By Sav Yuth
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
On Saturday 26 January, about 200 Kuoy ethnic minority people from 4 villages, living in Rum Tum and Rumany communes, Roveang district, Preah Vihear province, have gathered to confiscate and destroy a container used for stockpiling acid and toxic chemicals that illegal businessmen sneaked into the region to use in illegal gold exploration.
The demonstration against the use of acid and toxic chemical took place after the villagers claimed that the raids conducted by the authorities were ineffective, and that the villagers’ health was affected and several heads of cattle died from this illegal use.
Several hundreds of villagers confiscated a piece of equipment used for grinding soil, and they destroyed a large wooden tank, measuring more than 77-square-meter, for stockpiling acid in the area of O’Bang Bat. The villagers claimed that they have been affected by this toxic chemical. “Two of my cows died. I went to my field, when I came back, the cows were sick and they died ... The villagers are unhappy with this, and they are very angry,” one villager said.
Sam Chheng, a representative of the Rumany commune community, said that villagers in his community are being affected by toxic chemical acid used by the businessmen illegally looking for gold, they dumped these chemicals in the ground and in wooded areas, causing various strange illnesses among the villagers.
Sam Chheng said: “They used so much chemicals that numerous cattle died. The health condition of the villagers is not good, they have stomach ache, nausea.”
Kom Siem, the police commissioner for the Roveang commune, said, on Saturday morning, that he did not receive information about the villagers’ destruction of the equipments belonging to the gold prospectors yet.
Kom Siem added that, in the past, the authority conducted raids also, but they were not successful, and the illegal gold prospecting is still taking place in deep wooded areas: “We raided them in the past, we confiscated some equipments, but they still kept on doing it because of poverty, they kept on going.”
Sam Leang Ny, the director of the department of mining and energy of Preah Vihear province, said, on 24 January, that the raids on the illegal gold prospectors were conducted several times already in Roveang district, but that it is a difficult case because, it seems that some of the police officers are behind these illegal businessmen. Each time, the police arrived for the raids, the prospectors all escaped, but as soon as the authority pulled out, they returned back to their activities again.
Sam Leang Ny said: “I went in to raid twice already. It’s difficult, the information leaked out. Some of the police officers are involved with these illegal businessmen.”
According to villagers from Trapeang Tim, Romchek, Bangkoeun Phal, and Sre Khnong villages, between December 2007 and January 2008, the villagers were affected by the toxic chemical products, and more than 20 heads of cattle died from them.
The demonstration against the use of acid and toxic chemical took place after the villagers claimed that the raids conducted by the authorities were ineffective, and that the villagers’ health was affected and several heads of cattle died from this illegal use.
Several hundreds of villagers confiscated a piece of equipment used for grinding soil, and they destroyed a large wooden tank, measuring more than 77-square-meter, for stockpiling acid in the area of O’Bang Bat. The villagers claimed that they have been affected by this toxic chemical. “Two of my cows died. I went to my field, when I came back, the cows were sick and they died ... The villagers are unhappy with this, and they are very angry,” one villager said.
Sam Chheng, a representative of the Rumany commune community, said that villagers in his community are being affected by toxic chemical acid used by the businessmen illegally looking for gold, they dumped these chemicals in the ground and in wooded areas, causing various strange illnesses among the villagers.
Sam Chheng said: “They used so much chemicals that numerous cattle died. The health condition of the villagers is not good, they have stomach ache, nausea.”
Kom Siem, the police commissioner for the Roveang commune, said, on Saturday morning, that he did not receive information about the villagers’ destruction of the equipments belonging to the gold prospectors yet.
Kom Siem added that, in the past, the authority conducted raids also, but they were not successful, and the illegal gold prospecting is still taking place in deep wooded areas: “We raided them in the past, we confiscated some equipments, but they still kept on doing it because of poverty, they kept on going.”
Sam Leang Ny, the director of the department of mining and energy of Preah Vihear province, said, on 24 January, that the raids on the illegal gold prospectors were conducted several times already in Roveang district, but that it is a difficult case because, it seems that some of the police officers are behind these illegal businessmen. Each time, the police arrived for the raids, the prospectors all escaped, but as soon as the authority pulled out, they returned back to their activities again.
Sam Leang Ny said: “I went in to raid twice already. It’s difficult, the information leaked out. Some of the police officers are involved with these illegal businessmen.”
According to villagers from Trapeang Tim, Romchek, Bangkoeun Phal, and Sre Khnong villages, between December 2007 and January 2008, the villagers were affected by the toxic chemical products, and more than 20 heads of cattle died from them.
2 comments:
The chemical war is coming to Cambodia! Please be careful before it falls into the hand of the terrorists!
I'M CERTAIN THE G-MAN IS LOOKING HARD INTO THIS MATTER.
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