Cambodia News, (Preah Vihear): Nokor Dragon News has reported claims from villagers living near Phnom Dek village, Romney commune, Rovieng district, Preah Vihear province that a large-scale forest clearing operation is taking place at the present time. They say that large machinery arrived in the area yesterday, 15 September 2023, and began to destroy forests belonging to the state, cultivated by the Preah Vihear Provincial Forestry Administration. The local people were concerned about this deforestation and they contacted journalists to investigate whether it was legal or not..


According to local sources, a person named Seila, a manager of Global Green (Cambodia) Energy Development Company, had installed the machines to clear the forest land. When contacted by journalists, Seila said by telephone: "Where did the information come from? If I use a bulldozer, I only follow my company rules and I work with the authorities here." He then hung up and turned off his phone.

Subsequent attempts to contact somebody in authority - Mr. Hor Bun Hour, Governor of Rovieng District, Preah Vihear Province, Mr. Ong Vuthy, Acting Governor of Preah Vihear Province, Mr. Peng Trida, Director of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Preah Vihear Province, or Ms. Im Rachana, Undersecretary of State and spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries - were equally fruitless. Everyone that was contacted either refused to answer calls, or they denied any knowledge of the forest clearing operation in Phnom Dek village, Preah Vihear province.
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