"Hundreds From Three Provinces Urge Government to Speed Up Land Dispute Resolutions" 18 November 2022

About 300 people from three provinces are urging three ministries and the Prime Minister’s cabinet to speed up solutions for their land disputes that have dragged out for more than a decade.

On Thursday, people from Tbong Khmum’s Dambe and Memot districts, Svay Rieng’s Romeas Hek district and Kandal’s Kandal Stung district gathered to submit petitions at the Interior Ministry, Land Management Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and the prime minister’s cabinet office.

Tuon Vannak, a villager from Boeng Khyang commune in Kandal Stung district, said his community was petitioning again after failing to get a solution for their land dispute around the development of a new airport meant to serve Phnom Penh.

Vannak said he had submitted a petition five times over the course of the dispute but the authority has not offered fair compensation, promising only $8 per square meter while the price of land in the surrounding area is nearly $100 per square meter. Authorities have also deployed force to threat and intimidate people who dare to protest, he said.

“I think that it is really unfair for the people, and our property all has hard land titles,” he said. “I have not done anything against the law. I follow the law because I am a citizen who holds legal ownership.” [...]