Cambodia News (Banteay Meanchey Province): On 9 December 2022, residents in Kang village Va, Sangkat Kampong Sva, allege that the Konai Company has conspired with local officials to block access roads to Kang Va mountain range by placing stones and erecting fences with barbed wires to encroach on Kang Va mountain range state property and community land. The state property that has been fenced off is located in Serey Sophorn City, Banteay Meanchey Province.

Residents of Kang Va and Pong villages in Kampong Svay commune said that some officials, with the agreement of the owner of Konai company, blocked the community road to a plantation and fields near the mountain range with large stones.
Villagers said that the Konai company also built a fence with barbed wires to fence off Kangva mountain, saying that the state mountain land was the subject of a mining license granted to the company, and hence the mountain has now become private land and there is no public access.

According to the director of the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Department of Mines and Energy, Mr. Sot Vathana, once the company has dug up and removed all the minerals from the state land, the company will return the land to the state.

However, he said that it is the responsibility of the village, commune, city and provincial authorities to find out why Konai company took large stones to plant poles and barbed wire to block the road; but he will send officers to visit, evaluate and report the road block complained by people.

UPDATE
The PM Weighs In

Cambodia News, (Phnom Penh): Following a complaint from the people located at the point of Kang Va mountain range in Kang Va village, Sangkat Kampong Svay, Serey Sophorn city, Banteay Meanchey province, Samdech Techo HE, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, has reacted with an order to the Banteay Meanchey provincial authorities to remove all road blocks and fences.

The Konai Company had blocked the access to the road with big stones and constructed a barbed-wire fence on state land, preventing the passage of local people, including farmers and livestock. The Konai company has been informed of the decision, and on the morning of December 23, Mr. Ou Rathrey, the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Governor, sent youth workers to Kang Va to dismantle the fences and remove the boulders.

After the reaction and order of Samdech Prime Minister HE, the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Administrative Unit Command on the morning of December 24, 2022, set up a sub-committee to manage the conservation and development of the state land at that point.