CHRAC, NGOF, CFI, CLEC, LAC and ILO-ITP1 express their full support for the reclamation of the indigenous land in Kong Yu and Kong Thom villages, Pateh commune, O’yadao district, Ratanakiri, who today are filing a lawsuit to reclaim land illegally taken from them by H.E. Keat Kolney, sister of Senior Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon. The NGOs hope that the case of Kong Yu will show that even the most vulnerable members of society are entitled to protection under Cambodian law.

Mr. Thun Saray, Chairman of CHRAC and President of ADHOC says, “The indigenous community land has been guaranteed and protected by law. No one shall be entitled to sell or take the land as their private or personal ownership. They shall therefore be entitled to reclaim their community land. Should their land be alienated, their culture, custom, religious believe and traditional living conditions would be lost”.

Kong Yu and Kong Thom villages are located in a remote area in Ratanakiri. As with many indigenous groups, these families speak their own language, practice swidden agriculture, and maintain animist beliefs and traditional ceremonies. The surrounding environment and landscape play a critical role in indigenous life. In spring 2004, villagers endured a series of coercive tactics by authorities designed to force them to sell their lands. Villagers were led to believe they had no choice but to sell 50 hectares, or lose their land for nothing. Villagers later learned that Keat Kolney, who is also the wife of Secretary of State for the Ministry of Land Chhan Saphan, facilitated the deal through local authorities, including Pateh commune council members, and her company has since cleared some 250 hectares of Kong Yu land. Keat Kolney threatens to clear additional areas, which will give her control of at least 500 hectares of indigenous lands.

Executive Director of CLEC Yeng Virak states: “The 2001 land law has strong protections for indigenous lands, so I see a great opportunity here for the courts to uphold the law and help Cambodia’s ever-growing land dispute problem. Legally, this is a clear-cut case of an illegal land sale, so the courts have a decision to make: either they will ignore the problem of land grabbing-or worse, condone it-or they will follow the law and be a part of the solution.”

Mrs. Peung Yok Hiep, Director of LAC, notes: "There is no clearer example in Cambodia today of the rich and powerful exploiting the poor and marginalized. And no better opportunity for the judicial system to finally play its role in upholding the law and protecting the rights of ordinary citizens against the abuse of power."

“In every country, laws and rights only exist on paper until some person or persons decide that they are going to push to actually receive those rights. The Kong Yu case is that moment for indigenous peoples’ land rights in Cambodia. The demand in this case is simple: give back the land to the community to which it rightfully belongs, and punish those who illegally stole it."

Kong Yu village representative Ms. Sev Khem says: “Even though we are small, and Keat Kolney is strong, we will still fight for our land and our rights. This is the ancestral land of our fathers and our grandfathers, and we will fight to keep it for our children and their children.”

Allegations of large-scale corruption surround the Kong Yu land deal, implicating multiple members of the Pateh commune council, the former village chief of Kong Yu, other local authorities, and the powerful Keat Kolney.

Mr. Graeme Brown Ratanakiri Coordinator for CFI said, “from our very first contact with the community after the land deal it was obvious that the community ‘sold’ land because they were told by powerful people that they had to”.

“Is receiving private gain for coercing people into illegal land deals a valid role for local authorities? If it is, it is the end of good governance and sustainable natural resource management”.

“Cambodia has quite good laws with regard to community land rights. It is of great concern to us that the implementation of the laws is being thwarted by local government officials and their families operating outside of the government mandate - and operating outside of the law”.

Mr. Ngy San, Deputy Director of NGOF, observes, “In 2005, it was Kbaal Spean and Wuzhishan. In 2006, Sambok Chap and other forced evictions. Many eyes will be on Kong Yu in 2007, and I hope that we will have better things to say about it. Ratanakiri is in a crisis now-land grabbing is out of control and devastating indigenous lives-and Kong Yu is emblematic of the worst of these cases. It pits the interests of the rich and powerful against the needs of the poor. How this case is handled by the court and government will be a litmus test for land disputes all across Cambodia.”

Mr. Sek Sophoan, Cambodia’s Project Manager, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Project (ITP) of International Labor Organization, notes “International Labor Organization, Cambodia’s Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Project (ILO-ITP) promotes the application of the international principles on development-participation and consultation. Major developments by the government without actual participation and consultation with the relevant people have frequently faced crises and problems in the process with local people in connection with land and natural resources, in particular indigenous people, which should be protected by their government. The participation and consultation do not only involve in meeting or workshop, or notification or publication, but also it is a mechanism in building peace in the development process. The participation in decision-making and in receiving benefits from the development is the crucial point in the development process with peace and sustainability.

NGOs call upon Keat Kolney to immediately return the stolen indigenous lands in Kong Yu and Kong Thom. NGOs request that the Royal Government of Cambodia immediately investigate the allegations of corruption by local authorities. NGOs further call for a moratorium on all land transactions involving indigenous lands, so that the welfare, traditions, and culture of indigenous peoples are preserved in Cambodia.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Mr. Thun Saray, Chairman of CHRAC and President of ADHOC Tel: 016 880509
▪ Mr. Ngy San, Deputy Director of NGO Forum Tel: 012 802290
▪ Mr. Yeng Virak, Executive Director of CLEC Tel: 012 801235
▪ Mrs. Peung Yok Hiep, Executive Director of LAC Tel: 012 823745
▪ Mr. Graeme Brown, Ratanakiri Coordinator of CFI Tel: 012 981226
▪ Mr. Sek Sophoan, Cambodia’s Project Manager of ILO-ITP Tel: 012 890289

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