The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen of having «eliminated every vestige of press freedom» in the country after withdrawing the license of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, parent of the Voice of Democracy (VOD) news agency, on Monday.
In the words of HRW’s deputy Asia director Phil Robertson, VOD has for years been «an important pillar of independent investigative journalism and objective criticism,» making its closure «a devastating blow to media freedom» and «will have repercussions throughout society.»
According to the NGO in a press release, Sen’s Cambodian government controls «all the national ratio and television stations that broadcast in Khmer», as well as the written press also in Khmer. VOD, for its part, emerged in 2003 as an independent media that has given voice to cases of corruption, human rights violations or repression of the opposition.
VOD’s role was even more relevant since 2017, when the government ordered the closure of ‘The Cambodia Daily’ and forced the sale of ‘Phnom Penh Post’ to a group of buyers close to Sen. Likewise, the authorities ordered the end of the broadcasting of those radios that had broadcasted Radio Free Asia programs.
«The closure of VOD may mean the end of the media environment necessary for credible elections (…) The Cambodian people are the ultimate losers, because they have lost one of the last sources of independent news on issues that affect their lives, their livelihoods and their human rights,» Robertson concluded.
The Cambodian government on Monday ordered the closure of VOD, one of the last independent media outlets in the Southeast Asian country, after it published an article that «damaged» the reputation of the government.
The information alluded to by the Cambodian authorities is one published last week in which VOD claimed that Hun Manet, one of Prime Minister Hun’s sons, had signed an aid package of up to $100,000 — more than 93,500 euros — for Turkey.
Although Hun Manet is commander-in-chief of the Cambodian Army, Cambodian law stipulates that foreign aid packages can only be signed by the head of government. For the Prime Minister, this information has only damaged the reputation of the Executive.
VOD even went so far as to issue a correction of the information which, however, was not enough for Sen, who finally ordered the closure of the media. Cambodian police officers raided VOD’s headquarters in the capital, Nom Pen, on Monday.
Sen’s decision was quickly criticized by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, who acknowledged being «alarmed» by the developments and «concerned» about an apparently «arbitrary» decision. In fact, Turk called on the Cambodian authorities to reverse the closure of VOD.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
