Two More Villagers Are Arrested Amid Evictions in Pursat

19 July 2012
The Cambodia Daily
Agricultural production / Agriculture and fishing / Economic land concessions and plantations / Judiciary and courts / Land / Land tenure and land titling / Public land lease
arrested / evictions / forestry / houses / illegal / Kompong Kdey / Krapoeu Pi commune / Kuy Van / Leng Chhoeuk / local authorities / measuring land / Provincial Court / Pursat Province / secessionist plot / secessionist threat / state forest / state land / Thorn Bunthet / Veal Veng district / villagers

Two more people in Pursat province’s Veal Veng district were arrested Tuesday in connection with what local authorities are calling a secessionist plot, a forestry official said yesterday. Veal Veng district forestry chief Thorn Bunthet said that Kuy Van, 55, and Leng Chhoeuk, 50, were arrested Tuesday in Krapoeu Pi commune’s Kompong Kdey village for illegally living inside state forest and measuring plots of land for other villagers. “We arrested them because they measured and grabbed state land for ownership,” Mr. Bunthet said yesterday. “We will send them to the provincial court tomorrow to charge them.” Authorities demolished more than 200 houses in Kompong Kdey village this week in response to the supposed secessionist threat. ...