More than 200 people in Kampong Speu’s Oral district gathered yesterday to submit a second petition to HLH Company – an agro-business linked to Hun Seng Ny, the sister of Prime Minister Hun Sen – demanding the return of their land, community representatives said.

Villagers allege that the company is claiming more than twice the 9,500 hectares officially granted in its concession. Villager representative Nuon Soeun said that company representatives had promised to forward the new petition to district authorities.

If authorities don’t reply in two days, he said, villagers will move their protest to Phnom Penh in front of Hun Sen’s house.

Chan Sovet, senior investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said that HLH ‘‘is always urging the authorities to settle, and the authorities push it back and forth, so we do not know who the real person to settle it is”.

District and HLH representatives could not be reached yesterday.