The Bunong and Lao people place spiritual significance on the forests and ancestral burial grounds which will be flooded when the dam goes online.
The paper was handed a $6 million tax bill earlier this month and given until September 4 to pay or face closure, the seizure of its assets and suspension of its license to operate.
The Cambodia Daily told VOA Khmer in an email that the tax bill was not based on an audit of the company’s accounts and was politically motivated.
The $168 monthly minimum wage is a $15 increase in the wage paid to the hundreds of thousands of garment workers this year.
U.N. Rights envoy Rhona Smith expressed her support for Vanny’s cause, adding that the U.N. had written several letters to the government and was awaiting a response.
Human rights observers, however, say that while Hun Sen’s more than 30-year grip on Cambodia may seem unshakable, his rule cannot last forever.
The Boeung Kak activists also submitted a petition to Rhona Smith, the U.N.’s rights envoy to Cambodia, who is in the country on a fact-finding mission.
Rhona Smith began her 10-day visit to Cambodia on Tuesday and is scheduled to meet with more government officials in the coming days.
Kim Sok, 36, accused Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of being behind the July 2016 murder of government critic Kem Ley.
Mam Sonando blamed a lack of funding for the party’s failure but added that he would continue to be active in politics by giving lectures and making radio appearances.
The protest Tep Vanny helped lead was held to demand compensation for victims of forced eviction, but it turned violent when guards refused to allow protesters to deliver a petition.
More than 4,000 families have already relocated to make way for the floodwaters, most from the ethnic Bunong and Kuy minorities.
Hun Sen called CNN’s report into child sex trafficking in Svay Pak, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, an “insult which can’t be tolerated.”
In a statement issued on the same day, Prime Minister Hun Sen congratulated Gen. Banh, calling him a “very capable and loyal operator”.
UN officials this week remained tight-lipped about the purpose and scope of Smith’s visit to Cambodia.
Cambodia last went to the polls in 2013 amid evidence of widespread voter fraud, intimidation, and political violence.
Some $3.5 billion was thought to have been lent to about 2 million families by Micro Finance Institutions in Cambodia by 2016.
The Cambodian government has committed itself to eliminating new cases of HIV infection by 2025.
The donation was made to Kem Rithisith, Ley’s brother, and will go towards to construction of a $170,000 marble stupa in honor of the political critic.
The dam is scheduled to be tested on Saturday and is reportedly flooding an area where villagers have refused to leave.
ព័ត៌មានផ្សេងទៀត
![The Cambodia Daily Newspaper, publishing an article on “... Hun Sen Says [The Cambodia Daily] Pay Tax [$6.3 million dollars] or Leave,” displays at the newsstand in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, August 23, 2107. (Hean Socheata/VOA Khmer)](https://gdb.voanews.com/13ebbbf0-e42a-46d5-b1a4-acc960bcdf99_cx0_cy7_cw0_w100_r1.jpg)
![The Cambodia Daily Newspaper, publishing an article on “... Hun Sen Says [The Cambodia Daily] Pay Tax [$6.3 million dollars] or Leave,” displays at the newsstand in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, August 23, 2107. (Hean Socheata/VOA Khmer)](https://gdb.voanews.com/13ebbbf0-e42a-46d5-b1a4-acc960bcdf99_cx0_cy7_cw0_w66_r1.jpg)
