Evictees living in squalor again

Thursday, 29 April 2010 15:03 MAY TITTHARA AND WILL BAXTER

Photo by: Will Baxter

Borei Keila resident Prak Sophea, 49, sits in a wall-less, ground-floor dwelling where she has lived since being evicted from an apartment. She is waiting to be assigned a home by the government.

SUN-BAKED rubbish and raw sewage amalgamate in the lane that runs past Prak Sophea’s wall-less dwelling, threatening to spill into the space she has been forced to occupy with another family since being evicted on Sunday from temporary housing in Prampi Makara district.

“I cannot bear the bad sanitation, especially when it is raining,” she said. She explained that poor drainage results in flooding that sends sewage into her new home.

The 49-year-old widow, who learned in 1998 that she was HIV-positive, had been occupying a ground-floor room in a dilapidated building in the district’s Borei Keila community since June 2009, waiting for City Hall and a private development company to give her permanent housing. The company, Phanimex, has been tasked with providing on-site relocation units for 11 HIV-affected families, including Prak Sophea’s, who were evicted from prime real estate in front of the Ministry of Tourism building last year to make way for a public garden.

Officials chart disputed land in Omlaing

Wednesday, 28 April 2010 15:02 May Titthara

OFFICIALS in Kampong Speu province’s Omlaing commune on Tuesday began measuring plots of land owned by families embroiled in a land dispute with the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, though some residents refused to allow the measurements, which they said would not include sections of land already cleared by the company.

Boeung Kak protesters seek Chea Sim’s help

Wednesday, 28 April 2010 15:02 Khouth Sophakchakrya

VILLAGERS who fear they will lose their homes to a controversial development project at Boeung Kak lake say they are holding out hope that officials will intervene and award them titles to their disputed land.

Thirty villagers from the Boeung Kak lake area protested in front of the Senate on Tuesday, a day after being denied a meeting with senior officials at Phnom Penh’s City Hall. The protesters said they hoped Senate President Chea Sim would step in to resolve the dispute, which housing rights advocates believe could see roughly 4,000 families evicted to make way for a development.

Village land negotiator slain

Villagers say slaying tied to land disputes

Wednesday, 28 April 2010 15:01 May Titthara

A 60-YEAR-OLD man in Battambang province was shot and killed on Monday night by four unknown assailants in an attack that villagers linked to land disputes that stretch back to 2007.

Pich Sophon, a representative of families living in Chamlan Romeang Lea village in Battambang’s Samlot district, had been instrumental in advocating on behalf of 141 families involved in three land disputes – two with military officials in Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Region 5 and another with an unidentified Korean company, villagers and a rights worker said.

Preah Sihanouk farmers plan protest

Wednesday, 28 April 2010 15:01 May Titthara

Photo by: Heng Chivon

Hour Chrib, 35, looks out over disputed farmland in Kampong Speu province on Monday.

FARMERS in Preah Sihanouk province said Tuesday that they are preparing to file a complaint with Kampong Seila district Governor Kheng Teng over a land dispute involving an NGO that provides assistance to the disabled.

On Monday, the farmers squared off on two separate occasions with workers from the Kampong Speu-based Cambodia Disabled Survivors’ Association, though officials intervened both times to prevent violence.

The NGO says it has been awarded land in Kampong Speu, Kampot and Preah Sihanouk provinces that is also claimed by the farmers, who were preparing to plant rice on Monday.

Lake plan prompts protest

Tuesday, 27 April 2010 15:02 Khouth Sophakchakrya

Photo by: Pha Lina

Boeung Kak lake residents protest in front of City Hall on Monday.

ROUGHLY 50 protesters who say they face eviction due to development work at Boeung Kak lake gathered in front of City Hall on Monday after learning that authorities had approved plans for the controversial project behind closed doors.

The protesters decried the fact that city officials have approved development plans before many of the roughly 4,000 families that stand to be affected have finalised compensation arrangements.

“We need land titles for our homes, and we want the development to be fair and transparent,” said protester Lim Samnang.

He added that the demonstrators became particularly alarmed after hearing that the development plans, which have never been publicly released, could be closer to completion. Officials told the Post on Sunday that the plans were approved during a private meeting last Thursday.

NGO, farmers at an impasse

Tuesday, 27 April 2010 15:02 May Titthara

ROUGHLY 100 farmers from Kampong Speu, Preah Sihanouk and Kampot provinces squared off yesterday on two separate occasions with an NGO that claims to own land they have cultivated in previous years, though officials intervened and prevented the altercation from spilling over into violence, witnesses said.

