KhmerTimes-Sept 30, 2025
The Banteay Meanchey Provincial Administration has lodged a strong protest against Thailand’s Sa Kaeo Provincial Administration after Thai authorities put up banners declaring the enforcement of Thai law over Cambodians living in Chork Chey and Prey Chan villages along the border in O’Chrov district, prompting people to flock to the villages to show solidarity with the residents. In a formal letter to his Thai counterpart, Governor Oum Reatrey said the actions constitute a serious violation of Cambodian citizens’ rights and contravene previous agreements between the two countries. “These repeated acts of raising banners with such content constitute a serious threat to the rights of Cambodian citizens who have peacefully lived and depended on these villages for many decades, long before the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Land Boundary Demarcation between Cambodia and Thailand (MOU 2000),” the letter said. Thai media reported that authorities had erected large trilingual eviction notices ordering Cambodian villagers to vacate disputed forest land. Six signs were placed—three each at Ban Nong Ya Kaew and Ban Nong Chan in Khok Sung District—declaring the areas protected under Thai law. The notices, written in Thai, English and Khmer, warn that violators face up to 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 baht ($3,100) under the 1941 Forest Act. Eviction deadlines were set at October 3 for Ban Nong Ya Kaew and October 10 for Ban Nong Chan. Thai officials have said that anyone remaining beyond those dates will be arrested and prosecuted. Read more at:
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501764210/thai-eviction-signs-in-border-villages-draw-censure-fury/
