Lao villagers still disenfranchised three years after eviction
Villagers who were evicted from their homes in northern Laos to make way for a new hydroelectric dam remain disenfranchised three years on, according to media reports.
The villagers relocated from Xayaburi province in 2018 are housed in resettlement towns where they lack enough land and water to support themselves as farmers, Radio Free Asia’s Lao Service has reported.
“We can grow crops on the land provided by the dam developer and the authorities, but there’s not enough of the land to farm,” a resident of a resettlement village in the same province was quoted as saying. “Our village also doesn’t have running water yet.”
UCA News reporter, Vientiane