Mou Savoeung, a representative of the farmers, said they arrived at a section of the disputed land in Preah Sihanouk’s Kampong Seila district with three tractors early on Monday intending to prepare rice fields for planting. She said workers from the NGO, the Kampong Speu-based Cambodia Disabled Survivors’ Association, had been at the site and tried to obstruct their access to it, which led to the standoff.

Military Base: Protest over land dispute called off

Tuesday, 27 April 2010 15:02 Thet Sambath

Military Base
Villagers in Banteay Meanchey province’s Thma Puok district called off a protest scheduled for Monday, after the district governor promised to meet with them to resolve the issue, a representative said. The villagers had planned to express anger at the construction of a military base on disputed land. “We decided not to have our demonstration after the district governor asked us not to do it, and promised us that he would help us reach a compromise and inform us about it on Tuesday,” said Long Than, who added that he and eight others met with district officials on Saturday. The district governor, Prek Vary, could not be reached Monday. Long Than said the proposed base could displace about 100 families who have lived there since 1993.

[note: in terms of nonviolent resistance this is a very risky move by the villagers. They have removed the incentive for change. It takes a lot of guts for a community to protest in Cambodia, and it takes a lot of time and frustration to get there. By calling off the demonstration without any concrete evidence of getting a "compromise" they've clearly reneged control of the conflict to the district governor for the moment. This is a very common result. With little or no training in NVR and next to no free press, the community is very much on it's own.]

Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010042738151/National-news/military-base-protest-over-land-dispute-called-off.html

Residents of Borei Keila refuse to occupy new relocation housing

Thursday, 08 April 2010 15:04 Chhay Channyda

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Long Sem, 49, sits in his home in Borei Keila on Wednesday. More than 120 families in the community have refused to accept housing that was inaugurated by Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chukteman.

PHNOM Penh Governor Kep Chuktema on Wednesday presided over a ceremony marking the opening of onsite relocation housing in Prampi Makara district’s Borei Keila community, but more than 120 families slated to move in say rooms in the building are too small and have refused to register for them.

The new building, designed to house 174 families, is part of a redevelopment project funded by the private developer Phanimex.

City Hall has promised free housing to families that are being relocated to the building in exchange for the valuable inner-city land they currently occupy. Phanimex has been promised a portion of that land in exchange for constructing the relocation housing.

Nuth Sokly, a representative of the 124 families who have declined to relocate, said they were upset that the new housing was significantly smaller than their current homes, and claimed it lacked electricity and water.

Borei Keila families petition Hun Sen for better housing

Monday, 26 April 2010 15:01 May Titthara

Photo by: Heng Chivoan

Sin Sambath, 51, moves into his new home on the first floor of a building offering on-site relocation housing in the central Phnom Penh community of Borei Keila on Sunday.

MORE than 120 families facing eviction from their homes in Phnom Penh’s central Borei Keila community sent a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday requesting either US$40,000 in compensation or $20,000 and ground-floor apartments measuring 4 metres by 12 metres, representatives said Sunday.

The families have so far refused to register for on-site relocation housing offered by City Hall, saying the units in the building – which was opened on April 7 – are too small, and that those who do not receive ground-floor apartments will be unable to support themselves by running businesses out of their homes.


[note: refusing to participate in the ballot is an all-or-nothing gamble for these families. The City has a history of waiting out the resisters until there are so few left nonviolent resistance can easily be ignored or swept aside. This community is showing courage. Do they have the strategy to go beyond this?]

“They promised to provide us with 4-metre-by-12-metre [homes] with electricity and water supplied, but now they want to provide us with only 3.8-metre-by-9-metre [homes] without electricity or water,” said representative Nuth Sokly. “How can we accept it?”

Both sides threaten violence in land spat

Monday, 26 April 2010 15:01 May Titthara

REPRESENTATIVES of around 400 residents of Kampot, Preah Sihanouk and Kampong Speu provinces said Sunday that villagers are prepared for a standoff today with an NGO they say has made an illegitimate claim to their farmland, and that they will not shy away from violence.
 

[note: For many communities access to a fair hearing and a deep belief that justice will prevail, no matter how well connected (or disconnected) you may be, is almost non-existant. A look through recent reports of communities resisting land grabs and natural resource alienation will see frustration boiling over into violence. It's understandable, but ultimately an exercise in failure. Those who grab land and natural resources are invariably well connected politically, economically, and with the police, military and the legal system. A few villagers wielding knives is only going to strengthen the resolve of the CDSA and other 'authorities' who see their role as "preserving the peace". The need for communities skilled in nonviolent resistance is at an all-time high or an uncontrollable spillover of anger and violence may occur in the future. Stay tuned for an up-coming article entitled, "Why Cambodia is Ripe for Nonviolence".]

