Resolute: Activists with chained hands and feet protesting in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. — AFP
Three Cambodian environmentalists marched in chains in Phnom Penh to protest against a travel ban that will stop them from receiving a prestigious award in Sweden.
On Monday, a Phnom Penh court rejected a bid by Mother Nature Cambodia campaigners Thun Ratha, 31, Long Kunthea, 25, and Phuon Keoraksmey, 22, to travel to Stockholm to accept a Right Livelihood Foundation award.
A court sentenced the trio to between 18 and 20 months in prison in May 2021 for organising a peaceful march protesting against a lake in the capital being filled in to create land for real estate developments.
They were released in late 2021, placed under strict judicial supervision and barred from leaving the country.
Walking barefoot in the rain, the activists on Friday urged authorities to overturn the travel ban.
“Please let us go to Sweden, we need to get our award,” Phuon Keoraksmey said, her hands in chains. “Cambodian people support us.”
The Right Livelihood foundation praised Mother Nature Cambodia for its work “on the frontlines with local communities to preserve nature and livelihoods even in the face of a growing government crackdown on civil society activism”.
The Stockholm-based organisation said it was saddened the three activists could not attend the ceremony in late November but hailed their courage.
In a statement on its website, the foundation criticised what it called the Cambodian government’s “ongoing intimidation, legal harassment and surveillance of those who support the organisation”.
“Their work serves as a powerful reminder of the connection between democracy, human rights, and environmental activism,” the statement said.
The tussle over protecting or exploiting Cambodia’s natural resources has long been a contentious issue, with environmentalists threatened, arrested and even killed in the past decade. — AFP
