The president of the Cambodian Independent Farmers' Association, Chham Chha-ny, has
sent a letter to King Norodom Sihanouk protesting the decision of Phnom Penh's Municipal
Court that rejected his organization's complaints on logging.
CIFA brought a case against Prime Minister Hun Sen and former Co-Prime Minister Norodom
Ranariddh in November 2001 for what it described as "their responsibility in
the destruction of Cambodia's forest since 1993, which led to unprecedented floods
in 2000 and 2001, causing the death of hundreds of villagers" as well as crops,
personal belongings and property.
The court prosecutor rejected the case, saying that floods were natural disasters,
and that deforestation played no part in them.
In his statement, Chhany blamed the two former co-prime ministers, focusing on logging
concessions given to Cambodia's army as well as those given to logging concession
companies.
Industry experts and NGOs say that Cambodia's forests have been badly mismanaged
over the years. The government is currently engaged in various forestry reforms after
pressure from donors to reform the logging industry.
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