Video clip showing a violent scene between the cops and the villagers [...when the cops try to rob the villagers of their rubber]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KnNaAlDfGg

03 October 2011

Koh Santepheap News

Translated from Khmer by Soch

Kampong Cham – Koh Santepheap received a video clip provided by villagers living in Boeung Chrong village, Choam commune, Memot district, at 11PM on 02 Oct 2011. The video reported a violent dispute, involving beating and shooting, between the villagers and the cops who went to the village to prevent the villagers from selling the rubber they collected during the Pchum Ben celebration.

In general, the majority of villagers are happily celebrating Pchum Ben, but unfortunately, Boeung Chrong villagers are not happy like others because they were threatened by the cops and the proceeds from their sales of rubber, potato, cashew and other produce are low. In general, the villagers sell their products to Vietnam, but the villagers face up to 13 stops set up by both legal and illegal groups of commercial cop (Cam Control) and at each stop. These cops demand at least 10,000 riels ($2.50) per stop. Because of that, the villagers cannot take their produce to sell Vietnam and when the Vietnamese merchants come to buy their products at their village, they also offer cheap price.

For example, a kilogram of rubber which normally fetch 8,000 riels ($2), can only be sold for 3,000 riels ($0.75) per kilo. Similarly a kilo of potato can be sold at 300 riels per kilo only when it would normally fetch 900 riels per kilo. When the video was filmed, a cop by the name of Dy – whom the villager claimed that he is the brother-in-law of Em Kosal, the Memot district police commissioner – came to the village to threaten the villagers to take away their collected rubber. It should be noted that these are law-abiding villagers, they did nothing illegal even when they were threatened and shot at by the cops who want to rob their rubber. The villagers were only asking for the government to resolve this issue according to the law.

The villagers are demanding that: (1) the government clearly sets the commercial cop stations so that there are no illegal cops along the road, and (2) the government should investigate and take care of illegal actions by the cops, especially those who use their guns to threaten the villagers and shoot them to rob their rubber products.

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