Secrecy remains as city passes lake plans

Monday, 26 April 2010 15:03 Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Irwin Loy

Photo by: Rick Valenzuela

A lakeside resident calls out to friends on the other side of a pipe as it begins pumping sand into Boeung Kak in August 2008.

PHNOM PENH authorities have approved development plans for a controversial real estate project at Boeung Kak lake, a city official said Sunday, as some observers continued to decry government secrecy surrounding a project that could displace thousands of families.

Mann Chhoeun, the city’s deputy governor, said officials approved plans for the development of Boeung Kak lake during a meeting Thursday – a decision that was reached behind closed doors.

He added that the plan will now be sent to the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), the investment board chaired by Prime Minister Hun Sen, which has final say on developments of this scale.

Govt unveils plans for public housing project

Thursday, 25 March 2010 15:03 Chhay Channyda

GOVERNMENT officials say they are in the process of developing a public housing system – the Kingdom’s first since before the Khmer Rouge era – that would see poor families lease houses on state land for periods of up to 50 years.

But housing rights advocates said Wednesday that current plans for the system did not appear to safeguard many poor families from forced eviction.

Officials no-show for land talks

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:02 May Titthara

OFFICIALS in Kampong Speu province’s Thpong district failed to show up on Wednesday for a meeting scheduled with villagers involved in a land dispute with the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, exacerbating suspicisions that they are primarily interested in arriving at a resolution that favours the company.

Ly Yong Phat given land in national park

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:03 Cheang Sokha

THE government has granted more than 4,000 hectares of protected national park land in Koh Kong province to an agriculture company owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat, who has been at the centre of several land disputes stemming from controversial land concessions.

In accordance with a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen and dated March 12, Ly Yong Phat’s company, the LYP Group, has been given a 10,000-hectare Koh Kong land concession, 4,100 hectares of which cuts into Botum Sakor National Park.

Sen Sok residents demonstrate against drainage project plans

Thursday, 22 April 2010 15:02 Khouth Sophakchakry

Photo by: Sovan Philong

A spray-painted marking shows the area that must be cleared to make way for a drainage project in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district, which residents say could affect the homes of 600 families.

MORE than 100 residents of Sen Sok district’s Phnom Penh Thmei commune on Wednesday gathered outside the Phnom Penh residence of Prime Minister Hun Sen to protest plans for a drainage system that they said could affect the homes of some 600 families.

A representative of the protesters also handed a complaint signed by 129 residents to Nov Ra, an official in Hun Sen’s cabinet.

The protest was staged after local authorities brought bulldozers to the site, leading residents to suspect that work on the drainage system would begin soon.

Yim Sokhom, 58, one of the protesters, said the project – which is set to widen the road by 35 metres – would lead to the partial destruction of some homes and the total destruction of others, and that no compensation had been offered.

Talks address Kampong Speu dispute

Wednesday, 21 April 2010 15:03 May Titthara

Rights groups say not all affected villagers were invited to boundary discussion.

Photo Supplied by ADHOC

Villagers on Tuesday block a section of a road in Kampong Speu province’s Omlaing commune as part of a protest related to an ongoing dispute over a land concession.

ABOUT 500 villagers from Omlaing commune in Kampong Speu province’s Thpong district met with authorities on Tuesday to discuss setting boundaries between their farmland and land granted to the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, though many who attended said afterwards that they still had concerns about how the dispute would be resolved.

Meanwhile, some 600 villagers continued to block National Road 52 until early in the afternoon to protest what they described as insufficient efforts on the part of the company, owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat, to work towards a resolution to the ongoing land row.

Representatives from the company were not present for Tuesday’s negotiations, which were held at the Omlaing commune office and attended by Deputy Provincial Governor Pen Sambou, Thpong District Governor Tuon Song and Commune Chief Hab Dam.

