No Access to Kratie Village After Killing

The village in Kratie province where a teenage girl was shot dead by government security forces on Wednesday remained completely sealed off to independent observers on Friday, drawing concerns from human rights workers that the government had imposed a state of martial law in the area. Since Heng Chantha, 14, was gunned down as she took shelter from armed forces that had entered the area in order to arrest villagers embroiled in a land dispute, more than 600 families have been evicted from Broma village in Chhlong district. Most of the hundreds of evictees, who authorities have accused of creating a so-called secessionist movement, were allowed to return to Kompong Cham province on Friday, where many had lived prior to arriving in Kratie. Another 360 families have been allowed by authorities to continue living in the area, as they were deemed by officials to have been long-term residents of the area. “The government is implementing martial law by using heavily armed forces to evict people embroiled in a long-running land dispute,” said Am Sam Ath, technical supervisor for Licadho, a local rights group. …