested by opposition MP Son Chhay in a letter dated 11 June 2007, sent to prime minister Hun Sen through the president of the National Assembly. Son Chhay said in his request that the invitation issued to Chan Sarun to come and provide clarifications is necessary, and is very important to allow the MPs to ask him directly about land concessions and plans for development of rubber plantations, as well as on the current administration of forests.

National Assembly summons the Minister of Agriculture for clarification on the floor

Chan Sarun

Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The National Assembly (NA) has summoned Chan Sarun, the minister of agriculture, forestry and fishery, to come provide clarifications on the floor of the NA on 18 October 2007, regarding a number of accusations leveled by SRP MP Son Chhay. According to RFA, Nguon Nhel, acting NA president, sent a letter to prime minister Hun Sen on 15 October telling him about the request made by MP Son Chhay for the NA to summon Chan Sarun to provide clarification on Thursday of this week, regarding the concession lands provided to rubber plantations, illegal logging, and a number of other issues related to illegal logging. Nhoun Nhel’s letter indicated that, based on Son Chhay’s request, the NA issued an invitation to Chan Sarun to come provide clarifications on the issues above, at the NA floor on Thursday of this week.

Bye, Bye, USA ... for Hun Sen and cronies involved in illegal logging?

The United States Capitol in Washington, DC. US senators want to ban Cambodian officials tied to illegal logging from entering the United States.(AFP/File/Karen Bleier)

Thu Jul 19, 2007
US senators seek travel ban for Cambodians tied to illegal logging

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - US senators want to ban Cambodian officials tied to illegal logging from entering the United States.

The move was sparked by a recent report from the forestry watchdog Global Witness, which accuses top officials, including relatives of Prime Minister Hun Sen, of stripping the country's timber.

The Senate appropriations committee, in a document dated July 10, has urged US President George W. Bush to exercise Presidential Proclamation 7750, "to prohibit corrupt Cambodian officials identified in the June 2007 Global Witness report... from entering the United States."

The proclamation, signed by Bush in 2004, allows Washington to prevent foreigners "engaged in or benefiting from corruption" from entering the US.

"The committee encourages other countries, particularly in Europe and Asia, to implement similar restrictions," said the Senate document, which was seen by AFP Thursday.

The document, which contains proposals for all foreign operations, helps determine US foreign aid for the coming year.

"This US Congress bill sends a clear message to corrupt governments around the world that stripping a nation's natural resources for personal gain is no longer internationally acceptable," said Global Witness Director Simon Taylor.

"It is now up to all other donor countries that profess an interest in the welfare of the Cambodian people to impose their own sanctions on those kleptocrats who are destroying Cambodia's prospects for sustainable development."

London-based Global Witness's caustic report, titled "Cambodia's Family Trees," accused a "kleptocratic" elite of looting Cambodia's forests.

It named several figures close to Hun Sen, including Forest Administration Director General Ty Sokhun and Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun, as being directly involved.

In response, an outraged government banned the Global Witness report from Cambodia and continues to dismiss its allegations.

Chan Sarun was quoted by local media Thursday as saying the US would not be so stupid as to ban Cambodian officials because Global Witness's accusations were "groundless."

The US embassy in Cambodia acknowledges that illegal logging remains a problem but has defended the government, saying many officials are working to stop this activity.

Khieu Kanharith: Global Witness report affects Cambodia's national security -sic!-

Khieu Kanharith provides clarifications to the NA committee on the Global Witness case

02 July 2007
By Sok Serei Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

On Monday, the National Assembly (NA) committee on foreign affairs and international cooperation, and information, summoned Khieu Kanharith, the Minister of Information (MoInf), to provide clarifications on the reason why the MoInf banned the publication of the Global Witness report in Cambodia. The report accused relatives of Cambodian government leaders, and high ranking government officials, of involvement in illegal logging in Kompong Thom province.

SRP MP Son Chhay, chairman of the above NA committee, told RFA on Monday that the MoInf ban of the report in unacceptable.

Son Chhay said: “The MoInf banned the publication of the Global Witness (report) about illegal logging in Tumring and at other national parks, involving government officials, this is a problem which we want to have more information about.”

