A lone man attempted to prevent trucks from entering the community by lying down on the road. He was arrested by police after they used electric batons on him. He was released a day later (Wed 11th November).
Apparently the man was drunk when he did this.
Such a tactic can be effective at preventing violence. Lying down is about as non-threatening as you can get. However, doing this alone, and drunk to boot, dramatically reduces the likelihood this tactic will work. In this case it did not work, and did not serve to raise the case in the public sphere.
What will be interesting is to find out what the reaction from the rest of the community is. Would they consider doing this on a larger, more coordinated scale? Did this action serve to engender discussion and futher thought from inside the community? Also, what did the man learn from his experience?
Showing posts with label kep thmey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kep thmey. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Well Done Kep Thmey
In an exciting turn of events this week, Kep Thmey villagers took the gutsy step of appealing to the Prime Minister to voice their concerns over an economic development project on their coastal waters. What some describe as a bizarre plan, two weathly businessmen plan to fill in roughly 9 kilometers of coastal water to create a new special economic zone (SEZ).
Why Cambodia needs to create land for an SEZ as many others lie vacant and bereft of investors, is a question begging to be asked and answered.
On Wednesday the Keo Chea company began filling in coastal waters directly in front of Kep Thmey village. Villlagers were unprepared and were able to do little but give token resistance. They were easily moved out of the way of over 100 large trucks by 60 police. On Thursday morning an un named resister (or resisters) cut down a tree to prevent access to the village, but again were easily thwarted with overpowering machinery.
Completely daunted by the company, yet still willing to risk all, villagers, including Chan Dara, travelled to the PM's residence in Ta Khmao on Friday and amazingly their petition was recieved by prime ministerial secretary Nov Nara.
Officials politely asked the villagers to return home and wait for a response after the Water Festival. Hah! We've seen similar delay tactics before (remember Dey Krahorm?!). In the mean time company trucks will continue delivering payloads of dirt. Keep up the pressure, and voice your dissent until you get a fair hearing and the change in company's plans that you want.
Coastal waters may sound a little irrelevant, but they are a major source of economic activity for the villagers of Kep Thmey, Totung Thgnay and Roluos. Not to mention their cultural heritage as fishing communities. Without this natural resource their livelihood will be severely curtailed and need to look for work elsewhere (ie a dead-end factory job or moto dope).
Why Cambodia needs to create land for an SEZ as many others lie vacant and bereft of investors, is a question begging to be asked and answered.
On Wednesday the Keo Chea company began filling in coastal waters directly in front of Kep Thmey village. Villlagers were unprepared and were able to do little but give token resistance. They were easily moved out of the way of over 100 large trucks by 60 police. On Thursday morning an un named resister (or resisters) cut down a tree to prevent access to the village, but again were easily thwarted with overpowering machinery.
Completely daunted by the company, yet still willing to risk all, villagers, including Chan Dara, travelled to the PM's residence in Ta Khmao on Friday and amazingly their petition was recieved by prime ministerial secretary Nov Nara.
Well done Kep Thmey!
Officials politely asked the villagers to return home and wait for a response after the Water Festival. Hah! We've seen similar delay tactics before (remember Dey Krahorm?!). In the mean time company trucks will continue delivering payloads of dirt. Keep up the pressure, and voice your dissent until you get a fair hearing and the change in company's plans that you want.
Coastal waters may sound a little irrelevant, but they are a major source of economic activity for the villagers of Kep Thmey, Totung Thgnay and Roluos. Not to mention their cultural heritage as fishing communities. Without this natural resource their livelihood will be severely curtailed and need to look for work elsewhere (ie a dead-end factory job or moto dope).
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