Cambodia's First Lady Bun Rany Hun Sen involved in evictions of poor peasants from their land

By Khmerization
Source: Free Press Magazine

There are reports that Lady Bun Rany Hun Sen, wife of Prime Minister Hun Sen, has been indirectly involved in the forced evictions of poor peasants from their lands in Veal Veng district of Pursat province.

The reports said that after the government announced the opening of the Khmer-Thai border at Veal Veng and designated the areas as an economic zone, MDS company, owned by Oknha Try Pheap, moved in to evict the people living in Sangkum Thmey village in Thmor Da commune of Veal Veng district from their lands.

Villagers said that provincial authority told them that no one dares to intervene because Lady Bun Rany had shares in the MDS company. Vallagers also said that MDS representatives also told them that MDS is owned by Lady Bun Rany.

Villagers, who are families of former Khmer Rouge soldiers, said that the government had given these parcels of lands to them to live when they defected and re-integrated into the national army in 1998. They said they had documents of ownership issued by commune and district authority to prove that they are the rightful owners of these parcels of lands.

However, on 1st of November, MDS brought in heavy machinery and deployed a large number of troops to protect the lands while the machinery started to bulldoze their houses, crops and fruit trees they have cultivated, saying it has received concessions from the government to develop the areas. The villagers confronted the troops and MDS representatives and were forced to flee to the jungle after troops attempted to arrest them. However, they agreed to return homes after human rights group Adhoc, Licadho and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had intervened.

Mr. Bee Born, another former Khmer Rouge soldiers who faced evictions and whose house and crops faced being bulldozed, said MDS plans to bulldoze 950 hectares of lands belonging to 84 families.

Villagers said they had sent petitions to human rights groups and other international organisations requesting them to intervene to stop MDS' actions or to ask the company to pay them compensation at the market price.