Cambodia: Police Stop Activists From Reaching Sesan II Dam Village

Cambodia: Police Stop Activists From Reaching Sesan II Dam Village

Authorities in Stung Treng province on Sunday stopped a group of indigenous
activists from reaching a village slated for imminent flooding by the Lower
Sesan II hydropower dam but released them after escorting them to the
provincial capital.

Meng Heng, a member of the environmental rights group Mother Nature, said he
was traveling with the approximately 30 activists headed toward Kbal Romeas
village to show their support for dozens of families refusing to abandon
their homes to the dam when they were stopped by local police at about noon.
"The 30 people were traveling in two trucks from [Mondolkiri] province and
the Sesan district authorities stopped the trucks and brought them to the
provincial police station, but they were released," he said.

Mr. Heng said they were set free at about 5 p.m., after endorsing documents
promising not to return without prior consent from local authorities, and
headed back to Mondolkiri.

Hor Vuthy, head of the provincial police's minor crimes bureau, said about
22 people were questioned and released. But he declined to say why and
referred additional questions to district authorities, who also declined to
explain why the activists were detained.

Most of the 5,000 people living on the 36,000 hectares the dam is set to
turn into a giant reservoir have already moved to resettlement sites where
the government and the companies building the 400-megawatt dam-Cambodia's
Royal Group and China's Hydrolancang International Energy-are providing them
with new homes and farms. But more than 100 families in Srekor and Kbal
Romeas villages have refused the offer, worried that life will be much
harder at the sites. Families in Srekor have prepared small shelters on a
nearby "safety hill" for if and when the water reaches them.

The dam began closing its floodgates on July 15 for testing and is set to
start producing power on September 25.

On Sunday, deputy provincial governor Duong Pov said eight of the 10 gates
have since been closed and that the families refusing to leave Srekor
village were told on Friday that the water would reach their homes in a
week.

"We asked the people to cooperate with our authorities to move from the
village to the safety hill, and if they volunteer we will take them to the
relocation sites because we already built homes for the families," he said.
"It is difficult for us to rescue them because some villagers are refusing
to cooperate with our authorities."

Suth Thoeun, a Srekor village holdout, said the families didn't want their
help. "People don't want help from the authorities because they know how to
save themselves, but if they want to [help] it's up to them because that is
the job of the authorities," he said. "I will only move from the villages if
the water reaches the roof of my house."

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Link to Original Article:
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/police-stop-activists-from-reaching-sesan
-ii-dam-village-132810/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com