Monday, November 22, 2010

Ethnic Jarai Families Continued Suing Rubber Company

On June 1, 2010 Jarai community representatives in O’Yadaw district, Ratanakiri province filed a complaint against a local businessman, whom they alleged of having threatened them with legal action after they declined to accept cash and drop a court complaint accusing the man of land grabbing.

Romas Moeum, a community representative said they lodged complaints against a businessman, named Nou Ly, who asserted to be a high-ranking official of the ruling CPP’s provincial branch. Mr. Nou Ly, he added, came to Som Trak Chas village over the weekend to offer them each $3,000 in exchange with withdrawing a complaint against him of land grabbing.

The representative said that there were 6 of them, who had sued Nou Ly for illegally clearing 46 hectares of cashew fields and rice paddy belonging to the Jarai community in the village.

According to Mr. Chhay Thy, Adhoc provincial coordinator, the representatives had been really forced to receive that $3,000 to bring back the complaints, which they lodged with provincial court on May 26, 2010 against Mr. Nou Ly for the above matter. If the representatives did not get the offered money, it would be given to prosecutors to issue arrest warrants for those six representatives, instead. However, they still rejected the money.

The following day, Mr. Chhay Thy added, 5 of the representatives withdrew the complaints in order to calm down the situation, but one has still continued this case.

In relation to the issue, Mr. Nou Ly said that he had bought many plots of land among 80 hectares from ethnic minority villagers in neighboring Pok Por village with the agreement of local authorities. Therefore he was the legal land owner. In addition he had offered $3,000 to the above representatives in order to help them their legal fees in prosecuting their case of land grabbing against him.

As well, regarding the purchasing of the above land conflict from Pok Por village, local rights Adhoc said it is still under the process of its investigation.

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