27 February 2007
Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
A "March for Freedom of Expression, Non-violence, and Political Tolerance in Cambodia" will be held from 28 February to 15 March 2007, with the starting point at Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh and the final destination at Angkor Wat in Siem Reap.
Organised by the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC), the 16-day march covering 314 kilometres is being held for the people to express their demands ahead of the council election campaign on 16 March 2007.
Freedom of expression in Cambodia is limited despite the guarantee provided by the Constitution under article 41. Most of the local media, with the exception of a few radio stations, are controlled and restricted by the authoritarian government. The poor literacy rate adds another layer of restriction on access to both traditional and new media.
"The march is one of the things that people can use to express their opinions . . . we want to show how freedom of expression is needed for other rights," said AFEC General Secretary Ou Virak, adding that opinions from people enroute will be collected and conveyed to the higher authorities.
A similar march took place from 11 to 13 February 2006, over 45 kilometres, from Phnom Penh to Oudong, to demand for the decriminalisation of defamation. About 500 people including 100 monks joined the whole march.
This time, the organisers have added "political tolerance" to the theme as political violence has been shown to increase before and during elections. "It is necessary that we all demand political tolerance amongst political parties and grassroots members as well as the general public," said AFEC in a 27 February release.
Six hundred people nominated by AFEC will form the core of the march, while the public may join in at any point or all the way. Ox-carts will carry banners bearing the message and participants will don yellow ribbons to symbolise their demand for free expression.
In the evenings, roundtable discussions will be held at designated rest spots for villagers to express their opinions. The talks will be aired live on four radio stations - Beehive Radio FM105Mhz, 90FM, Radio Klaing Moeung FM90.25Mhz in Battambang province and Angkor Ratha Radio FM95.5Mhz in Seam Reap province.
For more information please contact: Mr. Ou Virak, General Secretary of AFEC, tel: 012 404 051, e-mail: virak_ou@yahoo.com
Organised by the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC), the 16-day march covering 314 kilometres is being held for the people to express their demands ahead of the council election campaign on 16 March 2007.
Freedom of expression in Cambodia is limited despite the guarantee provided by the Constitution under article 41. Most of the local media, with the exception of a few radio stations, are controlled and restricted by the authoritarian government. The poor literacy rate adds another layer of restriction on access to both traditional and new media.
"The march is one of the things that people can use to express their opinions . . . we want to show how freedom of expression is needed for other rights," said AFEC General Secretary Ou Virak, adding that opinions from people enroute will be collected and conveyed to the higher authorities.
A similar march took place from 11 to 13 February 2006, over 45 kilometres, from Phnom Penh to Oudong, to demand for the decriminalisation of defamation. About 500 people including 100 monks joined the whole march.
This time, the organisers have added "political tolerance" to the theme as political violence has been shown to increase before and during elections. "It is necessary that we all demand political tolerance amongst political parties and grassroots members as well as the general public," said AFEC in a 27 February release.
Six hundred people nominated by AFEC will form the core of the march, while the public may join in at any point or all the way. Ox-carts will carry banners bearing the message and participants will don yellow ribbons to symbolise their demand for free expression.
In the evenings, roundtable discussions will be held at designated rest spots for villagers to express their opinions. The talks will be aired live on four radio stations - Beehive Radio FM105Mhz, 90FM, Radio Klaing Moeung FM90.25Mhz in Battambang province and Angkor Ratha Radio FM95.5Mhz in Seam Reap province.
For more information please contact: Mr. Ou Virak, General Secretary of AFEC, tel: 012 404 051, e-mail: virak_ou@yahoo.com
3 comments:
Can we march over ah Priet head may be he canspread shit over ah Hun Xen head!
Let them (fools) march out of the
country, and no one care. Mua ha
ha ha ...
we weill burn ttheir embassy as we had done in 1969 and well barbeque ah khmeng khnong wat along with his asshole yuon shits
khmer knong srok
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