LICADHO today called upon the Royal Cambodian Government to take urgent action in response to the unjustified violence by authorities against villagers involved in a land dispute in Chi Kreng district of Siem Reap province last weekend.

“This was extremely serious violence against villagers committed by government armed forces, and it demands a strong response by the government,” said LICADHO president Kek Galabru. “The police and other officials who committed this violence must be punished, and there must be a fair resolution to this land dispute.”

Four villagers were wounded when members of a joint force - including police, military police, border police and soldiers - opened fire on a crowd of farmers in Anlong Samnor commune on Sunday, March 22.

According to a three-day investigation by LICADHO, the use of violence by the authorities was unjustified and, contrary to claims by officials, was not committed in self-defense while they were under attack by villagers.

According to video footage of part of the incident, the gunfire began when deputy district police chief Srey Sam Ol fired one shot - in an apparent signal to other police to open fire - during a confrontation with villagers on the disputed farmland. The villagers were refusing to leave the land but were not threatening or using violence against the authorities at the time.

Immediately after Srey Sam Ol fired the shot, another policeman - Thoeun Hok, a commune policeman from Spean Thnaut commune - opened fire with an AK47, allegedly wounding two villagers. Other police or military police then also opened fire, according to witnesses, and two other villagers were struck by bullets.

The villagers have a valid claim to the land in question, according to LICADHO’s investigation. The villagers are among a total of 175 families who have been using the farmland since 1986. Their efforts to obtain legal ownership documents for the land in 2004 were twice rebuffed by local authorities, who later allegedly supported several businessmen to lay claim to the land.

LICADHO also believes that the arrest of nine villagers by police during Sunday’s incident was also not justified. The villagers have been charged with committing robbery of rice because they allegedly prevented two individuals from harvesting rice on the disputed land. Their actions clearly do not constitute robbery, particularly as the ownership of the land in question has not even been ruled upon by the court.

LICADHO urges that:

- The Siem Reap provincial court should immediately release the nine villagers arrested on Sunday.

- The Ministry of Interior should suspend Chi Kreng district deputy police chief Srey Sam Ol, who began the shooting during the incident, and Spean Thnaut commune policeman Thoeun Hok, who was allegedly responsible for shooting at least two of the four villagers, pending an investigation into their actions.

- The government should appoint a national working group, comprised of officials from relevant ministries, to investigate and resolve the land dispute in a fair and impartial manner. NGOs should be permitted to observe the actions of the working group and provide information to it. The investigation should not be facilitated by district and provincial officials who have been biased against the Anlong Samnor villagers and failed to defend their land rights in the past.

LICADHO once more appeals to the Cambodian government to declare a moratorium on involuntary evictions in Cambodia, and to take firm action to discipline and prosecute State officials who commit or are complicit in land-grabbing.

“Real action must be taken to address Cambodia’s land crisis and to ensure that authorities do not use violence against innocent villagers who are merely trying hold on their land,” said Kek Galabru. “Unless action is taken to defuse the tense land situation in the country, sadly there will likely be more shootings such as occurred in Chi Kreng.”

For more information, please contact:
▪ Am Sam Ath, LICADHO Monitoring Supervisor, 012-327-770

PDF: Download full statement in English - Download full statement in Khmer