Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Villagers decry missed meet

By May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

 AROUND 300 Kampong Speu farmers involved in a land dispute with a sugar company owned by Cambodian People’s Party senator Ly Yong Phat protested yesterday after a company representative allegedly broke a promise to attend a meeting aimed at resolving the conflict.

On Monday, villagers from Omlaing commune, in Thpong district, blocked National Road 52 in a bid to prevent Phnom Penh Sugar Company workers from clearing their farmland.

Villagers said that after they blocked the road, company representative Chheng Kimsruon agreed to a meeting at the Omlaing commune office, saying she would be “killed by a lightning strike” if she did not attend.

Phal Vanank, a local representative, said the company’s promises were just a ruse to get the villagers to clear the road.

“Everything that company has promised before is a lie, even though under the rain she dared to swear to villagers that she would die if she did not come to the meeting,” he said.

A total of 11 villages in Omlaing commune – home to more than 2,000 families – have been impacted by a 9,000-hectare concession granted to the Phnom Penh Sugar Company, which lies adjacent to a 10,000-hectare concession registered in the name of Ly Yong Phat’s wife, Kim Heang.


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