Seriously. Preah Sihanouk forestry department is blaming local villagers for deforestation in their area and is taking them to court. Apparently their case is that in 2013 somebody from the village chopped down a couple of trees on government land.
Talk about big guns against small potatoes, and pot/kettle/black, and the list goes on

But I guess it's not so surprising. 'Someone' has to be to blame for Cambodia's massive and rapid deforestation. And so much the better if the villains are poor small farmers

Government Sues Villagers for Deforestation
A decision by the government to proceed with a court case against a group of people accused of cutting down trees on government-owned land has angered lands rights activists and environmentalists.

The case was filed by the forestry department in Preah Sihanouk province against a group of local residents.

Local residents and activists have called the case a miscarriage of justice and accused the government of double standards for prosecuting those accused of forestry crimes.

Ordinary citizens, they said, were being punished for cutting down a few trees, while large corporations cleared forests with impunity.

Sam Sophat, a representative of 68 families in Prey Nob district’s Samrong commune, said he has asked for a delay in the December 19 hearing in the provincial court because he does not have a lawyer.

The 68 families have lived in Ou Trachek Chet village since 1993 and have been farming 240 hectares of land in the village since then.
In 2012, Mr. Sophat said forestry department officials came to the village and said the land was owned by the government. He told Khmer Times that no one in the village had ever cut down trees outside the 240 hectares they had been farming.
Mr. Sophat has been ordered to appear in court to answer questions about someone allegedly cutting down trees on state land on June 29, 2013...
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/33180/ ... restation/

Chuckle of the day. I ca always count on one absurdity a day from the powers that are.

Many small groups of villagers are organizing themselves into larger groups in an attempt to fight back against injustices by those in power. There was a protest in Sihanoukville yesterday representing over 25 communities from all over the province, calling for a just resolution to their land disputes.

Coastal Land Rights Protest Rages On

The prime minister’s call for provincial governors to help solve land disputes has fallen on deaf ears, according to members of a group of 500 protesters who demonstrated in front of the Preah Sihanouk provincial government hall yesterday asking for an expedited land titling process and an end to politically motivated court charges.

The 500, representing 1,082 families from 25 communities across the province, said they had all been affected by land disputes with “powerful” people and private companies.

[Sam Sophat, a community representative from Ou Trachekchet village, said]“We request the competent authorities, please come to measure and solve our land dispute. We are people who have suffered for many years in 25 communes of the province,” he said, adding that members of their delegation had been slapped with a variety of charges by the local court due to their continued protest.

According to their letter to the government, the 1,082 families have lost a total of 1,325.75 hectares of housing and farm land in Stueng Hav and Prey Nob districts to government ministries and international companies. Everyone in the community has lived there since 1993, they said...

Theng Savoeun, the general-secretary of the Coalition of Cambodia Farmers Community, said citizens came out in large numbers to protest in the province because the area had seen persistent land grabbing and resource extraction by private companies.
“The problems in their communities have existed for nearly 10 years, but they still have not gotten an appropriate solution,” he said. “The authorities and companies have conspired to take land from people and file complaints against the land owners. This is a serious injustice.”

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/33329/ ... -rages-on/