As seen and heard on Ms. Theary C. SENG's BLOG
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| Thmor Bang village in Prolay District of Koh Kong Province |
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| Russian ("water elephant" or hippopotamus) army truck to the rescue, normally used to transport illegal rosewood |
SAVE THE ARENG VALLEY!
Let us from today onward
with GREAT PERSISTENCE,
CONCENTRATION and SOLIDARITY,
here and overseas,
CAMPAIGN to stop the building of the dam in Areng River
which is slated to begin construction next year.
Environmental Activist Murdered—“Let his life be our rallying cry!”
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Press Release
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Phnom Penh, 26 April 2012: We, at CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education, condemn the cold-blooded murder of Mr. Chhut Vuthy, the president of Natural Resources Conservation Group, today at noon at Thmor Bang district of Koh Kong Province. He was on mission investigating the illegal logging in the protected areas of the Cardamon Mountains. His body is being transported to his family ancestral village in Kandal Province tonight.
CIVICUS Cambodia founding president Ms. Theary C. Seng states:
“I was just there at Thmor Bang last week at the invitation of the Honorable Son Chhay, SRP Member of Parliament, who asked me as a rights advocate to accompany him and his colleagues to investigate the illegal logging and environmental impact of the Chinese dam that is to begin construction next year. We had planned on a five-day stay in the protected areas of the Cardamon Mountains but due to rising security concerns, we left after three days.
“What happened today is meant to be a chilling message to us, the concerned citizens, the rights advocates: You mess with us, you pay with your life. However, let us send a message back: We will not be bowed!
“It is at moments like this that our voices—united, intelligent, strong, firm—are needed more than ever! We will not be bowed by greedy and violent cowards.
“In the honorable memory of Chhut Vuthy, we will not be silent; we will continue his legacy; we will honor him by continuing his advocacy for the protection of our forests, mountains, hills, lakes and seas; we will stand for all that is decent and good. We will not be silent. Let his life be our rallying cry!”
We express deep concern also for the welfare and whereabouts of two Cambodia Daily journalists who were reported to be with him when he was murdered. We demand timely, trustworthy investigation into the cold-blooded murder of Mr. Chhut Vuthy. We demand justice for his family, friends and the people of Cambodia.
To the family of Mr. Chhut Vuthy: Our prayers are with you in this most difficult time.
CIVICUS Cambodia will travel to Kandal Province tomorrow morning to pay respect and invites others to join us, departing at 8:30 a.m. from our office.
A brief report of the visit to Thmor Bang district in Koh Kong province from April 16 to 18, 2012
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| MP Son Chhay's team from left to right: SRP activist Mardi Seng; Hay, a local villager who helped arrange the trip to Areng River; Keo Phirum, a SRP provincial councilor; MP Son Chhay; acitivist Theary Seng, and Emily Keo who acted as the note taker. |
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| A view of the Areng River |
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| Fishing on the Areng River. The river has plenty of fish. |
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| A civet caught at night time by local villagers |
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| Close up look of the civet |
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| A viper came out at night time |
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| Bo the owner of a logging truck seen on the right. Bo is allegedly involved in illegal logging in the area |
By MP Son Chhay
After receiving complaints from local
communities in a number of communes in Thmor Bang district concerning
illegal logging activities in the area and the plan for the construction
of a hydro-electric dam on the Chhay Areng River, I took the action of
sending two complaint letters to the government: (1) first on October
10, 2011 regarding the illegal logging activities in the areas near
Tatai Leu, and within the districts of Reusei Chrum , Thmor Daun,
Chupnuap, Chamnar in Thmor Bang district, Koh Kong province, and (2) the
second letter was sent on February 27, 2012 to ask the government to
stop the hydro-electric Dam project which was given to the company by
the name of “Guodian Corporation”, a Chinese state-owned energy company,
which is licensed to build the dam. So far the government has not
responded to any of the letters.
From April 16 to 18, a team of
five people visited the area of Thmor Bang district to investigate the
situation of illegal logging activities and also to assess the
environmental impact on the area should the hydro-electric dam project
go ahead.
During these three days, the team went right up to Chamnar village, located upstream of Chhay Areng River, to meet with people from different villages and to check the condition of the forest and wildlife which will be affected by the planned construction of the dam.
1- Reaction from the local people
The majority of the people
affected are indigenous people known as the “Chaung” people who number
around 1500 members and who still speak some of their own dialect mixed
with the Khmer language. They live in harmony with nature by farming and
fishing from the river.
When asked what they thought
about the hydro-electric dam project, all of them – including the CPP
village chief whom we spoke to – strongly displayed their anger and
disapproval, but they are not willing to protest in public for fear of
facing abuse from the authority. Local villagers along the Areng River
told us that they have been forced out of their land once when the
Vietnamese army occupied Cambodia in 1979. They were forced to resettle
in Chiphat, Botum Sako district, but about 17 years ago, they have
decided to return back to their ancestors’ villages.
We were told by the Chrork
Russei village chief that her village will be relocated to Veal Vong 72
in Areng, however the villagers do not know how much land or
compensation they will receive.
2- Forest and wildlife
Some forests have been logged
mostly by Malaysian companies in the 90s and more recently during the
construction of the Tatai Leu hydro-electric dam. Illegal logging still
exists with small syndicates of loggers cutting down forest around
communes for luxury timber. The timber is then sold to middlemen who are
involved with local military and forestry officials. During the trip we
found pallets of rose wood and luxury timers stored behind military
checkpoints. If preserved, the forests should recover quite well,
however, many companies are looking to obtain forest land concessions
for rubber plantations.
It is amazing that rare animals
and fish can still be found, they are elephants, Siamese crocodiles,
leopards, tigers, great hornbills, as well as hundreds of other animal
and fish species such as the dragon fish, etc... This is one of Asia’s
richest areas in terms of biodiversity.
3- Eco-tourism potential
The area could potentially
attract up to one million tourists per year and this could generate
hundreds of millions of dollars to help the state economy, as well as
creating thousands of jobs for the local people.
4- Impact of the dam construction
An independent report has been produced by an NGO and the results will be available soon.
5- World heritage listing of the Area
This issue will be discussed with UNESCO once the full report is completed.
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