Cambodge Soir closed for business

Thursday, June 14, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Cambodge Soir, the French and Khmer-language newspaper stopped its publication after 12-year of publishing in Cambodia. In a statement issued by the newspaper Editorial, the newspaper will be definitively closed due to bankruptcy. However, Stéphanie Gée, Chief Editor of Cambodge Soir, told The Cambodia Daily that the newspaper was shut down because of an article it wrote about the Global Witness report was too critical of the government. Following the publication of the article, one of the reporters was fired, and the newspaper employees started a strike on Monday to protest the firing of one of their colleagues. Nevertheless, the newspaper management announced on Tuesday that it has decided to closed down the newspaper.

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KI-Media note: The Cambodia Daily quoted Philippe Monin, director of Société des Editions du Mekong, the owner of Cambodge Soir, who said of the striking reporters and editors: “They don’t have the same way of perceiving the development of the country.” According to Reporters Without Borders, Philippe Monin is also employed by the French Development Agency (AFD) to act as an adviser for the Cambodian agriculture ministry, of which Chan Sarun is the minister. Chan Sarun is directly named by Global Witness report for involvement in illegal logging.