Press freedom in Cambodia has been making headlines recently as one of the country’s last remaining independent outlets was shuttered by the government.
On February 12, Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen and his government revoked the operating licence of Phnom Penh-based outlet Voice of Democracy (VOD) just months ahead of the general election on July 23.
Media freedom in the country has come increasingly under pressure over the last few years. In 2017, Human Rights Watch released a report which described an “onslaught” against Cambodian media.
During one week in August 2017, the government revoked the licences of broadcasters Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, further ended broadcasts by radio stations owned by an opposition member and threatened to close independent newspaper Cambodia Daily. The newspaper was ultimately shut down one month later, ending its run with the headline “Descent Into Outright Dictatorship”.
Human Rights Watch later noted that a crackdown on independent media was a factor in Cambodia’s “fundamentally flawed” elections in 2018.
Reporters Without Borders currently ranks Cambodia as 142nd out of 180 countries for its press freedom and notes that a flourishing independent press that emerged in the late 1980s was curtailed in Hun Sen’s “ruthless war” against the industry.
VOD is simply the latest independent outlet to be closed under his leadership.
The shutdown was sparked by VOD reporting that Hun Manet, Hun Sen’s son and commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, allegedly signed off US$100,000 (NZD$160,000) of aid to Turkey following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6. Hun Manet did not have the authority for this despite government spokesperson Phay Siphan being quoted in the article as saying “it is not wrong for Hun Manet to play his father’s role”.
In a Facebook post, Hun Sen accused VOD of attacking his son and undermining the dignity of the Cambodian government. The Cambodian Centre for Independent Media – which operated VOD – issued a statement asking for forgiveness.
However, Hun Sen refused to accept this, and government officials revoked VOD’s licence and blocked its websites.
- Asia Media Centre
