Cases – Page 2 – The Voices of Indigenous Peoples in Cambodia

Two Kraol Indigenous People Accused of Encroaching on Ministry Land Fail to Appear in Court

The Kratie Provincial Court summoned two Kraol indigenous people from Srae Chis commune to appear in court for questioning this week for allegedly illegally encroaching on protected areas, but the two villagers did not show up.

Read the full article at: Two Kraol Indigenous People Accused of Encroaching on Ministry Land Fail to Appear in Court | CamboJA News

Wine or Pesticides? Authorities Give Conflicting Answers Over Deaths of Banana Plantation Workers

Officials also disagreed on the number of people who died.

Read the full article at: Wine or Pesticides? Authorities Give Conflicting Answers Over Deaths of Banana Plantation Workers | CamboJA News

Heng Phen is released on bail, but being watched by the police

“We will always protect our land. We will keep fighting to find a solution if someone tries to take the land. I recently got out of jail, but there are still lingering land issues. However, because it is the land of our ancestors, we shall all unite as one to struggle with the court to reclaim it. The accusation that I have encroached on the company property is demonstrably untrue because we have used this land for many generations, starting with our ancestors. Therefore, from this point on, let all institutions and leaders assist in recognizing our community land.” said Heng Phen in a video clip following her release on bail on Thursday, June 30.

The Kampong Thom court charged Mrs. Heng Phen with “committing violence against a real estate occupant” and ordered her to be held in detention in June 14. On June 30, Phen was released on bail and freed. She is now subject to district police surveillance and must appear in court once a month for the next three months.

When Phen was finally allowed back into the neighborhood, people flocked to her support to express their solidarity.

Prior to her release, the villagers arranged a traditional prayer for her freedom; eventually, she was let out of jail in accordance with their wishes.

Four Indigenous Peoples in Mondulkiri Province Ask Court to Drop Charges

Following a lawsuit brought by a private company, four Bunong indigenous people who are active in land and natural resource protection have urged the court to dismiss the charges against them.

According to the complaint filed by Kak Ratana, who claims to be the director of Villa Development Co., Ltd., Mr. Eang Sokun, Representative of the Mondulkiri Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, summoned four indigenous peoples, including Mr. Kroeurng Tola, Ms. Phloek Phirum, Ms. Phloek Nary, and Mr. Khleng Tum, to appear on the afternoon of June 7, 2022 for ”

Phloek Phirum, Mondulkiri’s Indigenous Network Coordinator, told VOA Khmer that the court questioned them for hours yesterday about the charges before allowing them to return home because no decision had been reached.

“She and other indigenous representatives requested that the accusations against them be dropped during the trial because they did not do the wrongdoing,” she said.

Ms. Phloek Phirom stated that the complaint was brought after they protested to a representative of Villa Development Co., Ltd. named Kat Ratana about how she used a bulldozer to demolish Indigenous peoples’ forest and land.

She said that a company called Kat Ratana had bulldozed many hectares of forest land and indigenous lands that had been enjoyed since 1988 in Laoka village, Sokdom commune, Sen Monorom city, with no action from the competent authorities.

On March 21, 2022, indigenous representatives filed a lawsuit against two local officials, including Sokdom commune chief Pov Sophat and Laoka village chief Kim Sim, as well as the director of Villa Development Management Co., Ltd., Ms. Kak Ratana, for “clearing, encroaching on public forest land, and destroying resin trees in the Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary and favoring forest crimes,” but residents claim the court did not act on their complaints.

VOD, on the other hand, was unable to elicit an answer from Kat Ratana on this matter yesterday.

Disclaimer:

This is an unofficial translation of the original article by VOD Khmer, see the original article: https://www.vodkhmer.news/2022/06/08/mondulkiri-four-indigenous-ask-court-to-drop-charges/?fbclid=IwAR1-Rzkd8ilq7sFrJ3gQSsR-tF8urLA1VjHU5_TgBzMcTwBO96cTBCxXk9E

9 Jarai Families’ Land Cleared, Destroying Crops and Wild Vegetables

About 9 indigenous Jarai families in Tang Chi village, Nhang commune, Andong Meas district, Ratanakkiri province, lost their farmland after some people posing as the manager of 7 Makara Phari Company brought in excavators and tractors to clear and destroy community plantations where the 9 families had been practicing for years.

The nine families demanded that the authorities intervene and do the study to remedy their concerns on June 1, 2022.

