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Release Kampong Thom Province, Cambodia 7 September 2011 Officials and armed police disrupt human rights training event for second time in one month Village, commune and district authorities together with police armed with AK-47s today, 7 September 2011, intervened to disrupt a human rights training event organized by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and the Natural Resource Protection Group (NRPG) in Mean Rith commune, Sandan district, Kampong Thom Province threatening to arrest the organizers if the event proceeded. While no arrests were made, officials and police photographed individuals seeking to participate in the event all of whom are community members affected by the ongoing destruction of Prey Lang forest or other land conflicts as well as organizers of the event and individuals who had attended the event in an observation capacity. The training event was the first to be held by CCHR and NRPG following a media report in The Cambodia Daily on 6 September which quoted Kampong Thom provincial police chief Phan Sopheng accusing CCHR and NRPG of inciting people through the provision of human rights training and threatening to seek the suspension of both organizations in the event that further training events were conducted. On 6 September, the chief monk at Wat Kiribotaram, under pressure from commune and district level officials, withdrew the permission he previously granted CCHR and NRPG to use the pagoda for a training event on 8 September in Dang Kambith commune for another community affected by the destruction of Prey Lang. This morning at 8.30am, staff from CCHR and NRPG arrived in Mean Rith commune to prepare the venue for todays training event. The training was organized in response to information from community members that deforestation activities in the area had increased of late. In total, 34 participants registered to take part in the training although organizers were informed by participants that others had been stopped from traveling to take part in the event. Shortly after the venue was prepared, officials and police arrived and informed CCHR and NRPG that if they were to proceed with the event they would be arrested. Commune and district officials stated that the organizers had failed to provide adequate notice of the event, despite the Law on Peaceful Demonstrations providing that no such notice is required for education dissemination activities including training events and notwithstanding the fact that the organizers had nevertheless informed the provincial authorities of the event in writing. Under the direction of deputy governor of Sandan district, Div Hok, police photographed all participants who had registered for the event as well as the organizers and observers from The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) and The Community Legal Education Center (CLEC). Div Hok requested that the organizers provide identity cards of all participants and observers. This request was denied. After a two hour stand-off between the authorities and the organizers, the event was eventually allowed to proceed following discussion with Sandan district council member Uch Bunhy.

In response to the intervention of officials and armed police, Ou Virak, President of CCHR, commented: For the second time in less than a month, a human rights training event organized by CCHR and NRPG has been disrupted by men carrying AK-47s. Again, the authorities have claimed that CCHR and NRPG have failed to satisfy notification requirements that simply do not exist. To see the authorities resort to these kinds of tactics against ordinary citizens who simply want to inform themselves of their rights under Cambodian and international law is nothing short of shocking. Nevertheless, what I will remember most from today is not the school yard bully boy tactics deployed by the authorities rather it is the defiance of the participants ordinary people motivated by their desire to inform themselves of their human rights under Cambodian and international law facing down armed police. For more information, contact: Ou Virak Telephone: +855 12 40 40 51 Email: ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org