Phnom Penh, 28 February 2012 — On 21 February, after a private company began bulldozing their farmland, 300 villagers from the Tumpoun minority ethnic group captured five company employees and held them hostage for two hours in Lumphat district, Rattanakiri province.
Jing Zhong Ri Cambodia Co. Ltd. (JZR) claims that it was granted a 70-year, 9,000-hectare concession in Lumphat district for a rubber plantation. According to information gathered by the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) however, the company has not signed any contract with the government. It has only been authorized to conduct an investment study.
On 21 February, affected villagers started marching towards the company’s environmental office, demanding that JZR immediately cease bulldozing their land. They caused damage to one of the company’s bulldozers and to another vehicle. The company’s environmental officer and four security guards threatened the villagers with their guns and fired shots in the air. At about 10:00am, they were captured and taken to Seda Commune Hall. There, they were detained until about noon, after mediation between villagers and the local authorities was successful.
Tumpoun representative Nuy Theb said this move was a desperate act to stop JZR’s illegal activities and retaliate to being threatened with fire arms. Villagers also complained of offensive behavior and insults on the part of the company’s environmental officer and security guards.
Although ADHOC does not support the use of violence to settle land or other conflicts, Tumpoun villagers acted to defend their rights and livelihoods against JZR’s illegal activities. Contrary to what JZR Administrator Chhay Em declared to The Phnom Penh Post, Tumpoun villagers are not “naïve” and the company’s alleged goal to promote “national development” has not been reflected in its practice. Villagers are putting up a legitimate fight for their fundamental rights, whereas JZR has breached all relevant provisions of the Land Law and the Sub-Decree on Economic Land Concessions. As in many other cases of land concessions, no consultation has been held with affected communities, no social and environmental impact assessment has been conducted, and the company started clearing the land without any legal basis.
Through trainings, ADHOC has been helping Tumpoun communities to organize themselves to defend their rights as land users and citizens. On 18 January 2012, ADHOC and the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) organized a workshop on voters’ rights and land conflicts with participants from four villages in the area (Norng Hai, Samoth Krom, Samoth Leu and Thmey village) and Seda Commune Chief. ADHOC’s Provincial Coordinator in Rattanakiri, Pen Bunna, called the media as soon as he knew about the incident on 21 February, and will continue to monitor the case and provide legal assistance to the victims, should they face criminal charges following this incident.
Seven Tumpoun representatives were summoned by the Prosecutor’s office and questioned on 24 February 2012. According to the information received, they were told not to talk to ADHOC and the media any longer, and they were threatened to accept a small compensation from JZR—which they refused. It remains unclear whether this compensation amounts to bribery.
With a view to preventing further violence, ADHOC calls on the Cambodian authorities to enforce the law by preventing private companies from illegally occupying or damaging people’s land. A claim that a land concession will be granted by the government does not amount to a title, and any activity performed on people’s land before a concession has officially been granted is in violation of their right to property.
Furthermore, even when a concession has been duly granted, relevant provisions of the Land Law and the Sub-Decree on Economic Land Concessions must be observed. They include a duty to conduct public consultations with affected people and communities and to carry out a social and environmental impact assessment, among others. ADHOC therefore reiterates its call on the authorities to protect Cambodian people’s rights to adequate housing; to ensure that evicted citizens obtain fair compensation; and to end impunity through holding human rights violators to account, regardless of their rank or social standing.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Ny Chakrya, Head of Monitoring Section at ADHOC: 011 274 959
Mr. Nicolas Agostini, Technical Assistant: 078 405 024
