Cambodia News, (Preah Sihanouk Province): Five families in Koki village, Bit Trang commune, Prey Nup district, request the authorities and the port unit to help speed up what was promised.

Five families living in Koki village, Bit Trang commune, Prey Nup district, Preah Sihanouk province, confirmed that they have occupied their land for more than 30 years, but that it has been encroached upon by the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port Unit. The land is in the area controlled by the port. This problem has been going on for many months and there is no suitable solution for them yet. However, they say that they were promised compensation.

One of the residents, Mr. In Savin, described that the above land location is about 4 and a half hectares in Koki village, Bit Trang commune, Prey Nob district, Sihanoukville province. He has been living there since 1993, and his father, In Ban, and mother, Sin Thong, died in 2001 and 2002 on the same land.

He said that later, in 2005, a large amount of land in this area was purchased by the Port Unit and a title deed was issued on an area of ​​nearly 100 hectares, leaving only the land of these five families that was not sold to the port. But all the land around the area was cleared by the port and as a result their land was flooded and no good for cultivating.

Mr. In Savin continued that after their land was flooded, they went to live outside the area for a while to earn a living, but they never had any problems at that time and the local authorities also confirmed and recognized their claim.

However, at the end of 2019 to 2020, the port unit came to claim that the land they were occupying was the land of the port unit and evicted them without any solution or negotiation, and they fenced off their land.

Later, the people went to protest at the commune hall, and the port authorities called them to the port unit to mediate, they promised to find a solution to the problem, but then there was silence from the authorities and they cut off all contact.

At the same time, the affected people have submitted a request to the port authorities to help them resolve the legal process because they have been recognized by the authorities of Bit Trang commune for many generations and they have legal documents to prove it. They say they have not sold the land to the port unit or anyone else, but if the port unit claims that the land is in their title deed, it should be made public in a legal settlement. In conclusion, they are upset that the port unit now refuses to deal with them or consider their claim.

According to Mr. Rath Seila, Director of Port Administration, this land was already state land owned by the port, before the people sold it to the port, so there is nothing to negotiate with the families who are complaining that their land has been stolen.