Adhoc Invented Complaint, Say R’kiri Officials

Ratanakkiri province officials have ac­cused local rights group Ad­hoc of fabricating a complaint, pur­port­edly thumbprinted by more than 40 villa­gers and officials from Kon Mom and Lumphat districts, al­leging in­volvement by local auth­orities in illegal logging.

The complaint, which was sent to Prime Min­ister Hun Sen’s cabinet on March 3, alleges that luxury wood has been rapidly and continuously cut and transported in small quantities since 2002 by unidentified lo­­cal authorities.

Ratanakkiri Adhoc Coordinator Pen Bonnar said Monday that a dep­­uty district governor, a military commander, police officers, a commune chief and five other commune council members had joined vil­lagers in thumbprinting the allegations. Those who thumbprinted the complaint, who are named on the document, could not be reach­ed for comment.

Ratanakkiri Governor Moung Poy dismissed the document, which he said villagers and officials have dis­­tanced themselves from. He said they were asked to thumb­print the document at a re­cent Adhoc seminar before they could receive compensation for their travel expenses.

“In December of last year, commune councilors, people from the com­munity and district officials at­tended a seminar organized by Ad­hoc in Kon Mom district, and they had to thumbprint [a document] to get funds from Adhoc,” Moung Poy alleged.

Youkan Vimean, Ratanakkiri’s de­p­­uty chief of forestry, made similar accusations; he said forestry officials were not involved in illegal logging.

“[Adhoc used] thumbprints for other subjects to create a petition,” he alleged. “Adhoc wrote it.”

Pen Bonnar denied that Adhoc had fabricated the complaint or re­quired thumbprints for seminar cost reimbursement.

“The people and officials wrote this petition, and we have the dis­cus­sion on tape,” Pen Bon­nar said. “They were not forced. They are officials who are educated and can read.”

Pen Bonnar also alleged that both Kon Mom and Lumphat district officials have tried to force people who thumbprinted the petition to write letters denying that they had supported the complaint or witnessed any illegal logging.

 

 

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