Phnom Penh police begin operations today to crack down on illegal weapons ahead of next month’s Asean Summit, and plans have also been hatched to remove street-side food stalls from prominent locations during the high-level meetings, officials said on Thursday.
Phnom Penh Police Chief Suon Chheangly said hundreds of municipal and military police officers gathered Thursday for their annual meeting, which was devoted to security plans for the summit.
Police checkpoints will be set up to catch armed citizens and to suppress night-time crime, Suon Chheangly said.
“From year to year, the city cracks down on guns and collects them from the illegal user. But the crackdown is usually on and off like the rain,” he said.
“The plan is to start the crackdown again tomorrow. We have no deadline when we will finish.”
Suon Chheangly said he was concerned with night-time crime because photographs of the dead and mutilated usually ended up on the front page of local newspapers, and that would create a bad impression for Asean visitors.
“This is not a good sign for security,” Suon Chheangly said. “All police and military have the duty to crack down.”
Phnom Penh Vice Governor Trac Thai Sieng also said on Thursday that due to security concerns, food vendors in certain areas of the city will have to close during the summit meetings.
Curbside food vendors on Pochentong Boulevard, the popular riverfront and Royal Palace areas and Norodom Boulevard will be prohibited because of the large number of officials traveling around the city, Trac Thai Sieng said.
“In general, that is the city’s plan,” Trac Thai Sieng said. “These parts of the city should be cleared, otherwise it will be difficult to ensure the security of the delegates.”
Trac Thai Seng said he did not know how many days before and after the summit the vendor ban would be enforced.
Riverfront fruit vendor So Yi, 61, said she could obey the city orders for a few days, but her family would suffer if it continued for long.
“If the authorities want to close in the day, it is OK, but they should allow us open after 5 pm,” she said.
Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara said recently the city would not be ringed in security cordons during the Asean Summit.
However, with an estimated 1,000 visitors expected for the Asean and Mekong Subregion summits, many believe that ordinary movement around the city will be seriously curtailed.
(Additional reporting by Kevin Doyle)
