Sam Rainsy Commune Councilors Provisionally Arrested and Villagers Detained

In relation to the 6 poles uprooting in Samrong commune, Chantrea district and Porng Tek commune, Romdual district, Svay Rieng province, two Sam Rainsy commune councilors were transitionally arrested and five villagers were sued and arrested for state public property.

Mr. Meas Som, the second deputy commune councilor in Bati commue, Borvit city was arrested on December 18, 2009 at 13:00 pm; and Mr. Meas Rotha, also the second deputy commune councilor in Prasat, Chantrea district was arrested by Borvit police officers on December 19, 2009. These men were captured as they were delivering Sam Rainst statement letters to villagers about Cambodian and Vietnamese border. They were sent to the Cambodian’s People Party office and forced to ask about the letters and the number of people received them.

Whereas five villagers were summoned by the provincial court to present on December 23, 2009 for the accusation of “intentionally destroying border demarcation number 185.”

Those villagers included Meas Srey, 38, a widowed with two children, Meas Phally, 39, with three children, Prak Ken, 31, with a child, Suan Sean, 29, with three children and Prom Chea, 48, with four children. They are farmers, from Koh Kbal Kandal village, Samrong commune, Chantrea district.

On December 23, they all were asked to clarify at the court, but 3 of them came. After asking one by one about the accusation, the Investigating Judge Long Kesor Perum decided to transitionally detain them, but one of them Ms. Meas Phally escaped from the arrest; except for Ms. Meas Srey and Mr. Prum Chea.

Previously, on October 25, while Mr. Sam Rainsy and villagers brought food to give to monks in Ang Rumdegn Pagoda, and also visited the Cambodian and Vietnamese border there, six wooden poles were pulled up by villagers there. They accused that the demarcation had been stood on the villagers’ rice field.

Chantrea villagers, including those five villagers, also asserted the poles were in their rice field; therefore they should be ripped up.

According to the investigation, many lawmakers, including Mr. Sam Rainsy, Mr. Eng Chai Eang, Mr. Son Chai, local officials and villagers claimed that those wooden poles had really been placed in their rice fields, as well as in Cambodian territory. The residents said that the border between the two countries were away about two kilometers from the area. In addition, when the Joint Border Committee of these countries measured the border, they did very secretly. The villagers and other stakeholders had not been allowed to know that. This also showed the non-transparency of the act.

It is seen that the arrest of the two councilors and the court’s decision were made due to political pressure. This did not follow the role and legal procedure. These violated freedom of access to information, freedom of expression and basic rights of these villagers to have appropriate standard of living, as stated in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Moreover, Cambodian territory cannot be the subject of invasion. Article 2 of the Cambodian Constitution, “The territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia, shall absolutely not to be violated within its borders as defined in the 1/100,000 scale map made between the year 1933-1953 and internationally recognized between the years 1963 - 1969.”