Four Districts affected by Sugar Company Call to Solve

Forty Kui people affected various community submitted the petition to Chines Embassy on Wednesday 30, in Phnom Penh

On the 30-08-2017, forty-three indigenous Kui members who were affected by a sugar community travelled to the Chinese embassy and purposed to submit the petition to stop Chinese companies expanding onto native lands and building sugar canes on Wednesday. The villagers asked the ambassador to request the Cambodian government cancel economic land concessions granted to Lan Feng and Rui Feng, as well as three other related sugar plantations, which stretch over 20,000 hectares and include more than $1 billion in investment (Cambodia Daily News).

One of the villagers, Meas Kimhem, accused the companies of grabbing land outside their land concessions and poisoning nearby sources of water.

“We wanted the government to register a communal land title for the tribe people, but provincial authorities refused,” Ms. Kimhem said. “They told us that the land belonged to the state.”

Chum Sophoeut, one of five villagers who met with Chinese Embassy representatives, said the officials accepted the petition and promised to send the letter to the ambassador for consideration.

Stolen property with no recriminations suffered by foreign investor’s. It seems as if money is a universal language, and the more you have, the greater your power and ego. As per usual, the Cambodian government turns a blind eye to the actions of China, a close ally, and financial donor.

As the result, the Land Management Ministry on Wednesday announced a plan to resolve a yearlong land dispute between thousands of villagers and well-connected sugar barons by early next month, though not all affected communities were included. Moreover, the Land Management Ministry has given this job to provincial land management departments of Koh Kong, Kompong Speu and Preah Vihear provinces, to collect the identities of people and locations of the disputed land within 30 days.