Authorities halt march against Lao dam, citing Khmer New Year

Kompong Cham authorities blocked several hundred activists from marching Monday to raise awareness about the environmental dangers raised by Don Sahong dam, officials and activists said. … Kompong Cham provincial governor Lun Limthai confirmed that he banned the campaign. “We did not allow them to hold this peace walk campaign because of two reasons. First, it affects public order as we are preparing for Khmer New Year,” which falls on April 14, Mr. Limthai said. “Second, it does not involve the people of Kompong Cham province.” … This weekend, Prime Minister Hun Sen and Water Resources Minister Lim Kean Hor will travel to Ho Chi Minh City to attend a meeting of the Mekong River Commission. There, they and representatives from Thailand and Vietnam are expected to once again ask for the dam to be halted. “[T]he government isn’t ignoring this problem,” Mr. Kean Hor said Monday. He said the government was pressing Laos to send a copy of the project’s environmental impact assessment to the other Lower Mekong nations. …

Khuon Narim and Hul Reaksmey
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/authorities-halt-march-against-lao-dam-citing-khmer-new-year-55385/