Act Daily News
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One of Cambodia’s final remaining impartial media retailers has been shut down by Prime Minister Hun Sen forward of nationwide elections in July, in a transfer condemned by rights teams as a blow to press freedom.
Based within the capital Phnom Penh, Voice of Democracy (VOD), an area outlet run by the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, printed radio and on-line reviews about labor and rights points, environmental crime and political corruption.
It reported final week that Hun Manet, son of the prime minister, allegedly signed an settlement to donate support to Turkey, which was struck by a catastrophic earthquake final week. The report alluded to an obvious overstep of his authority.
Hun Sen refuted the report and issued statements on Facebook accusing the outlet of attacking his son and hurting the “dignity and reputation” of the Cambodian authorities.
He additionally refused to just accept an official apology from VOD and added that its newsroom workers “should look for jobs elsewhere.”
Government officers revoked VOD’s working license on Monday and blocked its web sites in English and Khmer.
Several VOD workers took to social media to share news of the corporate’s sudden closure.
“It has reached the end point,” wrote Mech Dara, considered one of its reporters, on Twitter. “I (thought) we might have survived longer.”
He instructed Act Daily News that many journalists had been “still in shock” after Monday’s occasions.
“We were expecting it to happen but not so quickly,” he stated. “We fought for the truth. We always have but clearly some people could not handle it.”
“There are so many stories to be told about Cambodia from Cambodia and this extends to the wider region – countries like Myanmar and Vietnam,” he added. “It’s a space that’s getting narrower and narrower and voices are stifled so that the outside world can’t see in.”
“We have to face the reality and the challenges that come along with it but we will take it one day at a time.”
The prime minister’s workplace hasn’t but responded to a Act Daily News request for additional remark concerning the VOD closure.
Hun Sen has served because the nation’s prime minister since 1985, making him one of many world’s longest serving leaders.
During his tenure, a number of impartial newspapers and web sites have been shut down and dozens of opposition figures jailed or compelled into exile.
“Voice of Democracy has served as an important mainstay of independent investigative reporting and objective criticism for years,” stated Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Hun Sen’s closure of VOD is a devastating blow to media freedom in the country and will have an impact across Cambodian society.”
“The Cambodian people are the ultimate losers because they have lost one of the last remaining sources of independent news on issues affecting their lives, livelihoods and human rights.”
Amnesty International stated the closure served as “a clear warning to other critical voices” months earlier than nationwide elections in July.
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“The Prime Minister should immediately withdraw this heavy handed and disproportionate order,” it stated.
Exiled former Cambodian opposition chief Sam Rainsy stated VOD’s closure was “obviously politically motivated.”
“Substantially all of Cambodia’s media is now government controlled,” he instructed Act Daily News. “It also occurs in the context of [the] ongoing wrongful imprisonment of opposition supporters and routine intimidation of those who continue to operate.”
“Governments [around the world] must educate citizens about the dangers of [those in power in] Cambodia because the Cambodian government won’t play its part in doing so.”
Western ambassadors within the nation expressed their issues concerning the closure of VOD.
“We are deeply troubled by the abrupt decision to revoke VOD’s media license,” in keeping with an announcement from the US embassy in Phnom Penh. “A free and independent press is the cornerstone of any functioning democracy, providing the public and decision makers with facts and holding governments to account,” it added.
“We urge the Cambodian authorities to revisit this decision.”
“Germany believes in the free access of information as the basis for free and fair elections,” stated the German embassy. “The freedom of press in Cambodia has lost one of its last remaining independent media outlets.”
Source: www.cnn.com