Left: Chettra poses by a tree which appears to have been prepped for felling. Right: A letter from the Preah Vihear environment department, dismissing his claims as ‘false information’. Chettra/environment department
A group of analysts and social observers have suggested that a joint on-site investigation is conducted – or that the head of government personally calls for an enquiry – regarding the forest authorities’ dismissal of environmental activist Ma Chettra’s claims to have discovered illegal logging activities in Preah Vihear province.
Chettra recently shared what he called evidence of forestry crimes in the Chheb and Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuaries via social media. The response from the Preah Vihear Provincial Department of Environment was not the one he expected.
In a “clarification letter”, issued last Friday, May 9, the department characterised Chettra’s claims as “false information, intentionally inciting social disorder to serve the political agenda of illegal opposition groups abroad”.
Good governance specialist Ok Serei Sopheak expressed his doubts about the department’s statement, and offered some suggestions to Prime Minister Hun Manet.
He said that if the allegations raised are Chettra is true, then the environment department and ministry should initiate an investigation of the alleged times and locations before drawing any conclusions.
He noted that in the digital era, it should not be difficult to verify if the photos of the forest crimes are old or recent. If they are old, the person who shared them is clearly at fault. But if they are indeed current, then an independent body should conduct an investigation.
Environmental activist Ma Chettra posted this image of a tree he believes was felled by criminals in the Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary. Ma Chettra
Furthermore, he believed that as the case concerns environmental and social issues, it should not be politically framed. Linking the issue to politics “amounts to intimidation and implicitly demonstrates institutional weakness”, he said.
He added that prohibiting media from reporting on the issue before an investigation has been conducted is a form of intimidation that only raises further public suspicion.
“Samdech [the prime minister] has called on citizens to verify sources and avoid spreading false, inflammatory and destructive information. Before releasing its statement, the environment department surely received the green light from the Ministry of Environment, so the investigation should now be conducted by a higher-level authority,” he said.
He observed that although Cambodia’s seventh-term government has shown strong political will on governance matters, a large gap still exists between that will and the implementation by lower-level officials.
He argued that governance is the foundation of public trust in government. Hence, there may be some need to apply the “Fifth Approach”; the removal of officials whose performance is below par.
Pa Chanroeun, president of the Cambodian Institute for Democracy, has also observed repeated public disputes between environmental activists and the environment ministry, especially around issues of forest destruction. Sometimes, the ministry has accused activists or communities of spreading false information.
To address this problem, he suggested that representatives of the ministry and environmental/forest protection activists should conduct “joint patrols” to locations where violations are claimed to have occurred, with journalists included. He believes that this method would deliver justice to all parties.
Social analyst Meas Nee also viewed it as easily solvable — potentially within just one or two days.
“Just ask the villagers living near Prey Lang — they will tell you everything that is going on,” he advised.
