Some 200 residents from four provinces made the journey to Phnom Penh to petition various government institutions. They seek intervention in settling the land disputes they have with merchants, private companies and powerful persons.
The disputed land in Tbong Khmum, Svay Rieng, Kandal and Sihanoukville provinces encompasses 191½ square kilometres and directly affects 8622 families. It was planned that 600 petitioners converge on Phnom Penh, but the authorities in Kandal and Svay Reing province forbade many coming.
These people have converged in the capital to petition the Council of Ministers; the Ministry of Land Management, Urban planning and Construction; the National Assembly and the Prime Minister himself.
Community co-ordinator of the Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC), Nhil Pheap said that these residents have been engaged in strife over land possession for more than 10 years, but with no result as yet. They now directly ask Prime Minister Hun Sen and applicable institutions for help in finding prompt resolutions.
“All affected residents suggest that the government … divide the land into parcels large enough to be farmed and lived on and to measure the land for them fairly and decently,” he said.
