The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) strongly condemns the violent dispersal and forced removal of about fourty-five villagers from Phnom Penh by the municipal and district police, and security guards. The villagers had peacefully assembled at a distance of a hundred meters from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s villa in central Phnom Penh earlier this morning.

The group of villagers, composed of men, women, and children, including babies, had reached the capital either one or two days earlier. The trip was organized to raise awareness about a longstanding land dispute between the villagers and local authorities, including members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. This dispute involves over 400 families in the Doun Ba commune, Koas Krolar district, in Battambang.

Villagers also demanded the release of one community leader and a stop to arrests of other representatives. Back in August 2008, one of their community representatives, Hun Seng Ly, was sent to detention and subsequently sentenced to five years in jail on charges of robbery and destruction of private property, in relation to the land dispute. Five other representatives who were also charged have gone into hiding.

This morning, the group - who had spent the night at Wat Botum after arriving in Phnom Penh - walked to the Prime Minister’s residence, where they were confronted by large group of police and military police. They blocked the villagers, who then decided to stage a peaceful sit-in. The group demanded that a representative of the Prime Minister’s cabinet hear their grievances, and issued a letter to call on authorities to resolve the land conflict.

Government officials - alongside a swelling number of police, military police and security guards - replied by declaring that the villagers had no right to assemble in this public space. They insisted that the villagers return to Battambang and let local authorities resolve the conflict.

Shortly before noon, a large bus arrived to the sit-in site. Police and security guards then forced the villagers into the bus, by violently lifting them from the ground and pushing them towards the vehicle, amidst the villagers’ cries of anguish and tears.

“The violence used this morning against peaceful protesters was unjustified”, said LICADHO Technical Supervisor Am Sam Ath. “The fact that the violence also targeted mothers carrying babies makes this incident even more disgraceful. How can we tolerate police using violence against mothers and babies?”

“Forcefully shutting down the voice of communities won’t solve any problems”, said LICADHO Director Naly Pilorge. “The authorities have a duty to help the villagers, not to hide them away.”

LICADHO calls for authorities to respect the rights of every Cambodian to travel within their own country. No one should be violently forced out of Phnom Penh while trying to express grievances to national authorities. Furthermore, authorities responsible for ordering the use of excessive violence against the group should be immediately suspended and prosecuted.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Am Sam Ath, LICADHO Technical Supervisor, 012 327 770

PDF: Download full statement in English - Download full statement in Khmer