Violence in Land Disputes Up, Rights Group Says

A total of 36 protests involving economic land concessions ended with violent intervention from armed authorities last year, according to data released this week by local rights group Adhoc. More than a fifth of the cases involved the long-simmering Boeng Kak lake evictions, in which protesters “were violently smashed by armed forces” eight times, according to the report. … The Adhoc report also highlighted the frequency with which criminal charges are levied against land demonstrators. Last year, 427 people embroiled in land disputes faced criminal charges, and 95 of them were arrested. Up to the present day, 48 villagers remain in prison over land disputes, while 332 are in hiding to avoid arrest. In Kompong Speu, a province that faces one of the highest rates of land disputes and charges against protesters, the president of the provincial court, Khlaut Pich, defended the judiciary, saying that all charges are filed in compliance with the law. …