Land Dispute: Summoned villagers ask for time

Monday, 08 March 2010 15:04 May Titthara

Land Dispute
Six village representatives in Kampong Speu province’s Thpong district who have been summoned over a land dispute with a company owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat have written a letter to the provincial court asking that they be given more time to hold discussions with local officials. On Friday, the court summoned all six to answer to allegations that they became violent with employees of the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, who last week arrived under military police escort to survey the land. The representatives have said they were camping out on the land so that it would not be appropriated by the company. “Today, we are together joining with the provincial police to send a letter to provincial court asking them to settle our problem in our district before taking the case to the court,” said Nov Chhon, one of the representatives. More than 200 families live on land in Omlaing commune that is also part of a 9,000-hectare concession to the company. Khut Sopheang, the prosecutor handling the case, declined to comment on the representatives’ letter on Sunday.

Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010030833231/National-news/land-dispute-summoned-villagers-ask-for-time.html

Kampong Speu villagers awaiting representatives’ release

Monday, 29 March 2010 15:05 May Titthara and Will Baxter

ABOUT 200 villagers from Kampong Speu province’s Thpong district have vowed to greet two community representatives who are scheduled to be released Monday from Kampong Speu prison and escort them back to their homes, villagers said.

Meanwhile, a group of 400 villagers will be standing by to protest if the pair are not released by authorities as promised.

Court calls 16 Kampong Speu villagers

Tuesday, 23 March 2010 15:05 May Titthara

Photo by: Photo Supplied

Villagers in Kampong Speu province’s Thpong district have been summoned to court to answer questions related to the burning of a Phnom Penh Sugar Company office building, the remains pictured above, last week.

KAMPONG Speu provincial court has summoned 16 villagers from Thpong district’s Omlaing commune to appear in court Wednesday to answer questions related to the burning of an office belonging to the Phnom Penh Sugar Company last week, provincial court officials said.

Court clerk Seng Chamroeun Rith said the summons orders were issued Friday and that the 16 were bound by law to appear. “If they don’t appear in court, the court will issue an arrest warrant for them,” he said.

Since Thursday’s incident, about 100 soldiers have been sent to guard the disputed land, which is part of a 9,000-hectare concession granted to the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat.

Khem Vuthy, a villager who received a summons order Monday, said, “I am not afraid, so I will appear in court on time because we were just trying to prevent our rice paddies and farmland from being taken.... The court should settle our problem by finding a middle ground.”

Kampong Speu farmers warned over rallies

Friday, 12 March 2010 15:05 May Titthara

Kampong Speu Province

Photo by: May Titthara

Farmers gather outside Kampong Speu provincial court, where six villagers involved in a land dispute were questioned Thursday.

SIX villagers in Kampong Speu province were questioned in provincial court on Thursday over allegations they incited 1,000 people to protest, prompting claims that authorities are trying to intimidate those involved in a land dispute with a well-known businessman.

The six were accused of inciting villagers during the protest late last month, which saw 1,000 Omlaing commune farmers express concerns that they could lose their rice fields to a sugar company owned by Ly Yong Phat, a senator with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

Phal Vannak, an Omlaing commune villager who was among those questioned on Thursday, said court officials ordered him to agree not to incite further protests.

“They ordered us to give thumbprints and stop doing it,” Phal Vannak said through tears. “If I do it again, I will face arrest. They let us go, but I am still afraid.”

Kampong Speu villagers seek firm land boundaries

Tuesday, 20 April 2010 15:02 May Titthara

KAMPONG Speu villagers embroiled in a dispute with Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat met with local officials on Monday to reiterate their demand that clear boundaries be set between their farmland and land granted to the senator’s sugar company.

Meanwhile, about 300 villagers from Omlaing commune staged a protest near the site of the company’s 9,000-hectare land concession, located in Thpong district’s Omlaing commune, with the aim of preventing future clearing operations, villagers said.

On Monday evening, about 400 Omlaing villagers blocked National Road 52 to express their frustration with the company, said Am Sam Ath, technical supervisor for the rights group Licadho. He added that he worried that tension could spill over into violence.

Land disputes flare in Kampong Speu

Friday, 19 March 2010 15:06 May Titthara

Kampong Speu Province

Photo by: Sovan Philong

Villagers armed with clubs and slingshots await the return of police after clashes over land in Kampong Speu province’s Oudong district on Thursday morning.

VIOLENCE erupted Thursday morning in two separate land disputes in Kampong Speu province – one in Oudong district and the other in Thpong district – resulting in the injury of more than 20 villagers and police, as well as the torching of a company’s offices.

An early-morning altercation between authorities and 88 families at Oudong district’s Phnom Touch commune broke out when the authorities tried to carry out a Supreme Court-ordered eviction of the families from a 65-hectare plot of land, villagers said Thursday. Twelve villagers and 14 local police were hurt in the brawl.

