‘Separatist’ farms replaced by RCAF base

A track of land once farmed by 1,000 families in Kratie province — families violently evicted amid claims they were part of a separatist movement — is now home to a military base. Unit 9 Royal Cambodian Armed Forces base, which will be finished later this month, is part of a larger security-infrastructure scheme for the area. The plans include a military police base, along with a road suitable for moving supplies from the center of Chhlong district to the remote village of Pro Ma, provincial and military police officials confirmed yesterday. … Nine months ago, joint forces stormed this isolated village and staged one of the largest mass evictions in recent history. Although the villagers were without guns, officials opened fire, killing a 14-year-old girl in the process. Authorities then sealed off the area for days while they interrogated residents, before driving them as far afield as Kampong Thom province. The government has vociferously and repeatedly defended its actions, saying they were necessary to staunch a separatist movement led by a local activist named Bun Ratha and Beehive radio owner Mam Sonando. … “The army is constructing a road from Chhlong to here,” said Channa. “Seven kilometers from here, the military police plan to do the same thing and build a base. They have started clearing the trees. I’m not sure how large it will be.” … Located adjacent to a 15,000-hectare rubber plantation – which since 2008 has been owned by concessionaire Casotim – this land had been locked in an increasingly tense dispute. Just one month before the raid, 700 villagers from the area staged a protest – blocking a national road for days in support of an outspoken village representative who had been arrested on accusations of destroying company property. A provincial judge later ordered his release, noting that there was no evidence to support allegations against that representative, Bun Ratha. The base occupies prime cassava field, which is just now yielding the harvest sown last year by the so-called secessionists. While Deputy Commander Channa said the base covers two hectares, and Provincial Governor Sar Cham Rong said it covers one hectare, the territory closed off to villagers is clearly far larger. … Blocked off to those who did the planting, the land will soon be distributed among the soldiers living at camp, according to Channa. “High-level officers are now figuring out how to divide the land among soldiers for their families,” he said, before insisting the land is currently off-limits to all. “Even though some of the soldiers have recently faced a shortage of food, they do not touch the land.” Such claims ring somewhat hollow. Strung along the 700-meter path leading to the base lay half-harvested fields – the underbrush is charred, dirt lies in clumps in spots where cassava had recently been pulled. Villagers in Pro Ma had high hopes that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s land-titling program would see them awarded land to which they appear to have legitimate claim; instead, they have seen the process closed to them. While some will receive titles on a planned social land concession, according to Provincial Governor Cham Rong, that opportunity will be closed off to “the former Bun Ratha group”. … Part of the tragedy of Pro Ma is the seeming randomness of the edicts that now govern the village. Those farming a mere 50 metres away from the cordoned off area have been allowed to keep their land and keep their homes. Some have been allowed back in to harvest their cassava, others not. … “I don’t know why some have gotten in and not others. My neighbour, for instance, can’t get back to her farm either, but some others have,” said Phat. …

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013020661212/National/separatist-farms-replaced-by-rcaf-base.html