A court in Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province charged three men with incitement after they informed farmers of their constitutional rights, prompting more than 200 farmers to flock to the capital to demand their release.
On the afternoon of May 17, authorities in Kratie province arrested the chairman of the Cambodian Farmer Community Coalition, Theng Savoeun, and 16 of his colleagues for “inciting civil unrest” and “conspiring to commit treason”. .
According to local rights group ADHOC, the arrests came after the 17 met with farmers in Ratanakiri to discuss farming techniques and their rights as Cambodian citizens. That same day, police released 14 of the detainees after they agreed to take a statement with their fingerprints promising they would no longer hold training sessions.
The Ratanakkiri Provincial Court indicted Theng Savoeun and two others, Thach Hach and Nhel Pheap, and ordered their detention in the Provincial Prison.
Almost six days later, the three remain in detention and have been denied access to lawyers or relatives; visits are guaranteed after 24 hours in custody, under Cambodian law.
Over the weekend, some 200 mostly women farmers from various provinces traveled to the Home Ministry in Phnom Penh to demand their release, claiming they had provided assistance and had done nothing illegal.
‘My son is not a dog’
Among them was Theng Savoeun’s mother, Toch Satt, who has vowed not to leave the facility until her son is released.
“Interior Minister Sar Kheng, I urge you to resolve this case; do it today or I won’t go home,” he yelled outside the ministry on Monday, three days after joining other farmers in the capital to protest the arrests. .
“My son is not a dog, he is a human being,” she said. “I am sorry that my son was arrested, that he did nothing wrong. My son serves the interests of the people.”
Other protesters, several of whom carried children in their arms, carried photos of the three detainees and cardboard signs calling for their release.
A protester from Koh Kong province named Keut Neou told RFA Khmer that she and others had come to Phnom Penh to protest on May 19 and have since run out of money. She said they’ve been staying for free at a Buddhist temple in the suburbs, but can’t afford trips to the ministry downtown.
“We are poor people and farmers, we don’t have money, so we all decided to walk,” he said.
Another Koh Kong farmer named Nhel Sreymom urged Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife, Bun Rany, to help find justice for the three detainees.
“Please, father and mother of Samdech, help find a solution for them,” he said, using an honorific for the prime minister. “These three people are innocent.”
‘Planning the peasant revolution’
Interior Ministry officials met with 10 farmer representatives on Monday and accepted a petition for their release. The officials said that Hun Sen will examine and consider his demands.
ADHOC human rights spokesperson Soeung Senkaruna urged the Ratanakiri court to reconsider the charges against Theng Savoeun, Thach Hach and Nhel Pheap.
“If the charges are still in reasonable doubt, the court should postpone the charges because, from my point of view, Theng Savoeun has worked a lot to help farmers supplement government assistance,” he said.
RFA’s attempts to contact Ratanakiri Provincial Police Commissioner Ung Sopheap and Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak about the case went unanswered on Monday.
However, Khieu Sopheak told the local CamboJa media group on May 19 that Theng Savoeun and his associates were involved in “planning a peasant revolution.”
The Cambodian Farmers Community Association has vehemently denied the allegations, saying it only instructed farmers on farming laws and techniques. The group, which claims to have a membership of around 20,000 people in Cambodia, was founded in 2011 to help farmers in 10 communities who say their land was invaded.
‘Crackdown’ of human rights groups
Local rights groups, including LICADHO, ADHOC and the Cambodian Center for Human Rights Advocacy, are monitoring the case and told RFA that the arrests not only threaten the Cambodian Community Farmers Association, but also undermine the work of civil society.
The case also drew the attention of international human rights groups, including the New York-based Human Rights Watch.
Asia deputy director Phil Robertson said his organization was “appalled” by the arrests and the violation of laws allowing the three to have access to lawyers, calling it an example of how authorities “blatantly violate the basic freedoms of association and expression, and completely disregard Cambodia’s international human rights”. rights obligations.”
Robertson also called out authorities for harassing supporters demanding the trio’s release, noting that Koh Kong police stopped a minivan carrying members of the Cambodian Farmers Community Association and prevented them from leaving the province. .
He linked the arrests to what he called a “crackdown” on NGOs and civil society groups in Cambodia ahead of the July 23 general election, “where any kind of challenge, real or perceived, to the government is met with a maximum display of intimidation. and punishment.”
“Cambodia should immediately and unconditionally release CCFC 3 and stop the campaign of harassment and abuse against the CCFC and other Cambodian NGOs who dare to stand up and exercise their civil and political rights,” Robertson said.
Illegal land grabs by developers or individuals are not uncommon in Cambodia, where officials and bureaucrats can be bribed into providing fake land titles. Land disputes are one of the main causes of social unrest throughout Southeast Asia.
Translated by Sok Ry Sum and Samean Yun. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.