The machinery which was used to clear what the community members said was state land, which led to the 2021 protests. Supplied
Five representatives of the Metta Forest Protection Community have asked that criminal charges against them be dismissed by the Kampong Speu Provincial Court.
The five appeared in court on March 18 to face charges of “intentional property damage and public defamation”, which they say are related to a land dispute with military families.
They stand accused of committing these acts in Oral district’s Pou Meas village, in Trapeang Chour commune, between October 19 and 23, 2021.
Forest crimes reportedly continue to occur in the area.
On March 21, 41-year-old Khorn Sarith, one of the five accused community members, said that around 200 people had gathered at the court to support them.
After he and two other community members were questioned, the court postponed the hearing due to time constraints, noting that many witnesses had yet to be questioned.
During the hearing, Sarith was questioned about the events of October 2021, when hundreds of community members from four communes in Oral District protested military machinery that was clearing forest land.
They demanded that the authorities resolve the issue before further clearing took place. During the protests, a structure was dismantled, which led to a representative of one of the military families filing a complaint against them in 2022.
“Initially, more charges were filed against us, including incitement and causing social unrest, but the prosecutor dropped some. The remaining charges are intentional property damage and public defamation,” explained Sarith.
He called for the court to dismiss all charges, insisting they had done nothing wrong. “As concerned citizens, we intervened to stop the clearing operations. It was not private land – it was state-owned. We only sought a legal resolution, so we ask that these charges against us be dropped,” he said.
Chea Hean, director of the NGO Anti-Corruption, Natural Resource Protection and Civil Rights Protection (ACNCIPO), noted that the government had allocated over 260 hectares of forest land in the area to soldiers and their families.
However, some of this land was subsequently sold, and the clearing of land continued, prompting local residents to intervene.
“As a civil society organisation, we do not oppose land being allocated to military families, as many of them lack their own land. However, some of this land is being sold to private individuals, effectively turning state land into a commodity and deceiving the government. This leads to ongoing disputes, lawsuits and protests,” he said.
Hean is currently investigating the case and intends to submit a request for the relevant authorities to conduct their own investigation.
Metta community Forest is home to Buddhist temple and monks, who have resided there since 2020. It also harbours diverse wildlife, including peacocks, pileated gibbons and monkeys.
Beyond ongoing land disputes, the forest faces ongoing threats from illegal logging and poaching.
To counteract these crimes, monks and other Buddhists have placed Buddha statues in the remaining forest areas.
Unfortunately, some of these statues have been vandalised, with some of the statues even beheaded in recent years.
Nguon Veasna, Oral district governor, stated that he was currently abroad and could not comment on the case on Friday, March 21.
An unnamed district official confirmed that the dispute remains under review by the relevant authorities.
