Land-grabbing letter hits nerve
The government yesterday lashed out at a letter sent by opposition lawmakers to the World Bank that urged the bank to increase pressure on the government to end forced evictions, land grabbing and threats against community members involved in land disputes with well-connected companies. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said that Sam Rainsy Party lawmakers had no authority to ask international organisations to interfere with government decisions. In a letter addressed to World Bank country manager Qimiao Fan on Monday, 13 SRP lawmakers detailed numerous land concessions granted by the government to private companies that they claimed had resulted in land grabbing, forced evictions and threats against local residents. World Bank spokesman Bou Saroeun said yesterday that the bank had received the letter from the SRP, but declined to comment further.
