Government to investigate illegal Mondulkiri land grabs
MINISTER of Interior Sar Kheng issued a directive on Thursday establishing an interministeria l working group to study i l lega l forest la nd occupation and encroachment of protected areas i n Mondulkiri prov ince.
Sar Kheng assigned Minister of Interior secretar y of state Ang Mongkul as head of the working group and Ministr y of Environment secretar y of state Neth Pheaktra as his deput y, a long wit h 11 other members from relevant ministries and units.
“This inter-ministeria l working group is tasked with studying each case of occupied forest land i n Mondulk iri prov ince and collects documents and ev idence for of ficia ls,” he said.
The directive states t he group has to study and propose proper solution measures for each case accordingly while cooperating with t he releva nt sub-nationa l aut horities.
The working group has to prepare reports on field study results and solution measures and ask Sar Kheng’s permission to decide the case.
Adhoc Mondulkiri provincial coordinator Eang Mengly said it is good that Sar Kheng has set up an inter-ministerial working group to study cases of illegal forest land occupation in protected areas in the province. But he expressed concern over the group’s performance.
“Concerning sett ing up t his inter-ministeria l working group, it is important t hat t he Minister of Interior understands t hat clea ring, grabbing and occupying i llega l forest la nd in natura lly protected areas is rea l ly complicated and systematica lly collusive,” he said.
He said when illega l forest land had been encroached upon on a large sca le in the past, t he prov incia l aut horities have never had measures to stop them.
Mengly also called on the inter-ministerial working group to take serious measures against offenders no matter who they are or how wealthy or powerful to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement and cut off all cancerous diseases affecting the sub-national level.