Villagers from the former Boeung Kak lake, Borei Keila and Thma Kul communities are to hold a month-long protest in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park to pressure City Hall to resolve a long running land dispute.

The group, comprising around 160 families, told City Hall about their plans on Monday and said they would march to the National Assembly, as well as petition various embassies, according to former Boeung Kak lake resident Sea Nareth.

Thousands of families have left the former lake area since 2008 when developer Shukaku Inc filled it with sand.

Nareth said that former residents were staging the protest to demand that City Hall give each family a 4-by-18-metre plot of land in the area in which they previously lived.

“Our homes at Boeung Kak were filled with sand so we were forced to take little compensation,” she said. “We need a plot of land at Boeung Kak.”

City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche said, “We have received the letter and we will send it to the Governor to decide if City Hall allows them to do it [the protest] or not."