People form Trapang Popel Thmei, Ta Siem commune, Svay Leu district, Siem Reap province asserted their land has been grabbed by soldiers from Small Unit 63 of RCAF in Phnom Khnong Camp. Up to now about 30 hectares of land have been cleared; and this affected 20 families there.
For instance, Mrs. Oam Lao from the above area said that she has lost one hectare of which she has lived on for 3 years. Another villager, named Rin Ry, reported that he has also lost hectare of his land, where he has also lived for 5 years. The villagers have filed a complaint with district authority, but their problem has been ignored.
Related to this issue, Mr. Chum Phan, Vice President of the above Unit denied what the villagers have mentioned above. He also added that the site is located in Koulen Phnomtep Wildlife Sanctuary, which is the protected area. Therefore his people did not clear villagers’ land at all.
However Ta Siem commune chief Tom Ren indicated that the soldiers had really cleared the villagers’ land. He also sent the report to district authority to deal with the issue. Whereas Svay Leu district council chief stated that he had received the report, but not yet visited the area. He was waiting until concerned committees came to conduct further investigation.
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