"Hundreds of Indigenous People Clash with Developers Over Disputed Farmland", 31 January 2025

More than 200 Kuy indigenous community members clashed with workers of an agriculture company Tuesday in Preah Vihear province after the company returned, having already cleared more than 1,000 hectares of their ancestral land, the villagers said.

The clash – featuring careening tractors and knives and swords – erupted after the Kuy community held a ritual to ward off Santana Agro Products Co. Ltd., an agriculture firm owned by Preah Vihear Deputy Governor Ouk Kimsan, Radio Free Asia reported.

The Kuy indigenous community claimed that the company has cleared nearly 300 hectares of forest in two villages – Dang Phlet and Narong – in Chheb district over the last month, calling it their farmland.

Meanwhile, Nop Vuthy, spokesperson of Preah Vihear province, said authorities have “resolved the issue” and “both parties have agreed to end the protest.”

… Kong Sreyneat, a Dang Phlet village resident in Chheb district, told … she’s unsure who owns the land Santana Argo Products is allegedly clearing. But she said tractors have been clearing villagers’ farmland since January without warning.

Recalling the … incident, Sreyneat said villagers tried to block the company’s heavy machinery with their motorbikes as it rolled in to clear more land. But workers plowed through, displacing them and damaging several bikes…

Sreyneat, who is indigenous, said clearing farmland and sacred sites has deeply disrupted their way of life.

… Poek Sophon, executive director of the Polnok Khmer Organization, warned that land disputes and violence in Dang Phlet and Narong villages could escalate if provincial authorities do not intervene. Despite the government’s vow to stop granting economic land concessions, private companies continue clearing forests and rice fields, even in protected areas, he mentioned…