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| Prey Long, Cambodia 2011 [google] |
“Often, the first time people learn of a plantation is when the company bulldozers arrive to clear their farms,”
BANGKOK: Global Witness, a group that campaigns on
resource issues, has accused Vietnamese rubber companies of illegally seizing
swathes of land in Cambodia and Laos, and committing rights abuses in collusion
with those governments.
Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and state-owned Vietnam
Rubber Group (VRG), two of Vietnam’s largest companies, used thuggish tactics
to evict people in Cambodia and Laos from forest land they depended on for
their livelihoods, the group said in a report published on Monday.
HAGL dismissed the accusations saying it strictly
conformed with laws in the countries in which it operated.
“I am completely surprised by this,” the chairman of
the HAGL Group, Doan Nguyen Duc, told Reuters.
“I can affirm that these accusations are all fabrication
and vilification ... I am unpleased when they issue the accusations without
meeting us and working with us.”
VRG cold not be reached for comment. Thuk Kroeun Vutha, secretary of state at
Cambodia’s Environment Ministry, declined to comment because he had not seen
the report, and Laotian officials were not available.
Land grabs have become a flashpoint for tension in all
three Southeast Asian countries, where criticism of governments is rare and
often stifled.
Global Witness said the clearance of land with little
or no compensation had impoverished tens of thousands of people who had few
avenues for recourse in countries dominated by single political parties and
tycoons connected to the establishment.
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| More than 1.2 million hectares of land in Cambodia alone have been leased for rubber plantations [EPA] |
“We’ve known for some time that corrupt politicians in
Cambodia and Laos are orchestrating the land-grabbing crisis that is doing so
much damage in the region,” Megan MacInnes, in charge of land issues for Global
Witness, said in a statement.
“Often, the first time people learn of a plantation is
when the company bulldozers arrive to clear their farms,” she said.
Vietnam, the third-largest rubber producer, is running
out of land for expanding rubber plantations, pushing companies such as HAGL
and VRG into neighbouring Laos and Cambodia.
HAGL confirmed in a statement that some of its
subsidiaries grew rubber and sugar in Cambodia and Laos.
“We believe that we conform to the local laws
strictly, including forest protection,” it said.
HAGL said it had built homes for the poor, schools and
a hospital among other contributions to the community and that it had invited
Global Witness to visit any of its projects.
Global Witness alleged that HAGL and VRG used shell
companies and subsidiaries to acquire leases on huge plots of land,
accumulating far more than allowed under the law in each country with the use
of political connections.
People living in the areas in question told Global
Witness that HAGL and VRG employed armed guards or used members of the security
forces to protect their interests.
In some incidents, these forces shot into crowds of
protesters, burnt down homes and beat up opponents of land grabs, they told
Global Witness. -- REUTERS
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