| Angry protesters gathered before Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday to demand the release of two jailed housing rights activists, performing spiritual rituals to curse court officials in a sign of their growing desperation. Some protesters threw salt and chilies at the court building, calling on Buddha to help victims of land grabs and praying that court officials be "demolished." VOA Khmer's Heng Reaksmey and Say Mony report from Phnom Penh. |
The Boeung Kak villagers have been protesting a 133-acre development project in
northern Phnom Penh since 2008, when the evictions began.
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PHNOM PENH - Boeung Kak and Borei Keila villagers embroiled in longstanding land disputes with two private companies in Phnom Penh say the authorities are protecting business interests over the public, as thousands of families lose their homes under forced evictions.
This has turned the protesters and government officials into adversaries, leading to increased tensions, the residents say. |
| Amid tight security and crowds of protesters Tuesday, Phnom Penh Municipal Court opened a hearing against Beehive Radio owner Mam Sonando, who is facing charges he tried to lead a secessionist movement against the government. Mam Sonando, 71, whose Beehive Radio is one of the few independent broadcast media outlets in the country, testified on his own behalf, in a sweeping case with nearly 100 witnesses. Riot police kept demonstrating supporters about 200 meters away from the court, as it began the highly charged hearing. |
| PURSAT Province - An ongoing ban on large fishing nets for
non-commercial fishing has made life difficult for many families on the
Tonle Sap lake. Residents in the floating villages here say they rely on fish to feed their families, but they are only allowed to use nets 50 meters in length or shorter. The ban, intended to mitigate overfishing of dwindling stocks in the Tonle Sap, is seasonal, but the ban has been extended from the end of July to the end of September. |
A tourist walks past photos of former prisoners displayed at Tuol Sleng genocide
museum, a former Khmer Rouge prison known as S-21, in Phnom Penh.
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PHNOM PENH — The identities of two Westerners whose images were found amid some 1,400 photographs from Tuol Sleng prison remain unconfirmed, researchers at the Documentation Center of Cambodia said.
Two researchers from the center showed the photographs to Kaing Kek Iev, the former head of Tuol Sleng better known as Duch, who is serving a life sentence for atrocity crimes at the UN-backed tribunal, but he was unable or unwilling to say who they were. |
A Japanese oil company, has been granted a rights by Cambodia Tuesday, May 4,
2010 ,to study a survey for possible oil onshore at the basin of Tonle Sap lake, file photo.
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BATTAMBANG Province - Despite a government cancellation of commercial fishing lot permission across the expansive Tonle Sap lake, fishing communities here say bribery of corrupt local officials have meant the illegal practice is actually increasing.
The ban was meant to decrease the rapid overfishing of the lake, a major source of food for much of the country, which has seen its stocks dwindle in recent years. |
| PHNOM PENH - The new US ambassador to Cambodia, William Todd, has initiated an Ambassador’s Youth Council, aimed at engaging young people in issues of national importance. But the new initiative faces a number of challenges, including the attitudes of youths themselves. |
Im Chaem is among the five suspects for further cases.
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ANLONG VENG - Despite some pressure on the Khmer Rouge tribunal to pursue more cases, former Khmer Rouge cadre in the former stronghold of Anlong Veng say they are uneasy with the prospect of further arrests.
One resident here in the district in Oddar Meanchey province, Um Mek, said he always wanted to see Khmer Rouge leaders held accountable for atrocities committed under their rule. |
| This week Southeast Asian leaders have scrambled to reach a consensus on how to handle territorial disputes in the South China Sea. VOA Khmer's Say Mony and Pin Sisovann report. |
Human sculls are displayed in the stupa of
Choeung Ek, a former Khmer Rouge
"killing field" dotted with mass graves
about nine miles (15 kilometers) south
of Phnom Penh,
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ODDAR MEANCHEY Province - In an effort to prevent future atrocities like those conducted under the Khmer Rouge, the Documentation Center of Cambodia has been erecting memorials at high schools across the country. The memorials are meant to prompt discussion of the regime, in hopes of more national reconciliation. One of these memorials was erected last month in the final stronghold of Democratic Kampuchea, as the Khmer Rouge is formally called, in the northwestern part of the country, Anlong Veng, in Oddar Meanchey province. |
