Thirty people representing 403 families in a land dispute in Kampong Damrei commune, in Kratie province’s Chhlong district, filed a petition at the Ministry of Land Management yesterday asking for land titles after armed provincial authorities cleared their crops and settlements on June 12.

The dispute began in 2013 when authorities asked 1,351 families to relocate from Damrei Phung to Kampong Damrei commune, said representative Mul Tert.

Each family was promised 5 hectares of land, but only 948 families received 3 hectares each. The remaining families received nothing, and some were told to live on other people’s land, causing conflict.

“We are not against the government and local authorities, we only want the land legally,” Tert said, asking for an inspection of the site.

The administrative director at the ministry, Lay Phalla, said he would forward the request to the minister. Kratie Deputy Governor Khan Chamnan said the 403 families’ names were not on the list of those slated to receive land.

However, pending an investigation, “if the law allows, we will arrange a social land concession”, he said.