Fishermen in Kampot province complain that a new SEZ project will destroy their livelihoods and forever damage their mangroves and their coastline
MORE than 300 villagers have filed complaints with the Kampot provincial governor to stop a private company from developing a coastal fishing area.
Under a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) agreement with the government, businessman Wing Huor's Kampot SEZ has been filling in coastal mangrove forests with sand, according to local residents.
The project is to eventually include a new port, factory, market, condominium complex and public park located on about 1,000 hectares of coast.
Koem Da, a resident of Roluos village in Boeung Touk commune, said people in the community rely on the area being developed for fishing.
"The pumping has filled in many fishing areas and is taking away our ability to survive here," Koem Da said.
Patrolling the coast
She said local villagers have begun patrolling fishing areas to prevent the company from continuing to pump.
"We are following the law by protecting our environment, but the company claims that what we do is illegal."
Wing Huor was travelling on Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.
"We know the company has a development project with the government that is worth millions of dollars, but they never consulted us before they began about how it would affect our community," Lor Chhean, a fisherman from Prek Thanaut commune, said.
If the company keeps pumping sand...everything we rely on will be lost.
Pak Tyram, deputy chief of Treuy Koh commune in Kampot district, said more than 90 percent of people in the commune are fishermen.
"The mangrove forests are where we catch fish, prawns and crab. If the company keeps pumping sand to fill in these areas, everything we rely on will be lost," he said.
More projects expected
Tryy Chhoun, a Kampot coordinator for the rights group Adhoc, said many new development projects have been slated for coastal areas throughout the province, and the government has targeted prime fishing spots for the establishment of SEZs.
"This is Cambodia, not Hong Kong or Singapore. The government should rethink these projects," he said.
Khem Bunheng, director of Kampot's Department of Environment, admitted that the government has targeted beachfront land to attract foreign investment and that such projects would have an impact on local communities.
"Development always affects some people's living conditions, but we can't survive without development," he said.
Sar Sorin, director of the District Fisheries Administration of Kampot, said the government has carefully studied all proposals for coastal development and that whatever problems exist for local villagers will be temporary.
"I believe the villagers and the company will be able to find a way to work together for their mutual benefit," he said.
Hasten Duch trial: victim
WHEN Rin was a young woman, she lost her sister to the S-21 prison. Thirty years on, the 52-year-old, who is terminally ill, worries that legal delays will now deprive her on her only chance of finding justice.
"I want to request that [former S-21 jailor] Duch be put on trial as soon as possible, otherwise I may not live to see justice," she told the Post at her Svay Rieng home.
Rin, who cannot be fully identified for legal reasons, is confined to a wheelchair by disease. For years she has dreamt of confronting the Khmer Rouge torture chief Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, in person, but she now doubts she will even be well enough to attend his trial, expected in October.
In 2005, Rin discovered her missing sister was one of the 14,000 people tortured and killed at Tuol Sleng prison. She applied to have the power of a civil party because she wanted to participate directly in the trial of her sister's alleged killer.
Terith Chy, team leader of the victim participation project at the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), said many civil parties "want [the trials] to go faster," he said.
Rin, who also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, says living to see Duch tried will give her closure. "If I live to see the court bring justice, I will die peacefully."
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