Land Encrochment in Takeo

On September 7, 2010 a villager, named Prum Sang Na, 34, who lives in Trapeang Trav village, Pot Sar commune, Bati district, Takeo province, reported on the phone that local authorities, communal chief and district governor in the above area in conspiracy with a land broker, have grabbed their 25-hectare land. This has affected 251 families since 2000 [but now the number has increased by about 300 families].

He added that Khon [surname is not known], 39, the land broker and also the son-in-law of the communal chief, conspired with his farther-in-law and district governor falsified document to grab the villagers’ land. However, the residents did not know that until one day in 2000, the perpetrators came along with some police officers to destroy their rice. At that time, those local authorities and Khon told the people that the 25-hectare land belonged to them, and then they warned those local villagers not to farm on the land anymore. However, he continued, this plot of land belongs to those 300 families and they have been farming for a long time, before the dispute.

For that reason, those people had protested against the perpetrators’ activities and lodged complaints with the court, from Takeo Provincial Court of First Instance to the Supreme Court, but the court issued the verdicts the villagers were the losers.

Up to now, Khon, the local authorities and the court officials have come to Trapeang Trav village, Pot Sar commune, Bati district for three times to prosecute the court’s decision- one in 2000, anther on August 2010 and the other on August 31, 2010. Each time, they destroyed all their rice seedlings. In addition, they hired some police officers to protect the site, threaten and prohibit the people from farming.

At the moment, the families are facing lack of food. They are too frightened to go farming on their land. They are looking for assistance.