New Draft Law Could Legalize Land Grabbing

A law on the management of farmland currently being drafted by the Ministry of Agriculture is a threat to private landowners as it imposes criminal penalties for farmers who do not abide by new powers the government would have to demarcate land, a human rights group said in a report released yesterday. According to the draft law, the government will be able to demarcate land—be it state or private—for a so-called “agricultural development area” as long as “a substantial majority of the smallholders” are in agreement. But Licadho said that the law could be used to legalize land grabs, as those who do not agree with a decision to demarcate the land would end up in jail. “The draft law as currently written could be used as a legal cover for land-grabbing and for those who wish to exploit and personally profit from Cambodia’s land and resources,” Licadho said in the report. “Most alarmingly, the law creates felony criminal liability for any actions that violate the law’s far reaching provisions.”…