Dear Editor,
In his letter in the Post of August 4, Russell Peterson added a positive observation
regarding the Government's good leadership (NGO view of forest law).
He says further that "the Government has taken the unprecedented steps of providing
compensation to project-affected people and of requesting NGOs to monitor..."
this in regard to the National Route 1 reconstruction.
I would like topoint out that the Government with the assistance of the World Bank
is in the process of providing compensation to project-affected people along NR 3
and NR 6, and that Cambodian Researchers for Development, a local NGO, not only has
conducted the inventory surveys but continues to monitor all aspects of the resettlement
and compensation. We might thus better speak of a trend of good governance than call
this an unprecedented step.
- John Vijghen, Coordinator, Resettlement Action Plan, NR3 and NR6