LYP Group [the so-called] belonged to Ly Yongphat, a business tycoon and a Senator from the Cambodian People’s Party [CPP]; and Udam Seima owned by a Thai businessman. The two companies have been transporting the sand from Koh Kong province to Singapore. They also harmed the standard of living of about 1,397 families in Dang Tung commune and many others in other communes, deteriorating the amount of fish to be caught. The demonstration took place once again after their request had not been solved since the first protest occurred on October 19, 2009.
Mr. Rain Many, 40, is a fisherman. He said that he had fished for a living for about 20 years around Koh Kong. He complained that the number of fish catches had dropped off steeply since the dredging operations began about a year ago. He added that the villagers had always relied on fishing, but at that time they could not find saltwater fish anymore because some of the fish were poisonous and some had migrated to other areas.
Another villager Mrs. Kon Sanem, 35, said her family also went fishing for a living. She accused the decrease of income of forcing her to mortgage her house in order to support her children. She added that before the dredging operations started, she had been able to earn around 50,000 riels each day, but that at the moment she could only earn 10,000 riels, claiming that vessels had been dredging at night in secret.
Mr. Mek Sein, 46, with 6 children said the people had lodged complaints with provincial authority for a few times, enclosed with the thumbprints of more than one thousand family representatives in order to ask for intervention. He raised his concerns that almost all villagers could not make both ends meet because of the sand dredging operations by the two remained companies. He revealed that before dredging the companies used a kind of chemical powder to clear for sand. This really poisoned sea lives underneath around.
On May 8, 2009 Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a ban on the export of sand abroad, citing environmental effects of sand dredging on the Kingdom’s rivers, estuaries and marine areas. He said, “In order to protect the stability of the natural environments of both rivers and marine areas, all kinds of sand-dredging businesses throughout Cambodia have to stop exporting sand outside the country.
He also asked all involved ministries – including the ministries of Environment; Water Resources and Meteorology; and Industry, Mines and Energy – to take immediate action to implement the ban.
In relation to this issue, Mr. Bun Hean, Secretary of State from Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology said he conducted an investigation into the environmental impact from sand dredging in October, 2009 and asserted that there was no impact to the fish stock from sand dredging operations. It was totally contrast to what the villagers had claimed.
The Global Witness report in February 2009, found that the Koh Kong operations on average transported around 60,000 tons each month; while Mr. Lim Sokheang, general manager of LYP Group reported during the interview with the Post that it was transported approximately 40,000-50,000 per month.
The organization report also revealed that the operation was worth an estimated $35 million annually, controlled by the local LYP Group of Companies.
Due to the investigation, it has been seen that sand dredging operations have not only impacted on eco-biological system and sea lives, but also on the standard of living of all villagers around the area. Authorities are not likely to pay attention to this issue. This act is against the international and the Cambodian Constitutional Law, saying about the role of the government authority to Cambodian citizens. It also abuses local rights to life and human dignity. Those villagers base their lives on fishing, if the sand dredging operations drop off their income, so it must affect their living condition. Therefore it also affects their rights to life.
No comments:
Post a Comment