Government-formed land dispute committee suspected of bias
The Kompong Chhnang provincial government has set up a new committee to help settle a long-running land dispute between local farmers and a company owned by the wife of Mines and Energy Minister Suy Sem, but a representative of the villagers has not been invited to participate in the committee. Mr. Sem’s wife, Chea Kheng, owns KDC International, which has been locked in a land dispute with 52 families over 145 hectares of farmland in Kompong Tralach district since 2007. In a letter dated March 3 and obtained Monday, provincial Governor Chou Chandoeun approves the creation of the committee “to hold a dialogue directly between the company and the 52 families involved in the dispute by inviting each family to compromise and end the dispute between the villagers and the KDC company.” The 15-member committee, however, formed at KDC’s request and headed by deputy provincial governor Dork Sothea, does not include a single villager. The only member of the committee not employed by the government or the firm is the provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, Sam Chankea. Other members include Ms. Kheng, KDC attorney Phat Pauv Seang, KDC representative Thai Hy, Ta Ches commune police chief Chuop Chanthoeun, and commune councilors Lom Ley and Kang Triya. …
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-formed-land-dispute-committee-suspected-of-bias-53851/
