Courts Resurrect Land Disputes After Election
The Kompong Chhnang Provincial Court has summoned for questioning three villagers accused of torching in May a shed on disputed land granted to the wife of Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem. The case is another example of courts resurrecting longstanding land disputes that had gone dormant around the time of July’s national election, local human rights group Adhoc said Wednesday. Chuop Chanthoeun, Ta Ches commune police chief in Kompong Tralach district, said Yoem Ngoeun, Phul San and Reach Seima have all been summoned to answer questions at the court tomorrow in their long-running dispute with KDC International, a firm belonging to Chea Kheng, the wife of Minister Suy Sem. … In another example, the Battambang Provincial Court has summoned a Kors Kralor district villager, Sun Ra, to a hearing today in a years-old land dispute that currently pits about 50 families against several military police officers, said Sam Oeun, a representative for the families. Mr. Oeun said that Mr. Ra has been accused of intentionally injuring one of the officers but insisted he was innocent and, like the families disputing land in Kompong Chhnang, believed the court had taken a break during the elections for political reasons. … In yet another case, the Kompong Speu Provincial Court on Tuesday summoned two villagers involved in a yearslong dispute over land that recently belonged to CPP Senator Ly Yong Phat, but has suspended the questioning because court officials were busy. … Kompong Speu court president Khlot Pich, however, denied any political calculation in the timing of the court’s business.
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/courts-resurrect-land-disputes-after-election-49671/
