Group Starts Online Petition to Stop Land Dispute Violence

Hoping to end the cycle of violence in land disputes in Cambodia, and to garner public support for people who are the victims of land grabbing, five concerned citizens held a press conference Friday to announce the launch of their own online petition whose results will be sent to the government. Stressing that they have no links to any political party, the young organizers called on the public to visit the online petition portal www.change.org and sign onto their petition, which can be found by typing “land conflict” in the website’s search bar. “The government should immediately release villagers and community representatives who have been charged for their advocacy [work], particularly the female representatives of Boeng Kak lake,” said Sok Leang, 32, one of the five organizers of the press conference held at Baitong Restaurant in Phnom Penh’s Chamkar Mon district. …