Police Broke up Villagers from Boeung Kak Lake

Around 200 people from Beoung Kak area in 8 villages, Srah Chork commume, Daun Penh district, on August 23, 2010, were planning to organize a public forum at the National Institute of Education in order to discuss together and find out way to solve their problems of which they said it resulted from the sand dredging by Sukaku Inc to fulfill the lake; and at the moment it is flooded all over. However, the plan was prohibited by Srah Chork authorities.

Failing to meet their goal, those villagers from the above location continued moving to protest in front of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house near the Independence Monument. On the way they also had minor clashes with 250 police officers. The policemen held in hands with electric batons and shields. Again and again, these groups of armed forces tried to suppress the residents’ access to the premier’s.

Once again, in the presence of Human Rights observers, national and international journalists about 20 to 30, at the park outside Hun Sen’s home, the police forced the villagers to do the demonstration at the front yard of Butom Vortey Pagoda, instead.

One of the victims, named Ing Navy, who lives in village 23, Srah Chork commune, Daun Penh district reported to the media that the people had raised $450 in order to hire a place at the National Institute of Education to hold a public forum so that they together could have time to find out resolution from the government because their house are being flooded higher and higher. Unfortunately the authorities in Srah Chork banned it and told them to conduct it at the Red Cross Hospital; but the hospital was closed. So they decided to protest before the Prime Miniser’s house.

In the protest, Mr. Kong Chamreun, the representative from the Cabinet of Prime Minister, met with the villagers and asked them to newly prepare another set of complaints and submitted to the cabinet.

Boeung Kak area has been subjected to rent to Sukaku Inc. for 99 years since 2006. The project has affected approximately 4,252 families, who’ve lived around the area for a few decades before the development project. Subsequently villagers were forcedly evicted by the Cambodian government’s armed forces and company’s security guards; and provided with inappropriate and unjust compensation. Since the project was introduced into the area, the people have been living in a nightmare. They have faced a lot of difficulties and problems. They are not only intimidated by the local authorities, the company’s securities or police, who were hired by the company, but also confronted to send to resettle about 25 kilometers in a new area without sufficient infrastructures; such as roads, schools, referral hospital and sanitation.