Cambodia: Chut Wutty’s legacy creates an opportunity for land justice
In Cambodia, there is talk of change. Not just from Hun Sen, the prime minister, who has promised reforms after his party suffered a significant blow in recent elections, but from environmental activists and campaigners, who say there has never before been such an opportunity to lobby a government that has long ruled with an iron fist. … Despite alleged illegal logging, land grabs, harassment and threats by police and government thugs, activists claim the ruling party’s win in July of just 68 seats to the opposition’s 55 means that Hun Sen, who has governed Cambodia for the past 28 years, may be softening, out of necessity, to the will of the people, in turn allowing environmental groups to gain strategic ground. This is due, in part, to the increasing awareness of human rights and social justice issues, activists say, such as the death of one of Cambodia’s most prominent environmental activists, Chut Wutty, in April 2012. He was investigating illegal logging and land seizures with two journalists when he was shot dead by Cambodian military police officers. … Land rights were, perhaps unsurprisingly, a huge talking point during this year’s election. More than 2m hectares of land – equivalent to nearly three-quarters of Cambodia’s arable land – have been granted to investors since 2008, in turn affecting an estimated 700,000 people across the country, according to Global Witness. Protesters have been vocal and their complaints taken on by the opposition Cambodian National Rescue party (CNRP), which has called for an end to all concessions and greater land justice. This may explain why Hun Sen issued a full moratorium on economic land concessions (ELCs) in May 2012, yet inserted a key loophole that allowed those already approved, but not yet started, to move ahead. The result was that nearly 400,000 hectares of land were granted as concessions last year, nearly three-quarters of which came from wildlife sanctuaries and protected forest. …
Kate Hodal
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/oct/02/cambodia-chut-wutty-land
