Koh Kong Sugar Firm Makes Offer to Return Disputed Land
The Thai owners of a pair of sugar plantations in Koh Kong province accused of forcing hundreds of farmers off their land will give the land back if it can be proved that those evicted legally own the land, rights workers and a village representative said on Sunday. Thanakorn Borintarachat, the new general manager of Koh Kong Sugar, whose major shareholder is Thailand’s Khon Kaen Sugar, reportedly made the offer at a March 29 meeting in Koh Kong with NGOs and local families. … The dispute dates back to 2006, when Koh Kong Sugar and Koh Kong Plantation, both majority owned by Khon Kaen, started forcing families out of their homes and off the land. Both the families and local rights groups insist the families’ farms and homes were taken over illegally, and claim that some of the families were shot and beaten by plantation guards in the process. Khon Kaen is currently under investigation by Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission for its alleged human rights violations in Koh Kong. …
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/koh-kong-sugar-firm-makes-offer-to-return-disputed-land-18770/
