Commune arrests

A Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker yesterday blasted the decision of the Kampong Thom provincial court to charge commune council candidates from the SRP and Funcinpec over alleged land grabbing, saying the move was politically motivated ahead of upcoming elections.

The two men from Prasat Balang district’s Sakrean commune; 59-year-old Sam Rainsy party second assistant to commune council, Ear Eor, and 55-year-old Funcinpec first assistant to the commune council, So Sam Eor, were charged on Monday.

SRP lawmaker Men Sothavarin, said the pair was singled out and arrested from a group including 70 families and the CPP commune chief looking for land less prone to floods. “My investigation found that the group did not do any thing against the law, they had just come to look for the relocation site before sending a request to the government,” he said. “It was clearly politically motivated.” Both Ear Eor and So Sam Eor, he said, are set to contest upcoming council elections in 2012 against the incumbent CPP Sakrean commune chief.

Kampong Thom provincial prosecutor, Sreng Meng Srun, said yesterday, he had no idea which political parties the men belonged to and was just doing his job.