On 1st April 2013, 43 families from Thmor Da commune, including nine families from Ekapheap village and 20 families from Sangkum Thmey village, Veal Veng district, Pursat province travelled to Phnom Penh with a view to filing a complaint with the Prime Minister’s cabinet, as their plots of land were excluded from the land-titling scheme that was initiated in June 2012 and is implemented by youth volunteers. Thmor Da commune is located near the Cambodia-Thailand border at O’Plok Domrey checkpoint.
The villagers decided to submit their appeal to the Prime Minister’s cabinet after the competent local authorities joined a public ceremony to announce the results of land measurement operations in Pursat province. The ceremony was held inside the headquarters of Battalion 825 of the Border Patrol Police, on 27 March 2013. Residents of the areas attended the ceremony, during which detailed data regarding individual plots/titles were to be presented. However, they soon realized that their names did not appear on the list. They raised their concerns with the local officials and requested clarifications. Unfortunately, land management officials and youth volunteers were unable to provide them with any explanation.
According to the Sub-Decree 46 on systematic land registration, people who are denied land titles have a right to lodge an appeal before the permanent administrative commission of the relevant province, up to 30 days after an announcement was publicly made on land titling. In this case, however, the head of the provincial Land Management Department failed to inform the villagers of their rights and of the existence of the administrative commission.
The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) investigated the case. We found out that following the 27 March ceremony, statistics and data about land titling had been stored inside the Border Patrol Police headquarters. The public has had no access to them. Moreover, the authorities showed no intent to help the villagers, arguing successively that they lived too close to the border; inside a protected area; or in a disputed area. In reality, the villagers’ plots were reserved by the authorities for a private company, called MDS, owned by tycoon Try Pheap.
On 3 April, the representatives of the victims went back home after ADHOC assisted them in submitting their complaint to the Prime Minister’s cabinet. The latter’s staff noted the representatives’ names and promised to respond within a week. However, they went home without peace of mind, as they have been harassed and verbally abused by local authorities.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Chan Soveth, Deputy Head of ADHOC’s Land and Natural Resources Rights Program: 016 937 591
