Losing Ground - Human Rights Party.

Losing Ground
then commune, district, provincial and national officials,
before holding their first civil protest at the site. Five
monitors from human rights NGOs (ADHOC, LICADHO
and Sor Sor Troung) were present. The charges from the
company were filed a few days after Mr. Keth spoke at a
news conference in Phnom Penh about the loss of their land.
Criminal charges
Although there was no indication that villagers touched the
company’s property, on October 18 five men were initially
summoned.
One was a ghost name, someone who did not exist;
another was a man who neighbors said was home with his
wife who was giving birth the day of the protest, and the
others were: Mr. Vy, accused because he agreed to write a
list of the people attending the protest; Mr. Saren, because
he was known to be the leader, and Mr. Rath, who his
neighbors think was chosen at random.
The robbery charge stemmed from the company’s claim
that the villagers stole 10 million Cambodian riel ($2,500)
stuffed in a bag hung from the roof of one of the tents.
About 200 villagers made the hour long trip to the court
with Mr. Vy, Mr. Saren and Mr. Rath, but the court shut
the doors when they arrived and cancelled the hearing, and
provincial officials refused to meet them.
“Criminal charges in civil land disputes are
becoming common. It’s a new way of intimidating
and threatening the village residents.”
Yeng Virak, CLEC executive director.
The court prosecutor said he couldn’t meet with hundreds
of people. “They can come to court with their lawyers,” he
said. But a representative from ADHOC said the risk of
arrest is very high if villagers go alone without the support
of others in the community. “It has been the case when they
call villagers to explain [charges] they put them in custody.”
The prosecutor denied the charges were brought to
intimidate the residents, but said the robbery charge
sounded peculiar to him because no one would keep “this
much money in a small bag.” He indicated the charges could
be lessened or dropped.
However, he no longer handles the case; it has moved up
the legal chain to the investigating judge, who can reactivate
it at any time.
Company work sites in Snoul district
where a rubber plantation developer
received an Economic Land Concession
from the provincial governor in 2008
without the knowledge of residents.
Forced Evictions and Intimidation in Cambodia
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