Vendors Allowed Back in Pursat Market After Huge Fire

Chamroeun, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
21/04/2007

Pursat vendors will be allowed back in the market after their stalls were destroyed by a fire this week, leading to a protest in front of Prime Minister Hun Sen's house.

Hundreds of vendors protested outside the premier's Phnom Penh home Friday, calling for an investigation into the burning of the market, the Cambodia Daily reported.

The fire lasted 16 hours and destroyed 700 stalls and millions of dollars in stock, the Daily reported.

Authorities were cleaning up the ashes from the fire, Pursat Governor Chhay Sareth said, denying allegations made by vendors that the fire was a means of pushing them out for a new development project.

One vendor told VOA that the fire had spread quickly, leading her to suspect arson.

Pursat market blaze: Shopkeepers want to demonstrate in Phnom Penh

Blaze scene at the Pursat central market during the Khmer New Year (Photo: Thmor Keo, Koh Santepheap newspaper)

Friday, April 20, 2007
By Duong Sokha
Cambodge Soir
Unofficial translation from French by Tola Ek

Click here to read Cambodge Soir’s original article in French

Some 500 shopkeepers who are victim of the blaze which destroyed 670 stalls in the Pursat central market during the beginning of the week, should hold a demonstration this Friday morning in Phnom Penh, according the shopkeepers themselves.

The shopkeepers intended to travel to the residence of the prime minister in order to present him their demands following the blaze. Most of all, they wish to restart their businesses, as soon as possible, at the same location [they occupied] inside the central market, and not at another site located in the outskirt of Pursat. Furthermore, they demand some compensation, in particular from the company which planned to invest in the market.