ponhea leu, Kandal Province – About a hundred Kampong Os commune villagers sat in a circle on Thursday morning, listening to commune officials argue over a proposed road designed and sponsored by controversial land developer Dy Po.
The debate between a Dy Po representative and the officials, over a road near the 1,700 hectares of state-owned, flooded forest that Dy Po has been accused of trying to buy from the villagers, continued for hours.
By noon, villagers said they had no clear understanding of whether the road would be built, or what would happen to the land where they farm.
Dy Po’s representative, Taing Eav Khy, said the developer wanted only to help the villagers, adding that the proposed 2.1 km road would improve their quality of life.
But commune officials said they were concerned that Dy Po was trying to strengthen his claims to the vast swath of state land he has been eyeing. And villagers said they feared they would have to pay tolls to Dy Po to use the road.
At one point, Tim Thon, the commune’s first deputy chief, angrily read a letter from the Ministry of Agriculture prohibiting Dy Po from encouraging villagers to clear the land and sell it.
Minister of Agriculture Chan Sarun last week ordered Dy Po to stop offering cash to the villagers for their land. Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay and Environment Minister Mok Mareth have accused him of attempting to acquire the land through gifts and cash.
On Thursday, Son Chhay said the road proposal only demonstrated Dy Po’s continued aspirations to own the land.
“It’s just a pretext. It’s what he has done before, with an aim to own the flooded forest,” Son Chhay said.
Taing Eav Khy said that was not the case.
“Don’t worry, [Dy Po] has contacted and received the support from the top,” he said.
He added that National Assembly President Heng Samrin has endorsed the request to develop the land to help the local community, and forwarded it to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“Dy Po will not turn it into a fishing farm,” he said.
