Impact of Social Land Concession in Preah Vihear

At least more than 400 families are living in fear and facing forcefully evicted and intimidated by a group of 10 staffs [agents] of a local non-governmental organization, called Aids and Drugs Research Protection Organization (ADRPO), which was founded by Sar Chhuon Lem or Pen Lem, the president of the organization. Sar Chhuon Lem or Pen Lem is all so known as Excellency, General, Neak Okhna and the consultant of Mr. Chea Sim. The position is equal to Secretary of State. He is also the General Director of Pen Lem Import, Export Company.

In the notification, the organization got only 556 hectares of land from the Cambodian government as a social land concession in 2007, but in fact, as investigated by rights group, the organization has expanded up to more than 700 hectares. The concession has eaten into 180.76 hectares of people’s land in two villages, Sra Aem and Kantuot village. Moreover, the organization has logged trees in order to sell to other working group of Hun Sen Natural Village in order to hide their illegal activities. They also destroyed plantation and belongings of those 57 families nearby. They committed violence, physically assaulted and extorted money from the poor people. They very often threatened to evict the villagers. In addition, they committed offenses, such as rape cases.

The organization has hired about 10 staffs to work in the area. Most of them are the president’s relatives or his wife’s relatives. Her name is Kong Somaly. The residents said that those staffs held long and short guns (Number was not provided) because they were also bodyguards of Sar Chhuon Lem. The villagers called them as “the organization’s security guards”. Those guards were the ones who made decisions in the area. According to the complaints [which were sent to the provincial authorities], the securities seriously guarded the area. They did not allow any strangers to enter without permission. They normally searched and intimidated the villagers who brought the strangers in, in case they suspected. In addition, whenever, there was a conflict over land, they used guns to intimidate them. Sometimes they physically assaulted those who dared to answer back.

According to the investigation of Adhoc, CHRAC and other rights organizations, Aids and Drugs Research Protection Organization violates the Civil and Political Rights, which is ratified by the international law and the Cambodian Constitutional Law. The organization is abusing the government policy in alleviating poverty. In addition, the court is found to have conspired with the organization. Whenever, the villagers, whose family members were raped or physically assaulted, filed complaints with the court, they (the court) reported to the organization. As a result those who filed complaints against the organization were facing tortured and dismissal out of the area. Furthermore, ADRPO countersued those villagers. Up to now 11 people have been summoned for questioning subsequently.