Authorities halt march against Lao dam, citing Khmer New Year

1 April 2014
The Cambodia Daily
Agriculture and fishing / Civil society / Environment and natural resources / Environment and natural resources policy and administration / Environmental impact assessments / Fishing, fisheries and aquaculture / Government / International relations / Land / Ministries and other national bodies / Rivers and lakes / Social development / The poor / Water resources
Don Sahong dam / Fisheries Action Coalition Team / Ho Chi Minh City / Hou Sahong channel / Hun Sen / Lao border / Lim Kean Hor / Lun Limthai / Mekong river / Mekong River Commission / Ministry of Water Resources

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/