Cambodian
people from the Boeung Kak lakeside community sit in front of the
Appeals Court in Phnom Penh as they stage a hunger strike in protest on
June 3, 2013. (Credit: AFP)
Protestors and hunger strikers are demonstrating
outside Cambodia's Court of Appeal in Phnom Penh, demanding the release
of a jailed land rights activist.
Yorm Bopha was jailed for three years on
"intentional violence" charges in December last year and her appeal is
due to be heard by the court on Wednesday.
Naly Pilorge from local human rights group LICADHO has told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific Boeung Kak residents have held weekly demonstrations since Yorm Bopha was arrested.
"There's
been several incidents of violence, including last week where fire
trucks hosed down some protestors from not just at Boeng Kak Lake, but
also other communities that joined them in solidarity," she said.
"This morning, there's been no such problem."
Amnesty
International said the charges had been fabricated by authorities to
silence Yorm Bopha and other land rights activists campaigning for
communities who have lost their houses and livelihoods after forced
resettlement.
A private company headed by a ruling party
politician has been filling in Boeung Kak Lake in central Phnom Penh for
commercial development.
The controversial project has forced more
than 4,000 lakeside residents to leave their homes and drawn
international attention to land disputes in the country.
"Right
now, what we're seeing is a lot of tension and a lot of problems because
Cambodians need land to survive," Ms Pilorge said.
"Cambodia is not a an industrial country, people need land to be able to survive and feed their families."
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