More than 300 activists took to patrolling the Prey Lang forest again for four days, March 23-26, to combat illegal logging. Dressed as Avatars from the blockbuster movie, members of the Prey Lang Network and the Cambodia Natural Resources Conservation group clashed with police and private security guards at a sawmill within Prey Lang forest. The protesting villagers demanded entrance to the building to see whether it had a government license to operate. After a negotiation with the district governor, they were allowed entry to the site.
The activist groups believe that the mill is being used as a front to store illegally logged wood from the forest until it may be shipped out for export and sale as luxury lumber. Radio Free Asia reported that a protesting villager said that the group had no choice but to raid the sawmill in order to protect the forest, and called on the company to discuss the impact of deforestation with the villagers.
