Sweden’s Cecilia Wikström says she was horrified at the suffering forced upon impoverished Cambodian villagers by some of the country’s wealthiest businessmen-politicians.

After visiting several sugar concessions in southern Cambodia, Ms. Wikström says people have been "physically, mentally and psychologically" wounded. She says the problem is "blood sugar" from Cambodia, which is being exported to Europe and all over the world. On her visit she met numerous villagers who had been beaten and evicted from their land - in many cases without compensation or judicial recourse. She refers to it as "shameful" and believes the EU must do something to stop it.

The sugar barons are members of Cambodia’s political elite who have in recent years benefited from huge land concessions, which they have planted with sugar cane.

"Everything but Arms"

Around a year ago Cambodia sent its first shipment of 10,000 tons of sugar to the EU under the "Everything but Arms" initiative (EBA), EU’s trade preference scheme for developing countries. It allows low-income countries to export certain goods to the EU with zero tariffs and no quotas. Sugar producers are also guaranteed a minimum price for their crop. The idea is to help the poorest gain access to one of the world’s richest markets.

But land rights groups say the scheme has fuelled massive human rights abuses. Last year they called on the EU to suspend preferential access for Cambodian sugar after numerous reports that concession-holders were forcing thousands of rural people off their land.

Wikström says she will push for action in the EU, as she believes the provisions on EBA "should be suspended when it comes to sugar and some agricultural products." She adds that the EBA was originally intended to be "a very, very good thing" that would "empower people" and "lift them out of their poverty" by increasing exports from Cambodia to Europe. "And it functions as far as I know when it comes to the garment factory industry."

"Cancel trade preferences"

Phnom Penh does not agree with Wikström’s conclusions, and as far as the government is concerned, she has been misinformed. Government spokesman Phay Siphan says Wikström is acting as a mouthpiece for the political opposition, and claims most villagers in the affected areas are satisfied.

But it is clear that many villagers are not satisfied. One villager from the southern province of Koh Kong told reporters that 252 families were thrown off their land in his village, and have tried for years to get justice through the local authorities, national authorities and even the courts.

People in Europe need to understand what is going on, says Wikström, as the topic has not really been the "focus for public debate in Europe." Wikström, who was on a private visit to Cambodia, admits that getting the EU to suspend or cancel trade preferences for Cambodian sugar will take a long time, if it even happens at all. But she says her visit has left her with a bitter taste, and she has promised to take up the cause of hundreds of impoverished Cambodian families in the corridors of power in Europe.

Author: Robert Carmichael
Editor: Sarah Berning