Thirty families in Koh Kong have jointly filed a complaint letter to local authorities

and human rights groups asking that an order to move their roadside houses with no

compensation be reconsidered.

Residents of Andong Teuk village in Botum Sakor district sent the thumb-printed letter

to Koh Kong Governor Yuth Phu Thong, to Botum Sakor District Governor On Pheareak

and to Licadho, Adhoc, Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC) and the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights in Cambodia.

The letter requested compensation for their houses in cash or materials to rebuild,

said a villager on condition of anonymity.

Phu Thong and Pheareak confirmed they had received the letter and said they have

set up a committee to inspect the exact number of houses affected.

"About 50 percent of them [Andong Teuk residents] have dismantled their houses;

we are discussing with the provincial authority what to do with the remaining residents,"

Pheareak said. "I don't think they can dismantle as scheduled and we cannot

enforce the law 100 percent as those people have lived in the area for a long time."