It’s 8 in the morning... Families living in Kiri Sakor district are fleeing from their homes.
The Union Development Group, backed by the military, was burning down people’s houses.... in the latest military crackdown in the district.
Children were crying while their parents fought the authorities who marched on their community with guns.
Nearly 2000 families have been living in the area since the 1980s.
30-year-old local farmer Prak Sareth says her 20-hectare piece of land was seized by the Chinese-owned company last year and now their houses have been burnt down.
“This is our parents’ land for their sons and daughters. It’s now been seized,” she says.
“The company only provided us with a small plot of land but it isn’t enough to allow us to plant rice or bananas like we did in the past. How can we live on that?”
The mangroves and mountains of Kiri Sakor and Botum Sakor are being cut and cleared… while houses are burnt down.
A Chinese company, the Union Development Group, is planning to transform the area into a mega-tourism resort covering 45,000 hectares of combined concessions granted in 2008.
The company now holds a 99-year lease of the area which it plans to use for a 4-billion US dollar resort project.
Some families have moved to relocation sites… but Preap Ratha vows to stay even though she has already lost her home.
“We will struggle till death. We will not abandon our traditional farm lands and our profession. If we decide to leave, we will face hunger and our children won’t be able to live.”
Chan Sithan is from an NGO Forum that is monitoring the case.
He says the military crackdown and the burning of people’s houses is a serious human rights abuse.
“I think this is bad for our human rights record. Using the military to burn down people’s houses is a crime against humanity and it’s illegal. The military has no right to defend a private company. This is a serious human rights abuse”
But the governor of Kiri Sakor district Khim Chandy says there’s nothing wrong with the military crackdown.
“It’s just the result of people refusing to leave and wanting to stay without the support of the local authorities. We asked the central government to allow them to live around the area, but the government didn’t give permission.”
Back at Kiri Sakor district, many farmers are staying on to protect their land and houses…
One of the farmers So Sambath is calling for the Prime Minister to review the decision.
“The authorities have come and beaten our people. They burnt down our houses and forced us to leave without decent compensation. Now we have nothing to eat and I have no way of taking care of my sons. We want the Prime Minister to resolve the crisis.”
