Monday, 06 August 2012
By Phak Seangly
Phnom Penh Post Two Cambodian soldiers carrying timber who had crossed the border into Thailand near Oddar Meanchey province were shot dead by Thai border soldiers, Cambodian provincial police officers said yesterday.
The two Cambodian soldiers, Soth Veth, 23, and Yuon Neath, 53, were from an artillery unit in Samrong town according to Mao Samnang, police chief in Koun Kriel commune.
Armed Thai soldiers shot the two twice in the chest when they were about five kilometres into Thailand’s Surin province at about 3:30pm, attempting to transport illegally logged timber into Cambodian territory, Chhit Chhorn, deputy chief of staff at the provincial police office, said.
“We do not know how many Cambodian soldiers went there,” Chhorn said.
“The army office does not want the unfortunate information to be known, they want to keep it secret.”
In May, Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the summary shooting of Cambodians by Thai border police, pointing out that the border was not clearly demarcated by pillars or fences.
“It is not a reason for extrajudicially killing these villagers who are also human beings, although not Thai citizens, because such action is not conducive to maintaining healthy bilateral ties between the two countries, and it is also a violation of universally recognised humanitarian principles and human rights,” the May statement reads.
Srey Naren, the provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said that about 15 Cambodians, mostly illegal loggers, had been shot dead by Thai soldiers this year in Oddar Meanchey.
The number of deaths this year is higher than last year’s reported 11 cases, he said.
“Poverty is one of the reasons for those victims to take a risk and do logging,” Naren added.
San Vanna, deputy governor of Oddar Meanchey province, said Thai soldiers should not have shot the Cambodian soldiers, they should have arrested them when they crossed the border illegally.
Officials at the Thai and Cambodian defence ministries could not be reached for comment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Phak Seangly at seangly.phak@phnompenhpost.com
7 comments:
I wanted to get my hands on the shooter so badly,why shoot and killed humanbeing while you got the user hand to arrestes them,these Siams soldiers were murderers of Khmer unarms.Yu Ay. ambassador to Siam should file law suit to bring these murderers to justice for the killing of unarms khmers.
I blamed these deaths on the victims themselves more than these Siam animals. As RCAF soldiers they knew clearly that they are crossing into these animals territories. Siam will always looking for a chance to spill Khmer's blood. These Khmer soldiers went into Siam animals land unarmed which is stupid. Bring arms with you because these Siam animals will kill you whether you are armed or not. As soldier you should not be easy targets like unarmed civilians. Such ashamed every time hearing Siam took Khmer's lives. By me saying this I am not agreed with these inhuman animals, unprofessional Siam military personels. Khmers should do the same to Siam if they cross over into our land. If we kill them we should feed these Siam body to crocodiles.
Hope Khmers STOP make themselves easy targets.
I'm not taken Thailand side, but I have to blame cambodian people for illegally crossing into Thailand, people need to get a visa and proper document's paper inorder to go and look for work in Thailand...A lot of cambodian people were crossing illegally and they even chop down Thai's tree, steal Motor from Thai and selling in cambodia...This is why they got shot? when Patrol police asking them to stop and checking your paper and you run, don't stop? Yes, they will shoot!!
The way to make money nowaday is illegally logging and drug dealing/selling or drug trafficking...even thought people already knew whats their consequence....
4:46a,these were way to stop these khmers illegal border crossing/ logging don't shoot and kill'em,you just arrests them make then pay fine,don't takes their lives because of the " tree" They are poor that wise they did what they did,the land is still under dispute,no border marked nothing....So I blamed the Siamese soldier for taking these people lives.
The victims has families,kids to feed they did what they did because poverty and lacks of knowledge about these Siam aniamal's killer prey on the poor khmers.
This will creates more hatred between khmers & Siams in the future,retaliation will go on and on...Siam got gun doesn't have to shoot a person with no gun it doesn't matter what the victims does, arrests them don't killed them.You'll hear retaliation in the near future,just watch and see...
Khmer
Thanks for your reply, but I do felt sorrow for our Khmer brothers. In the real civilized country yes they would arrest these Khmers instead of killing them., but Siam are civilized ONLY on the surface. They still use barbaric attitude. Even Laos better, they arrest Khmers and make them pay fines.
Yes crossing into another country illegally is a no no but that don't give the Thai soldiers to shoot to kill unarmed civilians. Even Laotian didn't killed Khmer people when they entered Laos illegal. Thai still used a barbaric methods when dealing with Khmers. We Khmers slways arrest Thai when they entered illegally. Most civilized countries around the world DO NOT KILL illegal immigrants.
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