Ouch Sam On, a deputy governor of Cambodia's Kampong Thom province, told Prey Lang activists last week that he "would not be responsible if they were shot while protecting Prey Lang Forest," according to our campaign partners at the Prey Lang Network. The comment was made after Sam On ordered activists to desist their regular patrols through the forest, where they monitor for illegal logging. On their patrols, members of the Prey Lang Network regularly burn any wood they find that has been illegally cut down by loggers.
The Phnom Penn Post reported that Kim Cheng, 50, a member of the Network, said villagers would not obey an order to stay out of the forest and would continue patrolling for illegal loggers. "Ouch Sam On threatened villagers and told us we were not allowed to patrol anymore," he said. "Maybe he is cooperating with businessmen who are illegally cutting trees, so he is afraid our patrols will expose his interest." Other officials, including the district governor and provincial governor, have threatened to arrest villagers who defy the ban on patrolling the forest. The Prey Lang Forest is at risk due to an increasing numbers of land concessions for logging, rubber plantations, and mining. Chheang Vuthy, a village representative of the Indigenous Kuy people who live in Prey Lang Forest, said of the government officials, "They care only about the companies' interests. We care about the trees, so we still keep doing our action."
Support the Kuy Indigenous people of Prey Lang and urge the government of Cambodia to protect the Prey Lang Forest.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"full","fid":"60782","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image media-image-left","height":"600","style":"float: left; width: 100px; height: 100px; ","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"600"}}]]
