Villagers Claim Intimidation in Land Settlement
Villagers being questioned in relation to a land dispute with a powerful company said on Friday that a Ratanakiri court official had intimidated them by urging them to accept an out-of-court settlement with the firm or face a countersuit. Court officials denied the claims and said they were only mediating a negotiation between the two sides. Tampuon minority families living in three villages in Lumphat district’s Seda commune sued the agro-industrial DM Group in June, claiming the company grabbed 180 hectares of land and forest that belonged to them, and then razed the land, clearing villagers crops and logging luxury timber.
