Cambodia’s activist monk fights on despite threats focus 08/31/2011

Cambodia’s activist monk fights on despite threats

focus

08/31/2011
PHNOM PENH — His saffron robe a rare beacon among protesters, Cambodia’s most outspoken monk has been banned from temples and risked arrest for challenging rights abuses — but he vows not to be silenced.

“The more they threaten me, the more I stand up for our rights,” said the Venerable Loun Sovath, also known as the “multimedia monk” for filming forced evictions and distributing the footage.

In a country where Buddhist monks are hugely respected but rarely seen standing shoulder to shoulder with those fighting abuses, his peaceful activism has attracted praise from rights groups — and condemnation from authorities.

“Seeing a monk among the crowd lifts the spirits of people defending their human rights,” the bespectacled holy man told AFP during a recent interview in the capital, where he joined a rally against deforestation..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110831com5.html