"Vietnamese agribusiness firm HAGL accused of clearing indigenous land in Cambodia", 15 June 2020

Hoang Anh Gia Lai, a publicly listed Vietnamese real estate, energy, mining and agribusiness giant, is at the center of recent allegations of clearing land in Cambodia that had been earmarked for local indigenous communities.

… According to a May 25 statement from Inclusive Development International (IDI), an NGO, ... HAGL cleared land that was meant to be returned to 12 indigenous communities in the area as part of a mediation process overseen by the World Bank-affiliated Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO)…

Mong Vichet, executive assistant director at the Highlanders Association, a Ratanakiri-based NGO focused on indigenous issues, explained the cultural importance of these lands in a phone interview with Mongabay.

“We connect to each other through the land,” Vichet said. “When the company destroys the land, it destroys the connection. The spirit forests are very important to indigenous people, as we are very poor. The spirit forests are our market; everything is there: wildlife, food, rivers, so we don’t need to buy anything.”

…, the process resulted in the Ratanakari provincial government recommending to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries that 724.3 hectares (1,790 acres) should be reallocated from HAGL’s land concession in the area and returned to local communities.

… In response to the new allegations against HAGL, the spokesperson said: “We are taking these reports seriously and are in the process of verifying facts on the ground.”…

According to Eang Vuthy, executive director of Equitable Cambodia, this is not the first time Vietnamese corporations have been accused of land-related wrongdoings in the country…