Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen on Sunday ordered the closure of Voice of Democracy, one of the country’s last independent news outlets, intensifying a lengthy crackdown on the media. and political opposition as he consolidated his power.
Mr. Hun Sen said he was angry when the newspaper mentioned his son and supposed heir, Lieutenant General Hun Manet, and was not satisfied with the apology he received.
Licadho, a leading Cambodian human rights organization, noted the importance of the action, saying that the VOD news agency “has become one of the most important independent media outlets in the country in recent years. here, published in Khmer and English.”
The Voice of Democracy radio arm was shut down in 2017, and it was one of dozens of frequencies broadcast in a widespread sweep ahead of the country’s 2018 elections. Since then, it has published online and on Facebook, where it has 1.8 million followers.
In recent months, hundreds of opposition politicians and their supporters have been impeached, jailed or forced into exile, making it easier for Hun Sen to stay in power. His party currently holds all 125 seats in the National Assembly.
Among those imprisoned were Theary Senga Cambodian-American lawyer and human rights activist was sentenced to six years in prison in June and is serving his sentence in a prison in the remote Preah Vihear province.
VOD has annoyed the prime minister with its positive reporting on social and political issues.
It has published dozens of articles documenting oppression in the run-up to local elections in 2022 and more than 60 others in an expose of forced labor in fraudulent activities across the country. network.
“Closing an independent media outlet is similar to the crackdown on journalists ahead of the final national elections in 2018,” Licadho said in the statement. A general election will be held in July.
At the end of 2017, Cambodia Daily, a major English-language publication, was shut down because of an arbitrary tax bill. Among the three dozen reporters who are now at risk of losing their jobs at VOD, some have worked for the Daily Cambodia.
VOD was established in 2003 by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization that promotes and protects media freedom. In an idealistic mission statement, it envisioned “a Cambodian society where everyone is well informed and empowered to strengthen democratic governance and respect human rights.”
VOD is currently run by the Center for Independent Media Cambodia and the closure is related to the revocation of the center’s media license.
That action came after Mr. Hun Sen and his son protested a February 9 VOD article, which included comments by a government spokesman indicating that General Manet had signed an agreement to provide assistance. financial aid to Turkey after the 6 February earthquake there.
Such an action seems to have gone beyond General Manet’s authority, and Hun Sen said a letter from the Independent Media Center was inadequate as it did not include the word “sorry”. He later dismissed an appeal that later used the word, saying the government “must maintain its dignity”.
“It’s a lesson learned for other media outlets,” said Khieu Kanharith, information minister.
