Workers Held for Encroaching on Protected Temple Land in R’kiri

Three workers from a rubber plantation in Ratanakkiri’s Veun Sai district on Sunday were briefly detained on suspicion of clearing a forest located within a conservation area surrounding a recently discovered temple, officials said yesterday.

“Three workers were arrested and one bulldozer and one large truck were confiscated,” said Chum Ngel, Veun Sai district governor. Ac­cording to Mr Ngel, the men were found inside a 423-hectare conservation area in Phnom Kuk commune that surrounds the Preah Puth temple, which was inscribed on the country’s heritage list four years ago.

Mr Ngel noted that the conservation area was located adjacent to an 800-hectare rubber concession that has been in operation since 2007.

Chheng Lok, the owner of Kiri De­­velopment Company, yesterday confirmed that his workers had been briefly detained, but he said they were released the same day after provincial authorities formed a committee to resolve the manner.

“In fact, there was a confusion over the boundary of my economic land concession and the temple area,” he said, adding that the committee is working with provincial cultural department officials to determine the exact location of the boun­daries and erect demarcation posts to prevent future misunderstandings.

“My activities in clearing the area to build a road to reach my concession area was made within my concession zone, not near the temple,” he said.

Un Sreng, provincial director for the Department of Culture and Fine Arts, disputed that claim, noting the company cleared land a scant 100 meters from the temple’s foundation.

“It is true that this company cleared forest within the conservation area,” he said, but declined to comment on whether damage had been done.

Pen Bonnar, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said that land disputes with Kiri De­velopment have been a recurring issue.

“The economic land concession and the temple area are located in the dense forest where many rare and luxurious trees have existed,” he said yesterday. “This is further proof that the concession company is cutting down forest to plant rubber.”