Critics Say Nixing of Forest Land Titles Could Create Chaos
Critics Say Nixing of Forest Land Titles Could Create Chaos Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC Wednesday, 28 December 2011 Photo: AP Cambodia’s land issues cannot be solved by local leaders, who have for a long time exchanged land certification for bribes, said Kem Sokha, leader of Human Rights Party. “No one on any day is paying attention to the laws, but [they are] listening only to the prime minister.” Prime Minister Hun Sen has called for the nullification of land certificates in protected natural areas, but opposition lawmakers and rights groups say the edict will create widespread chaos and demonstrates Cambodia’s inability to follow the rule of law. Land issues have emerged as one of Cambodia’s biggest problems, with disputes over tracts of land across the country leading to protests, violent demonstrations and arrests. “Leadership today has caused anarchy and turmoil in society,” said Kem Sokha, president of the minority opposition Human Rights Party. “They don’t know whether to catch the head or the tail at all, if one just follows orders, follows the word of the prime minister, who acts arbitrarily and disappears. Keeping the issues for the lower levels to pursue, they can’t pursue them.” Cambodia’s land issues cannot be solved by local leaders, who have for a long time exchanged land certification for bribes, he said. An unclear land law and the decentralization of power will startle people when combined with an announcement from the prime minster to nullify land certificates in protected areas, Kem Sokha said. Speaking at a visit to a new hydroelectric dam in Pursat province on Monday, Hun Sen said he wanted to nullify land certificates in protected areas to strengthen conservation and prevent powerful officials from buying land in illegal areas.
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