Regarding this issue, Khieu Kanharith said: “In summary, this is an explanation to the NA question, they must understand a lot about what the MoInf must perform, and what else must be planned (by the MoInf) to be performed in the future.”

After direct clarification from Khieu Kanharith, Son Chhay said that he agreed with some of the points in the publication reviews, but he does not agree on the ban of research documents, including the Global Witness report which (the government tries to) link to national security matters.

Son Chhay added: “There must be some reviews of published information, but in the past activities, we did not see that it (Global Witness report) affects the national security.”

Dr Pung Chiv Kek, President of Licadho human rights organization, said that Cambodian people have the rights to freely receive information. “In order for our country to have democracy, there should not be any ban in the publication of information.”

On 8 June, the MoInf sent a declaration to all newspaper and magazine publishers to stop all publications of the Global Witness report. In this banned report, the London-based Global Witness leveled serious accusations on the relatives of the prime minister of Cambodia, on the relatives of Chan Sarun, the minister of agriculture, and on the relatives of Ty Sokhun, the director of the Cambodian forestry department, saying that they are involved in illegal logging in Cambodia.

These accusations were met by rebuttal claims from the accused government officials who said that the accusations were baseless.

Call for five land concession contracts to be abolished

By Cheang Sokha
Phnom Penh Post, Issue 16 / 13, June 29 - July 128, 2007

"You can see that most of the land disputes occurred on the concession land" - SRP MP Yim Sovann

In a June 19 speech delivered at the Cambodian Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF), Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries(MAFF) Chan Sarun announced that the government has decided to cancel land concession contracts to five companies and several others were advised to reform their activities.

"The MAFF plans to end negotiations with the five companies in 2007," Sarun said in a statement.

The move came as donor countries criticized the government for land disputes issues at the CDCF, but opposition lawmakers and civil society activists are calling for land concessions to be abolished claiming they have a negative impact on the livelihoods of the rural poor.

Yim Sovann, chairman of the investigation and anti-corruption commission at the National Assembly, said some companies do not produce agriculture after receiving licenses from the government, but instead use the awarded land for logging or transfer the land to another company for development.

"In my opinion, the government should stop providing land concession," Sovann said. "I am very concerned that most of the land is occupied by groups of people and they do not use the land for the interest of the poor."

Sovann said the government doesn't reap much benefit from land concessions, and it's better to keep the land for an increasing rural population that may otherwise flock to cities to search for jobs.

"You can see that most of the land disputes occurred on the concession land," he said.

On August 2, 2006, the MAFF signed a 90-year lease of 9,700 hectares in Sre Ambel to the Koh Kong Sugar Industry Company and 9,400 hectares in Botum Sakor district to the Koh Kong Plantation Company. Both companies belonged to Cambodian People's Party senator and casino tycoon Oknha Ly Yong Phat.

Locals claim that 5,000 hectares of the concession was occupied by people engaged in rotating slash-and-burn agriculture. Kek Galabru, president of local human rights NGO Licadho, said the government provided the land concession because the company planned to develop the local economy and provide jobs, but in reality it has exacerbated the suffering of local people.

Galabru said the dispute between villagers in Sre Ambel and Yong Phat still continues without resolution and the company has been bulldozing the villagers' land.

"We do not oppose the development," Galabru said. "But we have to look to whether the people benefit from the development or if it's just for a small group of rich people while the poor become poorer."

Galabru said the government should study the potential impacts before providing land for investment. Local people should be called in for discussion, she said. The government never informs people that their land is being conceded and people are shocked when firms arrive to bulldoze their land.

"We have the law but the government itself and the companies never enforce it," she said. "It is abuse of power."

The government, at least in part, has made overtures to address the issue. Some companies, which have invested in economic land concessions will face suspension or cancellation of contracts, an official at MAFF said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said that a MAFF investigation completed in early June found that some companies were inactive or were conducting improper activities on land concessions. He said the government is considering suspending their contracts.

"MAFF is still continuing to investigate their activities," the official said. "Some companies were called to correct their activities."