On May 8, 2022, land was cleared without notice after community members alleged they had harmed several hectares of crops. Furthermore, the clearing obliterated places where the community had previously found non-timber forest products.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/prahnoreay/videos/1225531048259387/

Five Kui Summoned by Preah Vihear Court

The Preah Vihear Provincial Court summoned five indigenous Kui for questioning this morning, June 1, 2022. Thong Suth, Suth Savon, Thap Sok Khi, Ngon Him, and Ms. Roeun Khat (Khan) are the five accused, who are members of the Kui ethnic group and live in Prame commune, Tbeng Meanchey, Preah Vihear Province. According to the summons, the five were charged with threatening to kill and threatening to inflict damage on February 4, 12, and 13, 2022, in Sre Prieng Village, Prame Commune, Tbeng Meanchey district, Preah Vihear Province, according to Mr. Vuth Savy, a representative of the Preah Vihear Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.

The five have been summoned to court, accompanied by roughly 100 indigenous Kui communities to keep an eye on them and provide support.

They are all victims of land conflicts in Preah Vihear province with the Chinese company Ruifeng.

Source: https://bit.ly/3mt2OWY

Preah Vihear Land Dispute Residents Say Local Authorities Conspired with Chinese Sugar Company

This article is translated by Google Translate from the Khmer version, original source available at: https://www.rfa.org/khmer/news/land/land-dispute-residents-in-preah-vihear-province-say-local-authorities-conspired-with-chinese-sugar-company-08022021115156.html?fbclid=IwAR2ZWX_KFcYpez4XZKPxdhvUIWWIRuNbgTh1xVkzfoYUD5k4ygPBjbhpkIg

Hengfu Group Sugar Industry has been out of production for more than two years, but three indigenous people live in the district from thousands of families have yet to receive a proper solution from state authorities. Villagers say the main reason for the ongoing land dispute is because the authorities conspired with Chinese companies to rent the disputed land to the outside people farming for thousands of hectares.

Indigenous people living in three districts, Tbeng Meanchey, Chey Sen and Chep, are still shouting for justice to demand their farmland. Lost to return so that they have farmland, plantations to grow crops for a living. Villagers regret authorities delaying land dispute resolution And.

Indigenous Kuay resident of Premre commune, Tbeng Meanchey district, Ms. Huot Maly is very desperate for the authorities who do not pay attention to address their concerns. Villagers who have suffered for years due to Chinese company encroachment on farmland since 2013 The solution at all. She confirmed that the 30-hectare farmland of the parents of the female family, which has been cultivating for generations, was cleared by the Chinese company. Sugarcane for almost 10 years.

The 48-year-old added that local authorities have always protected Chinese companies and conspired to lease the disputed land to incoming residents. New, worth 300,000 riel per hectare: “Even if there is no forest, as long as there is land removed from some companies I can replant trees to herd cows. When we complained to the authorities, he shouted that if we did it on Chinese soil, if China did it, he would not be responsible because the people did it. On their land by anarchy, do not rent them.

Mr. Soeun Tha, President of Bresakak Village Association, Mlou Prey 2 Commune, Chhep District, urges local and national authorities to intervene and find solutions for the people. Transparent. He said that if the authorities still refuse to resolve the land dispute, the indigenous people will continue to shout and expose the injustice. Finish. Moreover, all the actions of the people who dare to protest, even though he knows that the authorities are persecuting and threatening innocent people, the villagers do not give up. . He considered the farmland that the Chinese company encroached on as their life: “When we went to grow crops, the company threatened to seize it. We are in prison and the authorities will not let us do it because he said that this land is the land of the company and if we got this land in the past “After the cultivation, a company came to clear it.”

RFA tried to contact Preah Vihear Provincial Hall spokeswoman Yong Kim Hoeung and Ministry of Agriculture spokeswoman Vuthy, but the call went unanswered.

As for the ruling party spokesman, Sok Isan, he said that there was no basis for the land dispute to be political and that he accused the indigenous people. Those minorities are insurgents against local authorities. He said that if there is a land dispute, the provincial authorities will not stand by and watch these people suffer because the authorities have a role. Serving the people: “The authorities belong to the state and the people, if the authorities do not address the people, you have a valid reason, especially in the case of forest land Well, the people are not all good.

In this regard, civil society sees Mr. Isan’s remarks as not a mechanism for finding a peaceful solution to alleviate his suffering. No citizens. They observe that the indigenous Kuay people involved in land disputes often protest non-violently to demand land that the Chinese sugarcane company Abused, but government authorities often accuse them of associating with the opposition.

