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On June 1st, Global Witness published the report Cambodia's Family Trees,
which revealed that leading figures in Cambodia's government are involved in large scale illegal logging, and have been implicated in kidnappings and the attempted murder of atleast 2 activists.

Dubbed the forest mafiosi, one example of the illegal logging is the rampant exploitation of the Prey Long forest — which is critically important to the lives of some 256,000 people living in 340 villages.

Actively exploited, much of the remaining forest has been reduced to a mere 4 …

Land and Natural Resource Alienation in Cambodia
www.focusweb.org
March 8. 2007

Land is the repository of memory and keeps traces of the past in the absence of a strong written tradition. It is perceived as an open book from which anyone can read and learn about local history: place names, old roads, legends and stories attached to places. For local people, bulldozing the landscape is seen as erasing their history, and disturbing social organisations and traditions - Shalmali Guttal, Focus on the Global South, December, 2006.

Ask any Cambodian what s/he considers the foundation of society and life in Cambodia and the answer …

Vietnam’s Politburo Continues to Oppress Indigenous Peoples, Ethnic Minorities
By David M. Kinchen, Huntington News Network

February 25, 2007 - Hardliners in Vietnam’s politburo in Hanoi are obsessed with punishing, oppressing and even eliminating peoples — such as the Khmer Krom, Montagnards and Hmong Lao, that aligned themselves more than 30 years ago with the United States during the Vietnam War.

That’s the view of international human rights groups,and many others in Southeast Asia concerned with the rights of indigenous and ethnic peoples.

Founded by Ho Chi Minh, the Communist Party of Indochina is well-known in the public for the …

The Original article’s been taken down due to a complaint from the Cambodia Daily - but here are some related stories:

Reclamation of the indigenous land illegally taken in Rattanakiri
January 23, 2007 - CHRAC, NGOF, CFI, CLEC, LAC and ILO-ITP express their full support for the reclamation of the indigenous land in Kong Yu and Kong Thom villages, Pateh commune, O’yadao district, Rattanakiri, who today are filing a lawsuit to reclaim land illegally taken from them by H.E. Keat Kolney, sister of Senior Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon. The NGOs hope that the case of …

By the Khmer-Krom Federation:

For many outsiders, Vietnam appears to be doing all the right things. In fact, earlier this year the United Nations has praised Vietnam for its efforts in changing its ways and making rapid progress. In its attempt to successful join the World Trading Organization, Vietnam has certainly polished their images at the international arena.

Stories from inside, however displays a different picture. Sadly, only those living in Kampuchea-Krom could fully appreciate desperate situation that they are subjected to. Unlike the rapid ethnic cleansing that their Diem government tried to implement against the Khmer-Krom people in …

Human rights in decline in Asia
By Kathleen Hwang
www.upi.com

HONG KONG, Jan. 18 — Respect for human rights is deteriorating in many Asian countries; security forces are abusing suspects with impunity, and people are living in greater fear of those in authority, the Asian Human Rights Commission said in a report released Tuesday in Hong Kong.

The report documents state-sponsored violence, including kidnappings, torture and murder. It cites Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal as countries of special concern, and includes reports on Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Basil Fernando, executive director of the AHRC, said there …