Kratie chief urges CSO responsibility
AS THE Ministry of Interior prepares to meet NGOs for the third time next Thursday, Kratie provincial governor Va Thorn has urged an estimated 152 civil society organisations, associations and communities in the province to follow the law, maintain political neutrality and refrain from getting involved in a colour revolution.
Thorn made the call during a recent forum attended by civil society organisations and associations operating in the province.
Held under the theme Strengthening Cooperation with Civil Society Organisations (CSO) and the Government for Sustainable Development in Cambodia, the forum was presided over by Kim Roth Viseth, secretary of state at the Council of Ministers and president of the board of directors of the Civil Society Alliance Forum.
Thorn told The Post on Wednesday that some communities in the province had raised numerous concerns including land grabbing, forest clearing and fisheries-related offences.
The communities, he said, urged the aut horities to ta ke action against migrants’ encroachment on their communal land, stop illega l logging and overfishing.
But Soeng Sen Karuna, the spokesman for human rights group Adhoc based in the prov ince, said the forum did litt le to address the concerns of CSOs working on human rights and advocacy. He said CSOs st i l l faced restrictions when conducting t heir activ it ies.
“If [t he forum] is held to accept participants’ requests and address t heir concerns, and if releva nt aut horities
themselves comply with the Ministr y of Interior’s guidance, t here would not be any problems. But they [of ficia ls] failed to follow t he guidance.
“We still see officia ls going around monitoring and disrupting CSOs’ activ ities. That is t he main concern of t he participants,” he said.
However, Thorn said: “We have had good cooperation with associations, NGOs and communities in contributing to social development and poverty reduction in the province.
“Regarding land grabbing and forestry crimes brought up by forest and fishing communities during the forum, we will work to address their concerns,” he said.
Thorn also urged CSOs to strengthen solidarity and collaboration with the government, respect the laws on nongovernmental organisations and ensure political neutrality.
“Associations, NGOs and local communities must strictly follow the law, maintain neutrality, ensure transparency, and avoid secretly planning a revolution,” he stressed.
Roth Viseth of the Council of Ministers could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
The Ministr y of Interior’s announcement dated August 15 said the third forum between the government and CSOs will be held at the ministr y on August 29. The agenda will include rev iew ing t he progress of partnerships bet ween both parties.