Some 200 villagers in Koh Kong province ended a demonstration Saturday that had blocked National Road 48 over the weekend.
The protesters, from two villages in Srey Ambel district, are demanding a resolution to a longstanding land dispute with ruling party senator and prominent businessman Ly Yong Phat, who is also the owner of Koh Kong Sugar Industry, Ltd.
Villagers say they have been pushed off nearly 1,500 hectares of land to make way for the senator’s sugar cane crops.
Chan Saveth, a rights investigator for the group Adhoc, said they had ended their protest “because they had no results from the authorities.”
Protesting villager Teng Kao told VOA Khmer that demonstrators had walked to Phnom Penh to find a resolution to their case, had complained to Koh Kong provincial court and had submitted a plea to Prime Minister Hun Sen. “No result,” he said. “It seems he does not hear our problem.”
Authorities in Srey Ambel negotiated with protesters Saturday, saying they would take their complaints to the provincial governor. Villagers yelled back they were repeatedly given similar promises but nothing had so far been done.
Provincial court authorities could not be reached for comment.