Local Police Try to Shut Down Land Meeting
Local police in Ratanakkiri province’s Veun Sai district yesterday tried to shut down a community meeting in which villagers were being educated about land rights, because it was being held without permission, rights workers said. According to Pen Bonnar, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, two Phnom Kuk commune police arrived at the house in which the meeting attended by 20 villagers was being held, and demanded it be shut down on orders from district authorities. Mr. Bonnar then called commune police chief Chea Sok in an effort to defuse the situation, but Mr. Sok allegedly reiterated the orders that the meeting be shut down. …
