Commander Says Prosecutor Deployed Troops

Armed troops that were deployed last month to quell a land dispute protest outside the Kompong Speu Provincial Court were ordered to do so by a court prosecutor, a commander in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) said yesterday. On Feb. 9, a detachment of 40 heavily armed soldiers arrived at the court during a land dispute protest involving some 200 villagers from Thpong district’s Omlaing commune, and reportedly warned that they would open fire if the protesters did not disperse. Provincial and national level officials said at the time that they did not know who the troops were, or who had ordered them to the court. Lieutenant General Keo Samoun, a commander form RCAF’s Military Region 3, said the unit was deployed at the prosecutor’s request so that he could leave the courthouse, which had been blocked by villagers. The villagers, who have been embroiled in a long-running land dispute with CPP Senator Ly Yong Phat’s sugar company, rallied at the courthouse to call for the release of a villager charged with illegally occupying land. Witnesses said at the time that the commander of the unit threatened to open fire if the demonstration did not end. Lt. Gen. Samoun denied that his soldiers intimidated villagers and shrugged off criticism by NGOs. …