PHNOM PENH (Phnom Penh Post/ANN): Hundreds of Buddhists gathered to mark the Pchum Ben festival at Banteay Meanchey’s Wat Chouk Chey in Chouk Chey village on Monday (Sept 22), as border tensions with Thailand continue to simmer just one kilometre away.
The temple is located in O’Chrov district’s O’Bei Chon commune, close to the sugarcane plantation where Thai soldiers attempted to erect barbed wire on Cambodian land earlier this month.
Local residents and Cambodian security forces pushed back the September 4 attempts, preventing the encroachment.
The pagoda saw an unusually large turnout of worshippers, with the abbot of Wat Chouk Chey saying he had never seen so many Buddhists gather at the temple before.
He attributed the surge in attendance to the ongoing situation, noting that faith and national spirit were drawing people together.
“I call on Buddhists to continue coming to the temple in large numbers and to join in defending our land in Chouk Chey village, so that we can be a strong force to repel the Thai military from invading Cambodian territory,” he said.
Among those present was 17-year-old Loh Soly, a resident of Chouk Chey.
After offering prayers at the temple, she went to the plantation site where the Thai military had attempted to advance.
“I only want peace,” she said.
“I pray that there will be no further aggression by the Thai military,” she added.
The Pchum Ben festival, a time when Cambodians honour their ancestors, has taken on added meaning for the people of Chouk Chey, where the act of worship now intertwines with a broader defence of land and sovereignty. - Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network
