Baby Hor on his barking mission ... yet again: This time it's the BBC's turn to get his ire

Hor 5 Bora (aka Baby Hor)

Response to Ms Gwyneth Williams of BBC Radio 4 January 13, 2011

Ms Gwyneth Williams
Controller
BBC Radio 4
Broadcasting House
London W1A 1AA

Dear Ms Williams,

While giving the superficial appearance of being unbiased and even-handed, your reporter Mukul Devichand appeared to be pursuing a very clear agenda; the intention being to discredit the Royal Government of Cambodia and sully its reputation.

In his article to complement the programme which appeared on several BBC websites, Mr Devichand’s argument that Cambodia is a “Country for Sale” seemed to bear an uncomfortable similarity to the ferocious and malicious allegations made against the Cambodian Government in recent years by the international pressure group, Global Witness.

One can only hope that the BBC has not been misled by this politically-motivated and discredited body which seems to specialize in spouting ever more irresponsible statements and misinformation.

The issue of land allocation and management in Cambodia is delicate and complicated and there are no easy solutions. You may be aware that during the Khmer Rouge regime all land deeds were burned which has meant the whole torturous process of establishing rightful ownership has had to be started again from scratch.

I can assure you however that the Royal Government of Cambodia is doing everything it can to speed up the process of land registration and is totally committed to issuing documents to ordinary citizens. To date, more than two million such land deeds have been dispatched. Steady progress is also being made by Cambodia’s Cadastral Commission in resolving land disputes involving farmers and other households. By 2015 it is expected that 65% of all land in Cambodia will have been re-registered, with 48.75% owned by individual farmers. So to give the impression (as your programme did) that the Government is actively favouring foreign investors at the expenses of its own citizens is completely false.

At the same time, the Royal Government of Cambodia is happy to acknowledge the importance of opening up opportunities to foreign investors in order to improve the management of state-owned lands which will help Cambodia achieve its national goal of eliminating poverty by improving food production and the security of its national resources.

I appreciate if the content of this letter could be broadly broadcasted and circulated.

Yours Sincerely,

Hor Nambora

Ambassador of Cambodia to the Court of St James’s

London, United Kingdom