Soldiers Keep watch over Broma Villagers
More than seven months after government security forces violently evicted hundreds of people living in Kratie province’s Broma village to quell a so-called secessionist movement, more than 70 families are still being prevented by patrolling soldiers from returning to the site of their former homes, local officials said yesterday. Kompong Damrei commune clerk Khin Doung said that 74 families, who since 2008 have lived and farmed on more than 80 hectares of land in Broma, last week tried to return home to harvest cassava crops they planted prior to being evicted with the rest of the villagers in May. The families, however were prevented from returning to their homes by a group of more than 20 soldiers, Mr. Dound said. … But provincial police chief Chuong Sieng Hak said that soldiers in Broma are only there to keep them safe. … “It is because we are worried about robberies which happen sometimes” … Rights groups said the government’s claim that villagers were part of a secessionist movement was merely an excuse to evict them on behalf of Casotim. … According to rights group Licadho, Casotim had a 15, 000 hectare land concession located about 10 km from Broma. It also has a 100,000 hectare logging claim that overlaps with the villagers, but this was suspended in 2001, when the government put moratorium on timber concessions.
