Tea Banh: ‘Outside pressure’ triggering Koh Kong disputes

TE A Banh, t he Minister of Nationa l Defence a nd head of a nat iona l working g roup in Koh Kong prov ince, sa id on Tuesday t hat nat iona l a nd loca l aut horit ies were work ing to solve la nd disputes in t he prov ince but t hat protests were “t r iggered by outside pressure”.

He was spea k ing a f ter t he

work ing g roup issued a repor t which found t hat i n t he t hree months f rom Apri l to June, t here were 48 protests related to la nd disputes involv ing Chinese developer Union Development Group (UDG), Wildlife A l lia nce a nd specia l economic zones.

The repor t sa id la nd disputes remained an important concern because incitement f rom outsiders had caused i nstabi l it y i n t he prov ince and Phnom Penh.

Banh told The Post t hat t he working g roup had attempted to help at t he g rassroots level t hroughout t he prov ince a nd releva nt aut horit ies had been invest igat ing a nd resolving la nd disputes. “We cont inue to ca r r y out our work as t here a re a lot of people who need la nd.

“The aut horit ies a nd t hose who a re responsible for la nd have to manage it correct ly i n l i ne wit h t he law a nd t he people’s needs,” he sa id.

The aut horit ies, Banh sa id, have been ca r r y ing out a t horough invest igat ion into people who he cla i med reg ula rly i ncited v i l lagers to protest in Koh Kong prov ince a nd Phnom Penh, causing insecur it y a nd i nstabi l it y.

“I have recommended t hat act ion be ta ken under t he law. Ot her wise, public order wil l cont inue to be a f fected. This is somet hing we have to do,” Banh sa id.

Koh Kong prov i ncia l spokesman Sok Sot hy sa id severa l la nd disputes remain unresolved because some v i l lagers were demanding excessive compensation while protesters were incited by outsiders.

“There have been incitements to