At about 6:45am police attempted to forcibly evict the residents so that they could bring in equipment to tear down their houses, but the eviction was thwarted by locals who attacked police with stones and bamboo clubs, and disrupted their advance with burning tyres, villagers said.

The police responded by beating them with batons and firing their weapons in the air and into trees where villagers had displayed photographs of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Kampong Speu villagers protest at Phnom Penh Sugar

Wednesday, 17 March 2010 15:04 May Titthara

AROUND 100 villagers in Kampong Speu province on Tuesday staged a protest in front of the local offices of the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, saying company employees operating 11 excavators had encroached on 2 hectares of land in Omlaing commune.

Villagers to appear in court over Kampong Speu row

Thursday, 11 March 2010 15:04 May Titthara

  

SIX village representatives in Kampong Speu province’s Thpong district said they would appear in provincial court today to answer to allegations that they became violent with employees of the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, which is owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat, during a series of standoffs last week.

More than 200 families live on land in Omlaing commune , which is also part of a 9,000-hectare concession granted to the company. Ly Yong Phat has said they will not be evicted.

On Monday, the representatives sent a letter to the provincial court to ask to settle the dispute with local officials before today’s session, but Nov Chhon, one of the representatives, said Wednesday that they had received no response.

Nov Chhon added that he would be happy to answer any questions posed to him during the session.

“I will explain to the court the reason why we did not allow company staff to grab our land,” he added, referring to incidents in which company staff appeared along with military police officers in an attempt to survey the land last week.

Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010031133450/National-news/villagers-to-appear-in-court-over-kampong-speu-row.html

Trade in hydropower could support green development

Tuesday, 20 April 2010 15:00 Ellie Dyer

A man lights up a coal oven for cooking in front of his home in downtown Hanoi on April 15, 2010. Vietnam faces a power shortage this year as a drought threatens production of hydroelectricity amid increased demand for energy. AFP

World Bank report points to regional energy exchange as catalyst for change

REGIONAL trade in hydropower could help in the development of sustainable energy provision for rapidly changing economies such as Cambodia, according to a new report from the World Bank.

The international financial organisation released its report, titled Winds of Change: East Asia’s Sustainable Energy Future, on Monday.

The paper, jointly produced with the Australian Government Overseas Aid Programme, investigates the challenges of developing green energy in economies where energy security and environmental concerns are becoming increasingly important.

“The main conclusion is that such a path of maintaining economic growth, mitigating climate change and improving energy security is within reach of the region’s countries.

Coalition weighs in on China’s dam plans

Monday, 12 April 2010 15:02 Cheang Sokha

THE Rivers Coalition in Cambodia (RCC), an alliance of local environmental groups, has added its voice to a chorus of regional concerns about the likely downstream impact of eight hydropower dam projects planned in China, saying they will have negative effects on Cambodian fisheries.

“The result of a joint observation by international scientists showed that currently there are no measures to reduce the impact the dams have on fisheries and resources in the lower Mekong,” the RCC said in a statement Saturday.

Land Grabs Continue As Elites Resist Regulation

AFRICA

by Hilaire Avril - TerraViva Europe

A year after the purchases of vast swathes of farm land in Africa first drew public attention, transactions remain as opaque as ever.

Private companies are resisting a global code of conduct that would ensure transparency and local elites continue to benefit from deals that encourage corruption and increase food insecurity.

Villagers feuding over Dangkor district land

Friday, 09 April 2010 15:04 May Titthara 

The Phnom Penh Post

MORE than 80 families from Dangkor district’s Choeung Ek commune protested in front of Wat Botum in central Phnom Penh on Thursday, requesting Prime Minister Hun Sen to intervene in a land dispute with recent arrivals in the area, villagers said Thursday.

Protestor Theb Korn, 47, who represents 84 families in Choeung Ek village, said a 60-metre by 265-metre plot of empty land has been illegally occupied by 26 families since 2007, and that it has been under the joint control of the villagers since 1980.

Rights groups ask VN to free Khmer Krom

Friday, 09 April 2010 15:04 Khouth Sophakchakrya

The Phnom Penh Post

KHMER Krom advocacy groups have called on authorities in Vietnam to release ethnic Khmers being held in Vietnamese jails and to relax cultural and religious restrictions ahead of next week’s Khmer New Year holiday.

Thach Setha, president of the Khmer Krom Association, said that on the occasion of the annual holiday, which begins April 14, Vietnam should loosen government controls and respect the rights of the country’s ethnic Khmer minority.

