Residents from Kratie province petitioned government ministries on 19 June 2024 asking for a resolution to their land dispute.

Around 60 community members who are locked in a land dispute linked to an Economic Land Concession (ELC) in Kratie province travelled to Phnom Penh to petition authorities to stop a local company from clearing their land and crops.

Earlier this morning, the families from Sambor district rode in tuk-tuks across the capital and delivered petitions to the Ministry of Interior, Prime Minister’s Cabinet office, and the Land Management Ministry. Authorities had prohibited them from marching on foot to the three destinations.

The people, representing 1,318 families from two villages in Kratie, said a local company Kasekam Youveakchun Svay Rieng Co. Ltd was clearing their land and crops, which is within a previously-dormant ELC granted in 2009 to a Singaporean company named Kamadhenu Ventures (Cambodia).

The Kratie residents’ petition asks for the government to stop the clearing of their farmland and crops, which started on 1 June. In the petition, residents said they had taken loans to pay for their farming costs and are now unable to repay their debts.

On Tuesday, during their arrival at Wat Samaki Raingsey in Phnom Penh, the Kratie residents were first prevented from staying at the pagoda and later questioned and asked for documentation by local police and authorities.