Tensions rise as villagers, armed police ready for protests
After several days of grassroots campaigning by local villagers to save Prey Long forest, tension in this part of northern Kompong Thom province is rising. The 300-strong group of campaigners seemed to be heading for a confrontation with provincial authorities, as officials warned yesterday that they planned to stop their activities and suppress a planned protest by deploying dozens of armed security personnel in the area. The villagers are members of the Prey Long People’s Network, and they have walked from Preah Vihear, Stung Treng and Kompong Thom to a remote part of Prey Long called O’Chrok in Sandan district, where they have been camping and patrolling in recent days to try to stop rampant illegal logging there…
