Land Conflict between CIV Development Company with 270 Families

Sre Char Commune in Snoul District of Kratie Province, Cambodia is the home for Stieng indigenous people. These communities have been living from traditional agricultural methods for generations. On May 27, 2008 the Kratie Provincial Governor signed a 769 hectare Economic Land Concession for rubber plantation with a private company, the CIV Development Company. This economic agreement affects approximately 270 families in four villages that are being evicted or will be at serious risk of eviction in the near future. The affected communities assert that they were not adequately informed nor were they adequately consulted. Families that have already been evicted reported that no notice was given to them, and that they learnt they were about to be evicted directly when bulldozers cleared their fields.

On August 11, 2009 some villager representatives of the above affected families visited Phnom Pehn along with complaints in order to send to the national government; such as the Cabinet of Prime Minister, Office of Councils of Ministers, the National Assembly, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the National Authority of Land Conflict Resolution to seek intervention over the matter.

Once again, on June 14, 2010 some villagers of this area came along with villagers from 24 provinces and towns to submit joint petitions in order to appeal for intervention from Prime Minster Hun Sen. However, they were not allowed to march from the front yard of Butom Vortey Pagoda to the premier’s mansion in Phnom Penh at all although all petitions were brought by an official of the Cabinet of Prime Minister. He promised to bring those petitions in order to further send to concerned institution.