Military Base
Villagers in Banteay Meanchey province’s Thma Puok district called off a protest scheduled for Monday, after the district governor promised to meet with them to resolve the issue, a representative said. The villagers had planned to express anger at the construction of a military base on disputed land. “We decided not to have our demonstration after the district governor asked us not to do it, and promised us that he would help us reach a compromise and inform us about it on Tuesday,” said Long Than, who added that he and eight others met with district officials on Saturday. The district governor, Prek Vary, could not be reached Monday. Long Than said the proposed base could displace about 100 families who have lived there since 1993.
[note: in terms of nonviolent resistance this is a very risky move by the villagers. They have removed the incentive for change. It takes a lot of guts for a community to protest in Cambodia, and it takes a lot of time and frustration to get there. By calling off the demonstration without any concrete evidence of getting a "compromise" they've clearly reneged control of the conflict to the district governor for the moment. This is a very common result. With little or no training in NVR and next to no free press, the community is very much on it's own.]
Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010042738151/National-news/military-base-protest-over-land-dispute-called-off.html
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