May 22, 2012
Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF), Sahmakum
Teang Tnaut (STT), Equitable Cambodia, Cambodian League for the Promotion and
Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) and Licadho Canada condemn the unjustified
and violent response to a peaceful demonstration by Boeung Kak residents and
call for the immediate release of the 13 detained women.
On the morning of May 22, some 18 families of
Village 1 in Boeung Kak arrived at the sand dunes covering their homes in the lakeside
village. Equipped with wood, one family attempted to erect poles at the
location of their destroyed home. Soon after, however, police arrived at the
site trying to confiscate the wood and prevent the family from demarcating the
boundary of their submerged house. 
During the morning, police presence in Village 1 intensified, including
the arrival of military police, “anti-riot” intervention police, and Daun Penh
district security guards at the scene. A few dozen hired
demolition men bearing hammers and metal sticks also came.
Unable to go on with the original plan, the
Boeung Kak residents staged a peaceful demonstration, complete with singing and
speeches, on the sand used to fill the lake. Shortly before noon, a small group
of women kept singing while other villagers sought shade nearby. The group of
women was then surrounded by a mixed force of police and district guards, who
proceeded to violently put a stop to the singing. As the demonstrators
dispersed, they were chased down by the authorities, who proceeded to arrest 13
women, including a 72-year-old. The women were subsequently taken to Phnom Penh
Municipal Police Station.
“The use of violence and arrests against
peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable, yet we are seeing more and more of it
every day,” said Sia Phearum, Secretariat Director of HRTF. “For years the Boeung
Kak residents have called for the authorities to respect their rights and solve
this ongoing land dispute, yet time and again the authorities respond with
unreasonable violence.”
“The crackdown this
morning highlights the authorities’ continued lack of tolerance of peaceful
gatherings and expression by Cambodian citizens,” said Ee Sarom, Representative
of STT. “It is worth repeating again: violence will not resolve
the land dispute at Boeung Kak lake.”
The undersigned
organisations call for an end to violent responses to peaceful demonstrations
and for the detained women: Nget Khun; Tep Vanny; Kong Chantha; Srong Srey
Leap; Tho Davy; Chan Navy; Ngoun Kimlang; Pao Saopea; Cheng Leap; Soung Samai;
Phan Chan Reth; Heng Mom; and Toul Srey Pov to be released immediately and
without conditions.
For more
information, please contact:
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