PM urges Sesan dam resolution

Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered Stung Treng provincial authorities and the firms behind the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam to prepare compensation money and alternative homes for about 100 families still refusing to leave their land. Speaking yesterday at the inauguration of the dam in Sesan district, he said more could be done to encourage the last villagers to accept compensation and relocate.

“As far as I know, those who have not yet left still have crops on rotation in the area,” Mr Hun Sen said. “If money and homes were prepared for them, they have the option to take those, if they agree to leave.” He added that developments always affect the environment and local people, such as in Kbal Romeas and Sre Ko communes, but said the government and private companies must work together to compensate villagers and minimise environmental impact.

“There is no development project that does not affect the environment, large or small. We always have to balance whether or not to go ahead,” he said. Fort Kheun is one of a number of people who has refused to leave. He said he and other villagers will not abandon their ancestral territory.

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