Preah Vihear Governor to close NGO office for inciting workers

4 April 2014
The Cambodia Daily
Agricultural production / Agriculture and fishing / Civil society / Crime and law enforcement / Crop products and commodities / Economic land concessions and plantations / Ethnic minorities and indigenous people / Government / Land / Land policy and administration / Land tenure and land titling / Law and judiciary / Ministries and other national bodies / Ministry of Interior / Public land lease / Social development / Sugar
Ministry of Interior / Oum Mara / Ponlok Khmer Organization / Roy Feng (Cambodia) International Co Ltd / Sar Kheng

Preah Vihear provincial governor Oum Mara has sent a letter to inform Interior Minister Sar Kheng that he is ordering an NGO to close its local offices, on the grounds that the organization is inciting villagers to destroy sugarcane farmed by a Chinese company. In the letter, which was obtained Thursday, Mr. Mara alleges that Loth Saing, a member of the Ponlok Khmer Organization, led villagers to destroy sugarcane on a plantation owned by Roy Feng (Cambodia) International Co. Ltd. … Mr. Mara explains that he will create a working group to meet with villagers and ask them to stop destroying sugarcane. He also details plans to close the Ponlok Khmer office and allow the Roy Feng company to file a lawsuit against the ringleaders of Tuesday’s sabotage efforts. Ponlok Khmer is a small NGO based in Preah Vihear that works with ethnic minorities to preserve their land rights, according to its website. … Ethnic Kuoy villagers in Preah Vihear province have accused Roy Feng and another Chinese firm, Lan Feng, of seizing and illegally clearing 5,000 hectares of their communal farmland. …

 Khy Sovuthy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/preah-vihear-governor-to-close-ngo-office-for-inciting-workers-55773/