Some 400 families in Preah Vihear province have been given 15 days to vacate their farmland, which they have cultivated since early 2012, to make way for an economic land concession (ELC) that was granted to a Chinese-owned company. The eviction order has been viewed as a violation against human rights by a civil society group.
On Monday, about 100 people from two districts in Preah Vihear province gathered in Phnom Penh to submit a petition to the office of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet and the Land Management Ministry following last week’s order by the provincial authorities to villagers to leave their land by the middle of April this year.
The villagers said the dispute involves nearly 397 farming families who work on the land that has been given to China Great Cause (Cambodia) Investment. The company was granted 5,980 hectares of land as part of the ELC in Rovieng and Sangkum Thmei districts in 2012.
Villagers had been farming without issue until last year when company representatives and authorities began collecting information on land use, culminating in last week’s eviction order which said that villagers have been found living on the company’s undeveloped land.
Resident Mut Chheat, who came to Phnom Penh to submit the petition, said the villagers would continue the protest until a solution is reached despite the eviction deadline.
“We don’t trust the commune and provincial level authorities because they pressured us by offering 1.2 million riel [approximately $300] compensation to move out. If we do not accept it, they said they would handcuff us or send us to court and imprison us,” he said.
“We’ve been cultivating this land since the [early] 2020s and it is our source of income. If they take it away, we cannot survive. As such, we do not agree to the compensation,” Chheat said, adding that the amount offered is “too small”. His land measures nine hectares.
“We only need land for cultivating. We don’t need compensation,” Chheat said.
A Preah Vihear Provincial Administration notice dated March 27, 2026 states that the government granted the ELC title to agro-industrial China Great Cause through a sub-decree on February 24, 2012.
It said the company had completed the legal procedures to register the state land, obtaining seven land titles totaling 5,871 hectares, and has carried out cultivation in phases. However, some portions of the land remained empty which led to residents allegedly encroaching and occupying the registered state land, thus obstructing their investment activities.
After multiple rounds of mediation between the residents and investor, the latter agreed to resolve the matter through a win-win mechanism by offering residents who allegedly occupied the registered state land 1.2 million riel per hectare to vacate within 15 days from March 30.
Operations director Am Sam Ath of NGO rights group, Licadho, said the 15-day deadline ending April 13 is very short, noting that authorities should try to find solutions that do not include forced eviction, which is a “serious violation of citizens’ rights”.
“The fact that citizens lived and farmed on the land is due to the local authorities permitting them. So, when there is a problem, authorities should not blame citizens. Instead, they need to seek peaceful solutions to avoid forced eviction,” Sam Ath remarked.
He said before granting ELCs, authorities and relevant institutions must implement the sub-decree on ELCs and land law, and ensure that prior consultation with local authorities and affected citizens are conducted. There should be a resolution beforehand, as well as an environmental impact assessment report.
Preah Vihear provincial deputy governor Kim Chanpanha echoed their statement but appealed to villagers to cooperate and accept the compensation policy offered by the company.
“We will try to [strike a] compromise with the villagers so they leave peacefully,” he said.
The provincial notice states that it “does not intend to evict villagers”, however, Chanpanha mentioned, the land belongs to the state and has been leased to the company.
There are about 150 families in Sangkum Thmei district, where 48 families have agreed to accept compensation, while in Rovieng district, around 300 families are living on private state land. “The authorities are working to find a solution.”
“In Rovieng, as a first step, we have only issued notices to the villagers and worked with the company and a working group to resolve the issue by offering compensation, like a fee for the villagers on the land that has been cleared,” he said.
Land Management Ministry spokesperson Seng Louth, government spokesperson Pen Bona, and a representative of the Chinese firm could not be reached for comment.
