Border Killing: Migrant shot by Thais on border: govt

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Border Killing: Migrant shot by Thais on border: govt
Cheang Sokha
Friday, 25 June 2010

A migrant worker from Battambang died after being shot by Thai soldiers while returning from work in Thailand on Wednesday, in a violation of military agreements between the two countries, a Cambodian border official said Thursday.

Colonel An Saray, commander of the Cambodia-Thailand Border Relations Office in Battambang’s Sampov Luon district, said Dim Doeun was shot by “black-clad” Thai soldiers 200 metres from the border at 6:40pm while returning with three colleagues.

“The shooting is absolutely an abuse of the memorandum of understanding we have agreed to that armed forces not open fire on migrant workers, but the Thais still abused this,” he said.

Thai soldiers had opened fire because they believed the men were illegally smuggling motorbikes across the border, he added, and confirmed that the body had been repatriated Thursday.

Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also condemned the shooting, and said the ministry was waiting for an official explanation from the consulate in Thailand’s Sakeo province.

phnompenhpost.com

[billy the kid]

absolutly a disgrace .
even if it was over a god-dam bike .
unbelievable .
fokin poor guy is dead.

[cambtek]

The thai shoot shitloads of khmers on the border-it is a disgrace.
But of course the kmher army and military police and police also shoot their own people.
Often during land disputes that involve powerful people stealing land.

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Border killing leads to row over damages
Cheang Sokha
Wednesday, 30 June 2010

THAI authorities stationed along the border have offered a compensation payment of 30,000 baht (US$927) to the family of a Cambodian migrant worker shot and killed by Thai soldiers last week, though a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that the sum would not make up for the “cruel act”.

Dim Doeun, 44, was shot and killed last Wednesday while returning to his native Sampov Loun district in Battambang province. He was 200 metres from the border when the shooting occurred, Cambodian officials said last week.

Colonel An Saray, commander of the Cambodia-Thai Border Relations Office in Sampov Loun district, said Thai authorities stationed near the border had on Saturday given the family 30,000 baht in compensation.

“Thai authorities did not admit that their army shot the victim, but they claim the case is under investigation,” he said. “They acknowledged that the victim was shot dead in Thailand, so the compensation is a way of taking responsibility for the victim dying in their country.”

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said Tuesday that the compensation payment would not discourage Cambodian officials from raising the case with the Thai government.

“They cannot use this money for totalling the value of the lives of the people,” he said. “They open fire on people like they are shooting animals. They don’t use the law; they use guns and bullets, which we cannot accept.”

He said the ministry was still looking to verify the particulars of the “cruel act” before sending a diplomatic note to Thailand.

Thani Thongpakdi, spokesman for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, could not be reached for comment on the case Tuesday, while Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said he was “not in a position to comment”.

The rights group Adhoc reported in February that more than 20 Cambodian civilians – including a 6-year-old child – had been shot by Thai soldiers in the border region in the past two years.

“Thai soldiers have no right to kill Cambodian citizens who cross into Thailand,” said a statement accompanying the report’s release.

phnompenhpost.com

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Cambodia demands explanation for Thai shooting
Vong Sokheng
Thursday, 01 July 2010

THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic note to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, describing the recent shooting of a Cambodian civilian by Thai troops as an “inhuman act”.

In a statement, the ministry said that soldiers from the Royal Thai Army’s Unit 13 opened fire on a group of four Cambodian villagers who were crossing back into Cambodia on June 23. One of the men, known as Dim Doeu, was seriously wounded and died on the way to hospital.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia considers the act as another serious breach of internationally accepted humanitarian principle, which should not be committed by an agent of a civilised State in official capacity,” the statement said.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia requests the Thai authorities concerned to take appropriate measures to prevent such atrocities from recurrence, to conduct thorough investigation into this unfortunate incident, and to bring to justice those who committed the above act of cruelty.”

Koy Kuong, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Thailand has never issued a formal response to numerous diplomatic notes related to border shootings.

“Every diplomatic note that we have submitted to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh relating to Thai soldiers shooting migrant workers from Cambodia has never received a reply,” he said.

“Therefore, we condemn them as a thief who never makes a confession of their crimes.”

In February, local rights group Adhoc reported that more than 20 Cambodian civilians, including a 6-year-old child, had been shot by Thai soldiers in the border region in the past two years.

In the most notorious case, Oddar Meanchey provincial authorities reported in September last year that 16-year-old Yon Rith, an illegal logger from Samrong district, was shot and burned alive by Thai border soldiers.

Suwat Keowsook, secretary at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Chawanon Intharakomansut, spokesman of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

phnompenhpost.com