Mondolkiri Provincial Governor Thou Son’s decision to bar two ethnic minority villagers from leaving the province to attend an NGO workshop in Phnom Penh violates the Constitution and represents a serious attack on human rights, observers said Wednesday.
“People can travel freely within their own countries,” said Licadho President Kek Galabru. “The Constitution says we all have the freedom to travel,” she said.
Thou Son said he was following an Interior Ministry directive that requires people attending meetings outside the province to ask for permission before leaving.
However, government officials said in September that the Interior Ministry guidelines were intended for commune councilors who needed permission from provincial and municipal governors before engaging in study tours and workshops.
Em Veasna, an investigator with Human Rights Vigilance of Cambodia, said the two Mondolkiri villagers were not commune councilors.
Leng Vy, a director at the Interior Ministry’s department of local administration, was not aware of Thou Son’s decision but said each province interprets the guidelines as it feels is best.
Kuch Veng, a forestry activist in Pursat province, said he used to inform local officials of workshops he planned to hold and attend, but stopped doing so after he was repeatedly denied permission from authorities.
“I would not be allowed [to attend] if I reported to them,” he said.
