A view of the shooting location, Inset: the victim of shooting (Photo: Ta Som)20 March 2008
By Sok Serey Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
A villager was seriously injured: both of his hands were broken, and his calf was pierced after he sustained several shots from guards protecting the land allegedly belonging to the Thai Bun Rong Company in Sihanoukville. Four other villagers were also arrested stemming from the dispute over 13-hectare of land in Sihanoukville on Thursday.
Hieng Sophon, the younger sister of Vat Kiet, the shooting victim, told RFA over the phone from the incident location, about Thursday’s violence: “They shot him 4 times in his arms which were broken off. They arrested many people, you can’t count them all, they shoved them inside a car…”
A source indicated that the violence erupted among 125 Cambodian families stemming from a dispute over 13-hectare of land with the Thai Bun Rong Company, near the 7-story hotel in Sihanoukville. This dispute lasted many years already.
An anonymous police inspector from Sihnaoukville who is in charge of resolving this land dispute, told RFA that his police force did not receive any order to use violence to resolve the land dispute. He believes that the dispute erupted between the security guards working for the Thai Bun Rong Company, and the villagers: “It was not (my officers), they were other military police standing guard there because there are a lot of problems in that location. Let me call the city military police unit first.”
Chan Chamroeun, an investigator for the human rights organization Adhoc in Sihanoukville, said that the villagers were only protecting their lands, but they sustained the violent attack instead.
Chan Chamroeun said: “This case is a severe violation of human rights because the villagers do not have any weapon to fight back. Here they are only protecting their lands, and the armed military police used their weapons to shoot at the villagers. This is a case of human rights violation.”
A source indicated that a large number of people was arrested by the authority, and the victim of the shooting is still in serious condition.
Land dispute violence is erupting at a time when Prof. Yash Ghai, the UN Special Envoy on Human Rights in Cambodia, issued a 25-page report criticizing the serious human rights violation in Cambodia, as well as the land-grabbing by private companies and influential powerful people in Cambodia.
Hieng Sophon, the younger sister of Vat Kiet, the shooting victim, told RFA over the phone from the incident location, about Thursday’s violence: “They shot him 4 times in his arms which were broken off. They arrested many people, you can’t count them all, they shoved them inside a car…”
A source indicated that the violence erupted among 125 Cambodian families stemming from a dispute over 13-hectare of land with the Thai Bun Rong Company, near the 7-story hotel in Sihanoukville. This dispute lasted many years already.
An anonymous police inspector from Sihnaoukville who is in charge of resolving this land dispute, told RFA that his police force did not receive any order to use violence to resolve the land dispute. He believes that the dispute erupted between the security guards working for the Thai Bun Rong Company, and the villagers: “It was not (my officers), they were other military police standing guard there because there are a lot of problems in that location. Let me call the city military police unit first.”
Chan Chamroeun, an investigator for the human rights organization Adhoc in Sihanoukville, said that the villagers were only protecting their lands, but they sustained the violent attack instead.
Chan Chamroeun said: “This case is a severe violation of human rights because the villagers do not have any weapon to fight back. Here they are only protecting their lands, and the armed military police used their weapons to shoot at the villagers. This is a case of human rights violation.”
A source indicated that a large number of people was arrested by the authority, and the victim of the shooting is still in serious condition.
Land dispute violence is erupting at a time when Prof. Yash Ghai, the UN Special Envoy on Human Rights in Cambodia, issued a 25-page report criticizing the serious human rights violation in Cambodia, as well as the land-grabbing by private companies and influential powerful people in Cambodia.
15 comments:
More nonsense talk, we don't need "he say/she say" type of deal. What we need is to see some paper works. After verification, then we can determine who is trespassing and causing all trouble. What is so complex about that?
Why,.. why.. shoot an unarmed civilian? Damn, If this guy is a member of my family, you will get a suicided bomb from me as revenge Since I know the court is injustice anyway, Nothing to live for. And don't call me a terrorist!
I doubt that they shoot an un-armed man. Keep in mind this is only one side of the coin.
Very cruel. This is the result of Hun Sen's policy of stealing from the poor to give to the rich.
4:53pm Calm down, wait for detail report from Human right investigator first! 5:39 pm have a common sense. 3 shots spotted on victum arms, it's possible that victum was armed with sharp objects. Otherwise, the PM will shood legs instead.
7:22PM, Thank you for the explaination. Somehow, I don't trust Govenment investigators. They are good at turning thing around. Apologize for my anger.
4:53pm KI-Reader
At this point in time, it is premature and presumptuous to make any speculation as to what precipitated the (hapless) incident, and -- imperatively important -- let the authories assess and ascertain the situation prior to making a conclusion of the incident. In the meantime, everyone should remain calm.
Ah gorillas out!
It is about time for the farmers or peasants to rise up and take up arms and rebell against the oppressors. Do the same like KR back then.
This is the evidence that Yash Gai has said.
But the dictator will never accept his cruelty.
This is normal for arrogant leader.
KY
good example of greed against greed. use it for a case study for law student or something.
yes, cambodia do have a lot of case study examples for law students everywhere on this planet. just look around. thank you.
please take a religious class or meditate, it'll calm your soul down. and stop being so greedy. too bad, the world is not perfect; it's happening everywhere in the world, so stop focusing on just cambodia!
Yeah, that is the problem with the dog (Ghai), 1:55, only a small part of his brain is functioning.
7:22 pm. you assumption was right, After all the victum was armed with shape object during the conflict. However, one shot at his arm should knock him down, why those PM shot him 4 times? that case should count as attempt murder!
4:53pm KI-Reader
3:20, it was just a guess, what we needed is to hear from the shooter/s to see witch story is more credible.
But more importantly, we need to determine who's the legal owner of the land and who's the trespasser because both sides apparently claim ownership of the land.
Why don't we just cease speculating and let the aurthorities do their job ... that is, analyzing and ascertaining what precipitated this hapless incident. Also, there shouldn't be any case study; therefore ... again, stop using the incident as a pretext to further your cause. Enough is enough.
Case study in law school?! Your horrific ignorance horrifies and amuses us immensely.
GO!
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