On June 8, Chan Sarun wrote a letter to the directors of the Vietnamese companies Tay Nam, located in Kratie province, and Tay Nam BPM located in Mondulkiri province, to temporarily stop their activities on a land concession because MAFF found negative conditions and serious implementation violations in both sites.

MAFF granted for 70-year licenses to Tay Nam and Tay Nam BPM in July 2006, to invest in plantations of cassava, rubber, cashew and the construction of a processing factory.

According to the report from MAFF, since 1992 until February 2007, the government has granted economic land concessions at 97 different locations to 96 companies in 16 provinces. Of these, 39 were foreign companies. But due to inactivity and contract violations between 2000 and 2006, 30 companies-which acquired a total of 265,230 hectares of land-have had their contracts canceled. There are presently 57 "active" companies covering 943,069 hectares of Cambodian land-another 66 companies have not yet signed contracts.

A high-ranking official at MAFF, who led a delegation to investigate the companies in the northeastern provinces, said the government should not put too much pressure on the companies because there have many factors which have led to inactivity and delays . He cited, among other factors, problems with not importing machinery and protests by villagers who claim the land belongs to them.

"The demarcation of the land is the responsibility of the MAFF, but they never do it," the official said. "They're always speaking about the rich and powerful people grabbing the land, but they never ever speak about the local people who grab company land."

Reactions around the closing of Cambodge Soir

15 June 2006
By Mayarith
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

Two days after the closing of the Cambodge Soir newspaper, various reactions came from both national and international opinions, as well as from the French embassy in Cambodia, and the Reporters Without Borders organization, asking for intervention from the representative of the Francophone organization.

Kong Sothanarith, representative of Cambodian employees working at Cambodge Soir, said that the successive reactions will shed some light and lead to a resolution in the dispute. “Because of the numerous reactions coming from readers and a number of organizations, both at the national and international levels, the French embassy was pushed to request for a restart of the negotiations. We hope that these negotiations will take place and we hope that we could reach some optimistic conclusions.”

The closing of Cambodge Soir took place after the employees of the French-language newspaper opposed the firing of Soren Seelow, a French journalist, who wrote an article about the Global Witness report on “Cambodia’s Family Trees” (“Family of the thieves of the Nation” in Khmer) which detailed about government officials and their families who are involved in illegal logging in Kompong Thom.

Philippe Monin, a director of Cambodge Soir, admitted to his employees that he is an advisor of Chan Sarun, the Minister of Agriculture who is named by Global Witness for his involvement in illegal logging corruption, and the latter was not pleased by the publication of Soren Seelow’s article.

Philippe Monin criticized Soren Seelow’s article by saying that it lacked professionalism, and that was the reason why Soren Seelow was fired. Soren Seelow said that his firing was unfair.

The closure of Cambodge Soir generated comments from various sources, and (hopefully) these reactions will provide some hope to a settlement on this issue. “We reach a point where there is a linkage … and we are fighting together to put to an end the closing of Cambodge Soir. We hope that Cambodge Soir will reopen again.”

RFA could not contact Philippe Monin for his reaction on this issue.

Time for begging again: Phnom Penh put up a show by cancelling land concession projects with 5 private companies

June 12, 2007
Cambodia cancels land concession projects with 5 private companies

The Cambodian government has canceled the land concession projects with five private companies because they didn't respect the contracts, said Prime Minister Hun Sen on Tuesday.

"Yesterday, I decided to sign a government degree for stopping economic land concession projects with five private companies according to the requests from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries," he said while launching the World Bank's report on "Sharing Growth: Equity and Development in Cambodia."

He didn't elaborate on decision.

"From now on, if any private company receives economic land concession from the government but doesn't respect the agreement, I will order to stop it immediately and withdraw the land," he said.

"We can't prolong the land development project agreements anymore. And we observe other companies one by one and check subsequently," he added.

In the past years, the Cambodian government handed over land concession projects to private companies in order to develop the economy, provide jobs for the people and help reduce poverty.

However, some companies are just unable to finish the projects and leave their lands deserted, thus triggering off wide-spread criticism against the government's decision.

Source: Xinhua