More than 200 Banong ethnic minority families in Kratie province blocked bulldozers believed to belong to a Korean company as the machines began clearing land in Sambor district’s O’Krieng commune on Saturday, officials and rights groups said.
The protesters want the company to stop all activities, as they claim that the firm has been given 7,000 hectares of land by the government that encroaches on a hilltribe forest cemetery and farmland that belongs to residents of four villages in the area.
“They were protesting the whole morning to ask the Korean company to stop bulldozing until they meet and negotiate,” said Tim Narin, provincial coordinator for local rights group Adhoc.
More than 300 families are directly affected by the company’s concession have asked Adhoc for help, Ms Narin said.
“Now they are waiting to meet the Korean company’s representatives,” she said.
Deputy District Governor Men Vanna said the land concession in Sambor district was given to a Korean company earlier in 2009, but that he could not recall the firm’s name or to what use the land will be put, as such decisions had been made at the national level.
“I was just informed from my subordinate about the protest on Saturday morning. Now the O’Krieng commune councilors are working to find a solution with the villagers,” Mr Vanna said, adding that he doubted that all of the villagers protesting were ethnic Banong. He also said the protesting villagers had not been formally recognized as the stewards of the forest in that part of the district.
“There is no approval from the government to form the forestry communities over there [in Sambor district],” he said.
Contacted by telephone Sunday, Kratie Provincial Governor Kham Phoeun said he had not been informed of the protest but that there is a committee working on the land concession. He did not elaborate.
Neither protesters nor O’Krieng commune chief San Samear could be reached for comment Sunday.
