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Two Villagers Were Arrested over the Removal of Temporary Cambodian-Vietnamese Border Markers – Thursday, 24.12.2009

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 644

“Phnom Penh: The Svay Rieng court, on Wednesday morning of 23 December 2009, ordered the authorities to arrest two of the five villagers that are accused of removing temporary Cambodian-Vietnamese border markers.

“The two villagers are Ms. Meas Srey and Mr. Prum Chea. Both of them own rice fields, and they claim that they are now lost because of the Cambodian-Vietnamese border marker demarcation in Svay Rieng.

“Their families and activists said that Ms. Meas Srey and Mr. Prum Chea followed the provincial court’s summons on Wednesday morning, 23 December 2009, and both of them were then arrested at 11:00 a.m of the same day.

“Another villager, Ms. Neang Phally, planed to appear at the Svay Rieng municipal court also on Wednesday afternoon, but after the two villagers were arrested at the court, she immediately decided to escape.

“Two other villagers Ms. Prak Koen and Mr. Khan Chea were also summoned by the Svay Rieng court to appear on Thursday morning, 24 December 2009.

“Meanwhile, [opposition party president] Mr. Sam Rainsy was summoned by the Svay Rieng court to appear early next week on 28 December 2009. But now, he is in France and will not follow the court’s summon.

“Ms. Meas Srey, Mr. Prum Chea, Ms. Neang Phally, Ms. Prak Koen, and Mr. Khan Chea are villagers in the Samroang commune, Chantrea district, Svay Rieng, and they are accused by the provincial court of intentionally destroying the temporary border marker Number 185. The removal of this temporary border marker was led by Mr. Sam Rainsy at the above location on 25 October 2009.

“The older brother of Ms. Meas Srey, Mr. Meas Prel, said that he accompanied his sister to the provincial court on Wednesday morning and waited for her outside the court over one hour. Then he saw a police car carry her and Mr. Prum Chea away from the court.

“At that moment, Mr. Meas Prel sought help from the human rights NGO ADHOC in Svay Rieng. Contacted by phone, Mr. Meas Prel called on the court to release his younger sister [and another villager], because they all lost their land because of the setting of temporary Cambodian-Vietnamese border markers. Now they lost their land. Moreover, they were detained.

“The ADHOC coordinator in Svay Rieng who is observing this case, Mr. Nget Nara, asked the court to free the two villagers and lift the charges against these poor people.

“Mr. Nget Nara stressed that the court should take a humanitarian position into consideration, because arresting these people is like killing them and their families. We are in a paddy rice cultivating region, and those arrested people are just caring for their families. In addition, the arrest of villagers living along the Vietnamese border makes other villagers afraid and not daring to protest over other documented cases of injustice.

“The investigating judge of the Svay Rieng municipal court, Mr. Long Kesphirum, who had issued a summons and ordered the arrest of the two villagers temporarily over the removal of temporary Cambodian-Vietnamese border markers, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday evening.” Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol. 17, #5081, 24.12.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Thursday, 24 December 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #369, 24.12.2009

  • Cambodia Rejected [Thai Deputy Prime Minister] Suthep’s Claims Accusing that [Thai ousted and fugitive prime minister] Thaksin Shinawatra Uses Cambodia as a Place to Attack Bangkok
  • Samdech Hun Sen: Only Retired Soldiers Who Have Real Difficulties Can Receive Social Concession Land
  • [A police official,] Mr. Neang Sokna, Called Tivea 06 [“Anniversary 06”], Who Appeared in Court to Explain the Case where He Assaulted a Car Mechanic

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2132, 24.12.2009

  • A Second Confidential Document about the Plan to Murder Thaksin Shinawatra Leaked [according to The Nation; the plan is presented by the opposition party and it is supposedly made by the Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Kasit Piromya]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #562, 24.12.2009

  • Two Farmers Who Lost Their Rice Fields because of the Border Marker Demarcation [at the Cambodian-Vietnamese border] Were Detained by the Khmer Authorities
  • Nearly 20 Khmer Parliamentarians [from the Sam Rainsy Party] Asked [the Minister of Justice] Ang Vongvathana to Release [Khmer Machas Srok editor-in-chief] and Ruos Sokhet

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6839, 24.12.2009

  • The Royal Government of Cambodia Rejected the content of an Interview of [the Thai Prime Minister] Abhisit Vijjajiva with Asia Satellite TV Thailand, [saying that if Cambodia secretly listened to the conversation between a Thai engineer and the First Secretary of the Thai Embassy [claiming that this was the way the Cambodian authorities new about the fact that the air traffic engineer gave the Flight Plan to the Thai embassy], Cambodia needs to explain it, otherwise it will affect the country’s view under international eyes]
  • Because of Jealousy, a Cruel Man Brok His Wife’s Neck to Kill Her and Buried Her Body to Hide the Evidence [he was arrested – Kompong Cham]

Phnom Penh Post [Khmer Edition], Vol.1, #74, 24.12.2009

  • The Khmer Authorities Are Seeking Two Uighur People Who Escaped [in Cambodia before 20 others were deported to China]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #505081, 24.12.2009

  • Son Chhay Submitted Questions and Videos to Seek an Explanation in the Border Marker Case [the video is about the removal of border markers by citizens and by Mr. Sam Rainsy, and about a later visit by Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarians – Mr. Cheam Yeap, a parliamentarian and member of the central committee from the Cambodian People’s Party, said that the request of Mr. Son Chhay [for clarification] cannot be implemented, unless there is a decision from the standing committee of the National Assembly, led by Samdech Heng Samrin. But by Wednesday evening, the committee had not yet received Mr. Son Chhay’s request.]
  • Two Villagers Were Arrested for Removing Temporary Cambodian-Vietnamese Border Markers
  • [Two or three] Robbers Entered a House and Attacked a 14-Year-Old Girl, Killing Her with a Cleaver, Taking Away Gold and Money [Battambang]

Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1840, 24.12.2009

  • [Opposition party president] Mr. Sam Rainsy: The Real Court [suing him for removing temporary Cambodian-Vietnamese border markers] Is in Hanoi

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