Villagers Meeting Banned and Intimidated

A meeting between local villagers and a community based organization, called Community for Peace Network (CPN), in a village was troubled and stopped by police and local authorities on Sunday, October 18, 2009. The meeting was held in Pleak village, Chikreng commune, Chikreng district, Seam Reap province, in order to seek solution for 11 local villagers, who were arrested regarding the violence over land in March 22 of the year.

Mrs. Sam Saroeun, 50, with four children, a member of CPN and also participated in the meeting that day, said there were more than 100 people, who joined in the meeting. They were living in the village. No longer, after the meeting started, a few policemen and some other local authorities came to attend the meeting. As the villagers were discussing, they were recording and taking photos of the attendants. Then some 30 people left the meeting to hide behind the house in banana trees, whereas the others, who felt afraid, stopped talking. Mrs. Sam Saroeun also mentioned that the authorities often intimidated and asked them not to protest; especially at the court.

Based on the interview with venerable monk Loun Sovath, 25, described the story that the local authorities normally blamed the villagers of not informing them whenever they held a meeting; especially since after the event in March, 2009. Therefore this time, he and other villagers also confirmed the village chief about their meeting. There were the presence of commune councilors and communal police chief at the commune office.

After informing this to the authorities, the villagers were tripping to a house in Pleak village. Some of them came from the families whose members were arrested and the others were those who lost their land. At the mean time, three police officers and three commune councilors were chasing from behind up to where they held the meeting. First they stopped each street corner, where the villagers walked to participate in the meeting for the purpose of intimidating them. But it could not ban the villagers from going to the meeting.

When the meeting started awhile, the authorities moved closer and closer to them. The policemen were recording their voice, while the others were taking photos of the participants. This caused some thirty villagers to walk away from the meeting, and the other did not dare to speak out their plan. The police officers and local authorities stayed with the villagers in the meeting for about an hour.

On the morning of October 20, the day of those 11 people’s hearing, those local villagers were trying to get up earlier so that they could go to the court without any trouble. However, it was different from what they thought. The police also woke up early and tried to intercept them on the way. They informed about the villagers’ trip by their radio phones from one to another.

The monk added that there were also approximately 200 joint armed forces, including police, military police and anti-riot police were standing on guard around the court. Most of them were holding shields, shocking sticks and weapons. The villagers were not allowed to go in, but only a few NGOs observers were. Surprisingly when he was having coffee in front of the court at about 9:00 am, a monk, who asserted he was from the provincial department of religion, arrived. First venerable monk Sovath thought the monk might come to hear the verdict that day. But the monk asked him to get in the car. He asked for the reason, he replied when you got in, you would know why. It was not a clear answer for him to get in, so he refused to follow the order. Immediately the monk walked into him and pulled out his loincloth, and shouted at him that he was so obstinate. Venerable monk Sovath replied how he could go without the loincloth. Seeing the situation become tenser, a policeman nearly came to get the cloth back for him. Then he was driven to the provincial office. He was accused of 7 serious wrongdoings. He was accusing of inciting the villagers and monks to do demonstration. He was the activist of non-governmental organization and the activist of opposition party. He was warned not to go to the court. He had to agree with the question in order that he could go back to the pagoda.

The verdict was delayed until October 27, 2009. The day before the verdict, they sent about 100 joint forces, police, military police and anti-riot police into the village to ban the villagers from an attempt to go to the court. The police were shouting loudly to find out who stayed behind the incitement and intimidated that if they could find the inciters, they would arrest and send to jail. They also warned the taxi drivers not to transport the villagers to the court. They used all means to stop the villagers; such as searching every car, both from the village and other provinces. So the villagers decided to walk along the rice field to the national road and continued to the province.

Unluckily some of them were stopped by the police on the street. Fifty of the villagers planned to go to the court. Only about 20 were lucky enough to arrive at their target, because they were asked to have a lift by Licadho from Phnom Penh.

Venerable month Loun Sovath also said that nowadays he faced defrocked and dismissed from the pagoda. He added he had become the target of authority since he videoed and took photos of the event in March 22, in Chikreng commune, where the villagers were shot by police as they were cultivating their rice.