CPP MPs for the 2008-2013 mandate

Dear Readers,

Please keep the name of the 90 CPP MPs for posterity, they participated and supported (1) the sale of the country, (2) the evictions of people, (3) the 99 years economic land lease to Yuon and Chen. Please keep this document to show to the next Khmer generations so that they know these traitors. When the CPP got 90 seats at the 2008 national election, the country became worst and worst.

S.S.


http://www.box.com/s/4267580fe39a4363d308

Additional proof of farmland illegally leased to Vietnamese citizens in Bavet Leu village, Sangkat Bavet, Svay Rieng province

25 August 2011
KI-Media

We are presenting below additional proof to the illegal leasing of farmland near the border to Vietnamese citizens. Map 1 shows the general location of the land leased with respect to a Google Earth map of Svay Rieng province.

Map 1: general location of the land leased with respect to a Google Earth map of Svay Rieng province. (Click on each map to zoom in)

Map 2 shows a closed-up view to the illegal leased land. Based on Google Earth map, the contentious area is located about 4.5-kilometer from the border. According to the 2010 Cambodian law on foreign ownership, Cambodian citizens are not allowed to lease or rent out land to foreign nationals within 30 kilometer from the border.

Map 2: Closed-up view of the illegal leased land. Based on Google Earth map, the contentious area is located about 4.5-kilometer from the border

Map 3 shows locations and activities currently taking place at these illegally leased farmlands.

Map 3: Locations and activities currently taking place at these illegally leased farmlands

According to the villagers, they rent out their 100+ hectares to a Cambodian man from Prasat commune who serves as a "front-man" for a Vietnamese company in Tay Ninh. The rent rate is set at $100 per hectare, of which the land owners receive $75 per hectare and government officials (municipal and commune officials) receive $25 per hectare for "giving an official nod" to the illegal renting arrangement.

Below is a leasing contract signed between Mao Sok, a Cambodian citizen, and Truong Minh Tung, a Vietnamese citizen. Mao Sok whose name appears in the contract does not own the 29-hectare of farmland, he is merely a real estate broker. In this case, the contract was signed with a local government "official nod" but without the official stamp and seal.

http://www.box.net/shared/ll29o5sopy5pdfntlp4q

Truong Ming Tung's Vietnamese identification card

Latest update: Local activists who revealed this illegal leasing scheme have been summoned to appear at the Bavet city hall "to answer questions on personal issues." It appears that both the Svay Rieng provincial authority and the Bavet authority are putting pressure on these local activists to keep them quiet.

Over 1,000-hectare of land in Bavet leased to the Viets: Opposition officials

Summary: Opposition officials asked govt officials to visit land along the border with Vietnam and they claimed that more than 1,000-hectares in Bavet city, Svay Rieng province, were leased to the Vietnamese for farming.

Chhouk Bandit, the Bavet city governor, denied the fact and threatened to jail SRP officials for making this claim. Chhouk Bandit admitted that arrangement was made between the Xmer and Viet govts to allow Vietnam to bring in tractors to till soil Cambodian rice fields because Cambodian farmers do not have enough machinery (sic!).

Reach Thul, a villager in Bavet, indicated that Cambodians do leased their lands to the Viets.

Svar Kim Hong said that the authority does not collude with the farmers to lease their lands. Furthermore, villagers along the border are not allowed to own their land as private property.

http://www.box.net/shared/heu868rp36hgefy9bcs6

Svay Rieng authority lease border farmland to Viet citizens

Map of Svay Rieng province (Photo courtesy of eac.gov.kh)

Monday, 3 January 2011
By Khmerization
Source: RFA

Cambodian farmers have accused the Svay Rieng provincial authority of leasing vast areas of farmlands along the border to Vietnamese companies and Vietnamese citizens since November, 2010.

Villagers said 10 Vietnamese tractors are actively ploughing the land inside Cambodian territory in Thlok village, Chrork Matess communein Bavet town of Svay Rieng province near an ancient canal for the last two months.

A Cambodian farmer, whose land bordered the area leased to the Vietnamese citizens and who spoke on condition of anonymity, told RFA that he is concerned that his land and the land belonging to many other Cambodian farmers nearby will be taken over by these Vietnamese families one day. "The canal belong to all the people. Every year we take our cattle and buffaloes to drink there. Now, it's been filled up to grow the crop, so there is no water for our cattle and buffaloes. They have cut off the oxcart track where the villagers used to transport their firewood and timber. Now it's all been toiled. Now, the villagers have no track to drive their oxcarts because they have only this dirt road (to drive through)", he said.

