…On Saturday, provincial police, military police and Forestry Administration officials carried out what eyewitnesses have described as a violent eviction of six families from Bos Thom village in Tbeng Meanchey district’s Brame commune. The village sits in the middle of five economic land concessions held by subsidiaries of Chinese sugar manufacturer Rui Feng.

The evictions, however, appear to be in contravention of Sub-Decree 154, signed by Hun Sen on July 18, ordering that several hundred hectares be returned to the state by  Rui Feng subsidiary Lan Feng to be allocated to ethnic Kuoy families living in Bos Thom and Sre Peng villages. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said yesterday that if the sub-decree indeed involved the six families’ land, unless an overriding sub-decree had been issued subsequently, those responsible for the evictions could find themselves in jail…