Villagers in Land Row Complain of Death Threat

Four representatives of villagers locked in a land dispute with the well-connected KDC company have filed a complaint with the Kompong Chhnang Provincial Court after they received death threats. “The anonymous letter was a threat against our lives,” said Reach Seima, one of the representatives, adding that he found the letter in a plastic bag next to the fence around his house in Kompong Tralach district’s Taches commune when he was on his way to farm on Sunday. … Mr. Seima said that the letter could be interpreted as nothing other than a death threat and that he believed the villagers had received the letter due to the ongoing land dispute with KDC, which is owned by the wife of former Industry, Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem. Sixty families in Lorpeang village are fighting for more than 145 hectares of farm land, from which they were evicted by Chea Kheng’s KDC company in 2007. … “It is a serious human rights violation,” [Sam Chankea, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc] said. “The offender should be arrested to face prosecution.”

 Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/villagers-in-land-row-complain-of-death-threat-44714/