Cambodian produce vendors block Sa Kaew crossing
About 1,000 Cambodian vendors held a protest blocking the temporary border crossing at Ban Khao Din in Sa Kaew's Khlong Hat district on Sunday morning demonstrating against Thai authorities seizing their farm produce, such as garlic and papaya.
Sa Kaew Administrative Organisation vice president Thongthos Maksakhon, who went to negotiate with the Cambodian protesters, said people claimed the Thai authorities had made arrests and seized produce at the border area’s Sunday Market, where the Thai military presence had created an intimidating atmosphere.
He said protesters submitted three demands: People should be allowed to sell Cambodian farm produce at the market; the border crossing should open at 5.30am on a daily basis; and military officers carrying guns should not be allowed in the market.
The Ban Khao Din temporary border crossing is scheduled to be formally announced as the province’s second border crossing, pending the Thai Cabinet’s approval and subsequent publication in Royal Gazette.
