Fri, 16 Nov 2007DPA
Siem Reap, Cambodia - Murders of Cambodian journalists may have decreased in recent years, but the threat is increasingly becoming one of legal intimidation, the country's most powerful journalist union said Friday. The Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ) made the statement at a two-day meeting of local and international journalists, government officials and representatives of the Konrad Adenhauer Foundation in this northern city, some 400 kilometres from the capital.
"Cambodia is not a perfect place for journalists. There were six journalists killed between 1993 and 1997. In recent years, while there have been no killings, arrests, threats and legal intimidation have become of increasing concern," the CCJ said.
"The trend against press freedom has turned from violence to legal means as politicians and others become more sophisticated."
A spokesman for the CCJ said while the 2003 shooting of royalist radio journalist Chour Chet Tharith was perhaps the last murder of a journalist, in 2006 alone there were seven lawsuits and arrests and 12 serious threats recorded against CCJ member journalists.
Ministry of Information secretary of state Srey Channy countered by saying that Cambodia respected press freedom, but no journalist had the right to abuse their position for personal or financial gain.
"Press freedom without responsibility can also put democracy in danger. Therefore I appeal to Cambodian journalists to stick to the principals of journalism and perform their duties ethically and professionally," Channy told the meeting.
Cambodia recently decriminalized defamation but it still carries hefty financial penalties.
"Cambodia is not a perfect place for journalists. There were six journalists killed between 1993 and 1997. In recent years, while there have been no killings, arrests, threats and legal intimidation have become of increasing concern," the CCJ said.
"The trend against press freedom has turned from violence to legal means as politicians and others become more sophisticated."
A spokesman for the CCJ said while the 2003 shooting of royalist radio journalist Chour Chet Tharith was perhaps the last murder of a journalist, in 2006 alone there were seven lawsuits and arrests and 12 serious threats recorded against CCJ member journalists.
Ministry of Information secretary of state Srey Channy countered by saying that Cambodia respected press freedom, but no journalist had the right to abuse their position for personal or financial gain.
"Press freedom without responsibility can also put democracy in danger. Therefore I appeal to Cambodian journalists to stick to the principals of journalism and perform their duties ethically and professionally," Channy told the meeting.
Cambodia recently decriminalized defamation but it still carries hefty financial penalties.
7 comments:
Cambodia is not a perfect place for journalists?
That is sooooo stupid. If it was that bad, why then there are over 200 media here in such a little country? Even China barely got a quarter of that amount.
you stuoid fool. China is a communist states. Cambodia is supposed to be a democratic one. see the difference?
You can have 10000000000000 medias in Cambodia. it is pointless if you can't put there what is your mind spoken.
Cambodia is too far away from freedom of press. Only newspapers in small sizes that are allowed to be free. But all Radio and TV stations are almost controlled and owned by the affiliates of Hun Sen's regime.
That is sooooo stupid.If it was good for journalists it will be good for all the people; not just for the crook, ganster, killer, dictator, human traficker, world outlaw and all of other evil act!!
Nonsense, 8:00, what we got here is simply a case of a few media that will not satisfied with anything. That is all.
the media is supposed to be free from the ex-communist fools, 4:18 AM. that is also protected by the Cambodian constitution to prevent them from the interfering of the executive branch.
But the medias are free yet? Nope!!
Look at America. if Medias here are free from the president Bush, his approved rate would have been like 99%.
Wrong, I heard in the recent past some TV reporter got fire for saying something wrong about Bush. Don't tell me you don't know anything about that. Is that what you mean by free, 11:18?
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