A Hard Road To Phnom Penh For Marching Monks
Monks and their supporters marching to Phnom Penh on a 10-day “Peace Walk,” as part of International Human Rights Day, said Wednesday that pagodas along the way have repeatedly tried to shut them out, and they have scuffled with police on at least one occasion. About 100 monks are leading the marchers, who set out on Sunday from various points along five national roads leading to Phnom Penh. Marching to protest the disputed results of July’s national election, forced evictions and human rights abuses, the monks plan to hand ruling CPP lawmakers a list of their grievances when they arrive for a planned rally in front of the National Assembly on Tuesday. But the marchers said they’ve had little help from many of the pagodas along their route. Vorn Poeu, an activist who is not a monk but joined a leg of the march on National Road 6, said local police used their motorcycles to block the entrance to Baray pagoda, in Kompong Thom province’s Baray district, when his group arrived on Tuesday evening hoping to spend the night at the wat. ... Undeterred by the intimidation, Mr. Poeu said the marching monks and supporters pushed their way into the pagoda grounds, knocking over the motorcycles and briefly scuffling with the police and local monks who also tried to keep them out. “We pushed over the motorbikes because the authorities and the pagoda committee people blocked the entrance gate so that we could not get inside,” Mr. Poeu said. ... Nget Chanbo, who heads the religion department at the Ministry of Cults and Religion, said the ministry did not support the marchers “because they can disturb the public order.” Mr. Chanbo denied that the ministry had anything to do with the obstructions the marches are facing at pagodas. ... A modest but growing number of monks have become increasingly active and outspoken in their opposition to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling CPP since July’s elections, which the opposition CNRP and their supporters accuse the CPP of stealing through widespread voter fraud. ...
Aun Pheap and Zsombor Peter
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/a-hard-road-to-phnom-penh-for-marching-monks-48600/
