About 10 village representatives from Stung Treng’s O’Svay commune gathered outside the provincial hall on Wednesday, calling for government action after a timber company previously documented for illegal logging in the province allegedly cleared their farmland.
The group was quickly told to return home by a provincial official, who said the governor was not in his office.
On July 1, forestry and district officials said they inspected excavation activities by a company known as T.S.M.W., which was granted an economic land concession in the province in 2022. The firm has previously been documented clearing forest well beyond its concession boundaries and is linked to a tycoon known locally as “Oknha Chey.”
Residents from seven families in Y Bu village say the company encroached nearly 900 meters into their farmland, claiming the area as its own.
Villager Kan Yun, 52, said the clearing began last Monday and has affected about 50 families. Nearly half of his 86-by-500 meter plot, which he has farmed for more than a decade, was cleared, he said.
Yun said excavator operators refused to name their employer, so he could not confirm if the company involved was T.S.M.W.
“But I know the company is involved with sawmills,” he said, echoing the murkiness villagers and journalists have faced when trying to trace the firm’s ownership and operations.
According to documents reviewed by CamboJA News, villagers filed for communal land use rights in 2022, endorsed by the commune chief, but have yet to receive official titles.
Yun’s wife, Kat Channy, also expressed frustration over the lack of compensation or government intervention.
“I am not happy that they came to clear the land without offering any compensation,” she said. “They [provincial officials] told us to leave because the governor wasn’t here.”
CamboJA News was unable to reach the provincial governor. But deputy administration chief Men Kung said a joint working group is “inspecting the site where villagers have reported a land dispute.”
“I am waiting for the results of the inspection,” he said, declining to comment further.
O’Svay commune chief Seng Channary also declined to comment
A call to the number listed for T.S.M.W. in the public business registry did not go through.
