"Koh Kong villagers deny dispute resolved", 21 August 2019

Representatives of villagers who are locked in a land dispute with Heng Huy Agriculture Group in Koh Kong province have denied a press release from the Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, which said the dispute had already been resolved.

They urged the Minister, Chea Sophara, not to just believe in the report but investigate the matter personally to ascertain the truth.

In Thou, a representative of 197 families in Chi Khor Leu and Chi Khor Krom communes in Sre Ambel district, said … that the company cleared and grabbed hundreds of hectares of their land ...

“Villagers are protesting to demand 2ha of land per family, in total 421ha, in addition to $7,000 per family. The land grabbed by the company is worth much more than that,” she said.

The ministry issued a press release … stating that the land that the 197 families were demanding was a dispute between 120 families with Heng Huy Agriculture, but it was already resolved by local officials, the relevant authorities and the ministry. Land titles had also been issued…

Commenting on the matter, ministry spokesman Seng Lot said it was the ministry’s responsibility to issue the press release, and before doing so a technical working group had visited the area to investigate the claims.

Koh Kong provincial hall deputy governor and spokesman Sok Sothy also told … that the land dispute, which originally involved about 1,000 families, had been resolved a long time ago…