Protesters Stop Try Pheap Tractor From Clearing Land in Preah Vihear
More than 100 people on Thursday protested and stopped a bulldozer belonging to businessman Try Pheap from clearing their land next to a rubber plantation he owns in Preah Vihear’s Rovieng district, villagers and local officials said. Oeun Sitha said he was among more than 100 protesters representing about 100 families living on the land—a 1 km by about 150 meter strip opposite Try Pheap’s plantation—who stopped a bulldozer belonging to Mr. Pheap after it started clearing their farms. … Mr. Sitha said the families have been moving into the area since 2010 with approval from commune officials and that they were being offered nearby land in compensation for being resettled by the state. … Mr. Saro, the district governor who signed off on the eviction notice, said the disputed area was state public land and that authorities needed the plantation’s help to turn it into a social land concession for ethnic minority Kuy families. … But both Mr. Sitha and Lor Chan, a provincial coordinator for human rights group Adhoc, who was at Thursday’s protest, suspected the land was being cleared to expand Mr. Pheap’s plantation, given the proximity and the use of his company’s equipment and driver. Sei La, a manager at the plantation, denied their claim and insisted the company was helping the province, at no cost, to make way for a social land concession. …
