The governor of a northern Cambodia province has promised to allocate 1,000 hectares of land between 100 families following last week’s violent clash with police over a decade-long land dispute.
Preah Vihear Provincial Gov. Kim Rithy told hundreds of villagers gathered in Kuleaen district on Tuesday that he will redesignate some of the land previously granted to Phnom Penh-based company Seila Damex in 2011.
“Your land is your land but state land is state land,” he said during the meeting, according to a video posted on Facebook. “But we must respect each other. I encourage you to live legally. We will protect your rights but don’t take state land.”
Such land disputes are common in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries as authorities give land away to developers and corporate plantations.
Seila Damex has government-approved plans to develop 9,000 hectares of land in Kuleaen district into a rubber plantation.
Some 300 families are affected by the proposed development. Local residents have relied on the land to grow crops and fruit trees, one villager told RFA earlier this week.
Hundreds of police officers and members of several other security forces clashed with local residents on March 6.
Several homes were burned down and about 40 villagers were arrested after police used tear gas to disperse about 130 land dispute protesters who tried to stop the destruction of homes.
Some of the villagers have since been released. But on Tuesday, the provincial court ordered more than two dozen protesters to be held in pre-trial detention on charges of illegal encroachment on forest land.
Kim Rithy didn’t say on Tuesday whether the villagers who protested on March 6 would be eligible for some of the 1,000 hectares of land. He has previously threatened to punish villagers who stayed on the land concession.
RFA’s efforts to reach Kim Rithy for comment on Wednesday weren’t immediately successful.
Am Sam Ath of human rights group Licadho said authorities should conduct a study to determine who is most in need of the land.
“NGOs don’t take sides but we want to see a suitable solution between authorities and villagers, especially those villagers who don’t have houses and land to live,” he said.
Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.