Another villager, who has 5 hectares of land bordering the land leased to the Vietnamese families, said he dare not drive his oxcart through that ancient oxcart track anymore. "When they surveyed the land I was standing nearby as well. And my land is located at that point also. I dare not drive (my oxcart) anywhere because if I drive it and it touches their land, they will sue me immediately", he said.

Many villagers said they dare not protest because they are afraid of the village chief who had threatened to sue or arrest them if any body dare to protest.

Mr. Kong Ron, chief of Thlok village, said villagers had sold their lands to a local company and that company leased those lands to the Vietnamese families to grow cassava under a six-monthly contract. "It's true that they have formed a company with the Vietnamese people, but we live there and we don't have markets to sell our produce. They have farmed and grown (cassava) with the Vietnamese and they transported (exported) the produce to Vietnam. But we formed a joint venture with them, we did not lease the lands to them. They leased from us for a six-monthly contract. We made a contract with them for every (six-monthly) season and we charge them for every season", he said.

Mr. Var Kimhong, chairman of Cambodian Border Committee, has asked the local authority and the Cambodian company to cancel their contract immediately because their contract has not been approved by his committee. "I request the local authority in the border areas to ban the lease of lands or not to do anything else. I will not allow them to do anything. If they do it, the provincial and the local authorities must take full responsibility. We will not allow them to do anything inappropriate", he said.

Mr. Var Kimhong said the government has no policy of allowing any lease of lands along the border to citizens of neighbouring countries. He promised to look into this case.

6,000 hectares of land leased to Yuon for cashew plantation [-Who will lose their land next?]

24 December 2009
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

On Wednesday, Cambodian and Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the lease of 6,000 hectares of land in Kampong Cham and Kampong Thom province for cashew plantation [by Vietnam]. The Phnom Penh Post reported that the MoU was signed by Cambodian officials from Kampong Cham and Kampong Thom provinces with Yuon officials from Dong Nai province. Le Bien Cuon, the commerce advisor of the Yuon embassy said that private companies from both countries will build a cashew plantation education center on 3,000 hectares of land in each province. Le Bien Cuon added that the long term plan is to build a cashew processing factory in the two provinces once production increased enough for factory processing. On Wednesday, Teuk Reth Kamrong, the under-secretary of state of the ministry of Commerce, welcomed this development plan and she said that this plan will help Cambodian farmers receive more income from their crop production (sic!).

Cambodia: Rice politics

Monday, March 23rd, 2009
By Chhunny Chhean
Global Voices Online

Rice is more than a staple of the Cambodian diet. It also implicates land rights, trade and international relations. Some Cambodians are frustrated over land leases to neighboring Vietnam. They are concerned the leases will evolve into ownership changes, resulting in a reduction of Cambodian territory.

Rice is more than a staple of the Cambodian diet. It also implicates land rights, trade and international relations.

A post on The Mirror reveals the frustration of Cambodians, including Cheam Yeap, a Cambodian People's Party official, over land leases to neighboring Vietnam. From the Mirror, citing Cheat Khmer, Vol.1, #40, 18.3.2009:

Thousands of hectares of citizen’s land lying along the Yuon [Vietnamese] border of An Giang Province, bordering Svay Rieng and Prey Veng, are being leased to Yuon companies by Khmer authorities along the Yuon border to grow agro-industry crops. The Phnom Penh Post published an article on 26 February 2009, quoting the Svay Rieng governor, Mr. Cheang Am, that 10,000 hectares of land in Svay Rieng are prepared to be leased to Yuon companies along the border and also, the Prey Veng governor, Mr. Ung Samy, told the Phnom Penh Post that he will discuss with Yuon officials in Yuon [Vietnam] about the leasing of rice fields along the border to Yuon companies to come to do rice cultivation in Khmer territory.

Yeap is concerned the leases will evolve into ownership changes, resulting in a reduction of Cambodian territory. Others, like Prum Soanara, an engineer, thinks the land is best utilized if given to the country's own citizens to cultivate rice.

KI Media highlights the problem of illegally imported rice with an article from the Nation:

The Thai Rice Exporters' Association and the Board of Trade of Thailand (BoT) will soon propose that the Commerce Ministry set up a Public Warehouse Organisation as an “import agency” to oversee rice imports once the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) eliminates all import tariffs.

The agency would institute measures to protect Thai farmers, such as requiring imported rice only be used for raw purposes in manufacturing. However, exporters are worried such protections encourage those seeking to manipulate the system, thereby increasing the amount of illegally traded rice, including rice grown in Cambodia.

In addition to its practical roles, rice is symbolic of Cambodian culture, as this video shows. This piece from Khmer Civilization involves images of rice from farm to market: