The New Straits Times
BANGKOK: Global Witness, a group that campaigns on resource issues,
has accused Vietnamese rubber companies of illegally seizing swathes of
land in Cambodia and Laos, and committing rights abuses in collusion
with those governments.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and state-owned Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG),
two of Vietnam’s largest companies, used thuggish tactics to evict
people in Cambodia and Laos from forest land they depended on for their
livelihoods, the group said in a report published on Monday.
HAGL dismissed the accusations saying it strictly conformed with laws in the countries in which it operated.
“I am completely surprised by this,” the chairman of the HAGL Group, Doan Nguyen Duc, told Reuters.
“I can affirm that these accusations are all fabrication and
vilification ... I am unpleased when they issue the accusations without
meeting us and working with us.”
VRG cold not be reached for comment. Thuk Kroeun Vutha, secretary
of state at Cambodia’s Environment Ministry, declined to comment because
he had not seen the report, and Laotian officials were not
available.
Land grabs have become a flashpoint for tension in all three Southeast
Asian countries, where criticism of governments is rare and often
stifled.
Global Witness said the clearance of land with little or no
compensation had impoverished tens of thousands of people who had few
avenues for recourse in countries dominated by single political parties
and tycoons connected to the establishment.
“We’ve known for some time that corrupt politicians in Cambodia and
Laos are orchestrating the land-grabbing crisis that is doing so much
damage in the region,” Megan MacInnes, in charge of land issues for
Global Witness, said in a statement.
“Often, the first time people learn of a plantation is when the company bulldozers arrive to clear their farms,” she said.
Vietnam, the third-largest rubber producer, is running out of land for
expanding rubber plantations, pushing companies such as HAGL and VRG
into neighbouring Laos and Cambodia.
HAGL confirmed in a statement that some of its subsidiaries grew rubber and sugar in Cambodia and Laos.
“We believe that we conform to the local laws strictly, including forest protection,” it said.
HAGL said it had built homes for the poor, schools and a hospital among
other contributions to the community and that it had invited Global
Witness to visit any of its projects.
Global Witness alleged that HAGL and VRG used shell companies and
subsidiaries to acquire leases on huge plots of land, accumulating far
more than allowed under the law in each country with the use of
political connections.
People living in the areas in question told Global Witness that HAGL
and VRG employed armed guards or used members of the security forces to
protect their interests.
In some incidents, these forces shot into crowds of protesters, burnt
down homes and beat up opponents of land grabs, they told Global
Witness. -- REUTERS
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