Cambodia:
Indigenous Jarai take out legal case to reclaim their land
Loss of land and loss of access to natural
resources is fuelling a livelihood and economic crisis among Cambodia's
rural communities. "People are being dispossessed from their
lands by those with political power and money," writes Shalmali
Guttal in a recent report for Focus on the Global South.*
Loss of land translates into "hunger,
cash-poverty, poor health and destitution for rural communities",
notes Guttal. When indigenous communities lose their land, their
livelihoods, culture and tradition are also destroyed. "The
loss of traditional/local territories among indigenous communities
results in extremely severe consequences including sickness, destitution
and even death."
By 2004, private companies had taken
control of 2.7 million hectares of land under concession contracts.
Included in this figure are "economic land concessions",
used for industrial plantations, mining and oil exploration, fishing
and tourism. In many cases concessions are established on villagers'
land. Resistance is met by bribes to village leaders, often followed
by displays of violence from the police, military or private armed
security guards.
Some of the most blatant land grabbing
has taken place in Ratanakiri Province in north-east Cambodia.
The indigenous Jarai villages of Kong Yu and Kong Thom in O'Yadao
district provide a snapshot of what is happening throughout the
country.
In the last three years, the Jarai have
seen their land bulldozed to make way for a 500 hectare rubber
plantation. A sign on a gate to the plantation at Kong Yu village
reads, "No entry without authorisation".
The concession is owned by Keat Kolney,
the sister of the Cambodian Finance Minister, Keat Chhon. Keat
Kolney's husband is Chhan Saphan, the Secretary of State for the
Ministry of Land Management. Local authorities forced the deal
through using threats, deception and fraud. Some Commune Council
members have admitted publicly to accepting bribes to ensure that
the land transaction goes through.
In early 2004, when commune officials
first asked them to sell their land, villagers refused. Officials
then returned with a story that Prime Minister Hun Sen needed
the land for disabled soldiers and that the villagers had no rights
to the land. The villagers, who were unsure of their rights and
reluctant to create problems with the prime minister or the army,
agreed to hand over 50 hectares of land.
In August 2004, officials held a party
for the villagers, plying them with pork, beer and two large jars
of rice wine. Once the party was well under way, officials collected
villagers' thumb prints in red ink. A week later, together with
Keat Kolney, officials distributed presents to villagers including
sarongs and money. Villagers were asked to thumbprint documents
that they didn't understand.
"They told us if we did not agree
with the land sale or accept the money they would take it anyway
without pay or [even] one grain of salt," Sayo Tem, a Jarai
villager, told the Phnom Penh Post.
By the time the bulldozers started clearing
their land and forest, villagers realised that they had been tricked.
The land had been transferred to Keat Kolney, not to disabled
soldiers and the area was 500 hectares, ten times the area previously
discussed. Kong Yu villagers filed a complaint with the local
administrative offices.
In February 2006, 200 villagers gathered
at the local commune office to ask for information about the company
clearing their land and to voice their concerns. Officials accused
villagers of causing social unrest and military police threatened
to arrest villagers if any further demonstrations took place.
On 23 January 2007, the Community Legal
Education Center and Legal Aid of Cambodia filed a lawsuit at
the request of villagers to attempt to regain possession of their
land.
In Sam Ath, a representative of Keat
Kolney, argues that the thumb prints show that the transaction
is legal. "Provincial authorities hold up our plantation
as an example for newer investors," he told the Cambodia
Daily.
In fact, Cambodian contract law requires
contracts to be signed freely, among informed parties without
fraud, deception or duress. The Land Law includes protection for
indigenous land, including recognition of collective ownership.
Management of land, including transfer of rights, must be free
of official interference. Accepting bribes, to which several officials
have admitted, is also illegal.
"Ratanakiri is in crisis now,"
says Ngy San, the deputy director of NGO Forum. "Land grabbing
is out of control and it is devastating indigenous lives. Kong
Yu is emblematic of the worst of these cases. It pits the interests
of the rich and powerful against the needs of the poor. How this
case is handled by the courts will be a litmus test for land disputes
all across Cambodia."
CLEC is asking for letters
in support of the Kong Yu and Kong Thom villagers to Prime Minister
Hun Sen and to Ambassadors in Cambodia. Sample letters are available
here: http://www.wrm.org.uy/cambodia/letters.htm
* Shalmali Guttal (2006) "Land
and Natural Resource Alienation in Cambodia", Focus on the
Global South. http://www.focusweb.org/land-and-natural-resource-alienation-in-cambodia-17.html
By Chris Lang, e-mail: http://chrislang.org
www.chrislang.blogspot.com