Ponlok Khmer executive director Pek Sophoan said authorities were unwilling to resolve the land dispute. The civil society official urged the government to release the poor people who have been suffering for many years. Resolve this chronic dispute fairly to its citizens so that they can have access to farming on their land as before Because of the disputed land, the company has suspended operations. He stated that the excuse to accuse and accuse the land dispute is a political issue, not a mechanism to find a solution for citizens in accordance with the policy of No government: “This is a conflict of interest because the authorities received bribes from the giants, even though the company does not operate, but the authorities Some also have land in it. Therefore, it is not possible to resolve land disputes, people hand over the community living around there.

Meanwhile, Preah Vihear provincial ADHOC Coordinating Officer Lor Chan said that the land dispute, the authorities not only did not find justice for the people. Instead, he threatened to persecute the people who exercised their land rights. He said that the disputed land was partially stolen by the authorities and sold to traders, angering the people. Therefore, he called on the head of government to expedite the settlement of this issue, if prolonged, it will increase the complexity and the people will be more miserable: Only the government can confiscate this land and give it to the people, the real victims because I do not trust the lower authorities The nation is not willing to solve for the people. If he is, he will not last 10 years. ”

Hengfu Group Sugar Industry Concession Company has received investment rights from the government on more than 40,000 hectares (42,000 hectares) since 2011. Sugarcane and rubber crops. The company is the parent company and has five subsidiaries. The company’s investment has affected about 2,000 indigenous families with about 10,000 people in the village. 25 communes, 10 districts and 3 districts: Chey Sen, Chep and Tbeng Meanchey districts. NGO Forum on Cambodia and a number of partner organizations found that a Chinese company was clearing people’s farmland Clearing water sources, which are natural waterways rich in live fish and clearing the land of 4 ancient temples and Other ancient sites.

Indigenous people in Mondulkiri disappointed with the French court’s rejection of their lawsuits

Indigenous people in Mondulkiri Province express frustration with the French court’s dismissal of their previous lawsuit against Bolloré and ordered them to pay a fine of over 20,000 euros to the parent company.

The disappointment comes after a court in Paris, France, on July 2 dismissed a lawsuit filed by an indigenous group in Mondulkiri Province and ordered more than 20,000 euro payments to the French Bolloré.

In 2019, nine indigenous representatives sued in a French court after filing a lawsuit in 2015 against Bolloré, a major donor to three companies, including Coviphama, Varanasi and Setheikola, but the three companies sold shares to Socfin.

In a statement issued by the Bunong community of Mondulkiri Province on July 14, 2021, 97 families called the decision of the Nanterre court in Paris “unfair and unacceptable.”

Indigenous groups said in a statement that they could not accept the French court’s ruling that the Bunongs in Busra had no right to occupy the land under Cambodia’s laws. They call such arguments in violation of Cambodian land law and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

According to the statement, Bolloré, the current owner of Socfin in Cambodia, has invested in rubber plantations on the plantations and spiritual forests of the indigenous people of Bunong from 2008 to the present.

The same source claimed that after receiving the investment right, the company cleared the forest, the spiritual forests, taboo forests, and the daily food source of the indigenous people without settling compensation for them.

In addition to the forest clearing, 15 communities have been sued in court and some are still in custody because the company has sued them after they protested against the clearing of land and the forest on which they depend.

Mondulkiri Indigenous Community Network Land and Forestry Human Rights Coordinator Kreung Tola said they and their lawyers had already appealed Nanterre’s decision to the Court of Appeal, hoping that the supreme court will help find justice for them.

“We hope that the Court of Appeal in France will judge, refer to indigenous-related laws and consider international law,” he said. So we will receive fair because our people are definitely victimized; we are the real owners of the land, not like the French court we are not the people living in Busra commune, Pichreda district, Mondulkiri. So we can not accept their rejection.”

ADHOC Community Empowerment Program Officer Pen Bunnar considers the French court’s decision to be unfair to indigenous peoples. On the other hand, the factors that lead to indigenous peoples suffering like this, he said, are because the government provides economic land concessions to companies without studying the impact on the people.

“That’s right,” he said. Each concession must have an impact study! And it is clear that our leaders have said not to trade rubber trees for the dense forest, so we see that it is contrary to the government’s commitment to providing economic concessions not to affect dense forest and semi-dense forest, especially indigenous areas, forest land, and burial areas! “And it not only affects the forest, but it also affects the ancestral traditions that they have preserved for years.”

Mr. Pen Bunnar urged the Cambodian government to study, research and address the impact on the people before deciding to grant land concessions to any company to develop so that people do not suffer further.

Original story at: https://vodkhmer.news/2021/07/15/indigenous-people-express-frustration-over-french-court-rejecting-their-lawsuit/