Takeo villagers forced to sign land over to NGO: witnesses

Friday, 09 April 2010 15:05 May Titthara 

The Phnom Penh Post

Photo by: Pha Lina

Takeo province villagers involved in a land fight with an NGO protest in front of the National Assembly on Wednesday.

POLICE in Takeo province’s Kirivong district surrounded the homes of 50 villagers on Thursday, ordering them to go to the district police office, where they were told to sign an agreement turning over their land to a local conservation NGO, villagers said.

The villagers, who had participated in a land dispute-related protest broken up by police in the capital a day earlier, have accused the NGO Chamreun Chiet Khmer of planting acacia trees on land they claim to have inhabited for more than 20 years.

Chan Sophal, a member of the premier’s bodyguard unit who lives on the disputed land in Takeo, said six police officers arrived at his village early on Thursday morning to arrest the leaders of Wednesday’s rally.

NGOs call for crackdown on illegal logging to be widened

Monday, 12 April 2010 15:02 Chhay Channyda and Tep Nimol 

The Phnom Penh Post 

A COALITION of local human rights NGOs have applauded the removal of the Forestry Administration’s director as part of a recent crackdown on illegal logging, but have called on the government to take additional action to ensure the full eradication of forestry crimes.

At a press conference Friday, Sok Sam Oeun, director of the Cambodian Defenders Project, said the firing of Ty Sokun was an example to powerful officials who are profiting from the illicit trade in timber.

Villagers plan to petition PM in land dispute

Monday, 12 April 2010 15:03 Tep Nimol and Will Baxter 
The Phnom Penh Post

FIVE village representatives from Kampong Speu province’s Omlaing commune say they plan to submit a petition to Prime Minister Hun Sen today, asking for intervention in their ongoing dispute with the Phnom Penh Sugar Company.

Village representative San Thau said that the community had submitted 1,350 thumbprints along with the letter, which asks the government to set clear boundaries between the villagers’ land and land granted to the company, owned by Cambodian People’s Party Senator Ly Yong Phat.

Plea for Kraya families

Friday, 09 April 2010 15:03 Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

SAM Rainsy Party lawmaker Men Sothavarin has asked Prime Minister Hun Sen to provide farmland for poor residents and disabled military veterans in Kampong Thom province.

In a letter dated Thursday, the lawmaker said that 600 families evicted last December from the province’s Kraya commune to make way for a Vietnamese rubber company are facing serious food shortages because they have not been granted replacement land promised by the government.

Land grant statistics revealed in govt report

Monday, 12 April 2010 15:00 Chun Sophal

The Phnom Penh Post

THE GOVERNMENT provided 124,000 hectares of land to 19 companies in concessions last year, according to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The concessions, spread across eight provinces, were for the growth of eight agro-industrial products, including rubber, Cambodia’s second-most lucrative crop after rice.

“We hope that the companies will be able to grow more rubber in the coming years,” said Chay Sokun, deputy director of the Planning Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Sunday.

Thailand’s protests claim 21

Monday, 12 April 2010 15:03 Thanaporn Promyamyai 

Source: The Phnom Penh Post 

Red Shirts remain defiant after attempts to remove them left over 800 injured; army retreats, calling for a truce after protesters took five soldiers hostage.

Bangkok

Photo by: AFP

A protestor gets his picture taken next to a seized army armoured vehicle after overnight clashes between the army and “Red Shirt” protesters in central Bangkok on Sunday. Demonstrators vowed to remain on the streets of the Thai capital and bring down the government, the day after the country’s worst political violence in nearly two decades.

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It’s frightening. We heard explosions and people were running all around.

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DEFIANT Red Shirt Thai protesters vowed Sunday to keep up their bid to topple the government, after the country’s worst political violence in almost two decades left 21 dead and over 800 injured.

Protest leaders, who have promised to maintain their campaign until the government dissolves parliament and calls fresh elections, demanded Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva step down and leave the country.

Seventeen civilians, including a Japanese TV cameraman, and four soldiers were killed in Saturday’s crackdown on the Red Shirt supporters of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra in Bangkok, the emergency services said.

On Sunday evening Red Shirts gathered to mourn the loss of their comrades at the city’s Democracy Monument – the scene of a fierce battle on Saturday – where grieving relatives led a procession holding up gold-framed pictures of the dead.

They were followed by crying men carrying caskets, a couple containing bodies draped with Thai flags and flowers. Some onlooking protesters prayed and others waved red banners.