29 April 2011
Excerpt translation from the Free Press Magazine
Click here to read the entire article in Khmer
On Thursday, a representative of the World Khmer Radio (WKR) station has rejected the accusation made Sourn Srey Ratha who claimed that WKR threatened one of its employees because she worked for Sourn Serey Ratha’s People Power radio station. Sourn Serey Ratha alleged that WKR used the name of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) to make the threat. WKR also rejected this accusation.
San Suwidh, the administrator of WKR, reacted by saying that Sourn Serey Ratha distorted the truth on WKR administrators. “I and Mr. Ok Soeum never threatened any WKR employee. We understand their freedom. I believe that Mr. Sourn Serey Ratha is painting a very bad picture out of WKR which is working hard to serve the public interest under a lot of difficulties,” San Suwidh said.
San Suwidh indicated that WKR is currently facing difficulties in Cambodia and it had to close its office in Phnom Penh because the landlord cancelled their lease after he received a (threat) letter from a man who claimed to be the personal aid of Sar Kheng, the minister of Interior.
“Therefore, this is not like what Sourn Serey Ratha accused us of when he claimed that we used a letter from the MoI to threaten our employees. To the contrary, WKR has been victimized by this letter [from the MoI]. We closed our office in Phnom Penh and we only preserved our volunteer workers and asking them to work from various locations in Cambodia.”
It should be noted that Sourn Serey Ratha’s accusation letter was issued after Ms. Khieu Ratana refused to continue working for his People Power’s station, after she helped reporting for this station twice.
In an interview given to the Free Press Magazine, Ms. Khieu Ratana indicated that the accusation made Sourn Serey Ratha is all wrong. “I never received any warning from the chairman or the administrators of WKR, telling me not to work for any other news media, including the People Power radio station,” Ratana indicated.
“I did talk to colleagues of Uncle Sourn Serey Ratha about a letter sent by the MoI involving my name, but I never said that the [WKR] chairman issued any warning on me. I regret very much that Uncle Sourn Serey Ratha defames the WKR’s name – a station where I serve the public for the past two years.”
An electronic copy of a letter issued by Kim Van Chheng, who claimed to be the personal aid of Sar Kheng, the minister of Interior, indicated that: “According to the MoI, we learn that workers for the WKR in Phnom Penh have been involved with the People Power radio station belonging to Mr. Sourn Serey Ratha who is based in the US. This radio station is opposed to the Cambodian government led by our Decho Hun Xen, and one of your employees had already joined [the People Power station]”.
In the same letter, Kim Van Chheng also wrote: “I am informing you that if you continue to allow WKR employees to serve trends that are opposed to the Cambodian government, without respecting their professional code of ethic, the office of your radio station in Phnom Penh will face problem.”
Kim Van Chheng could not be reached to provide further clarification on this issue, but the Freedom and Press Monitor in Cambodia are investigating on this threat letter allegedly issued by Kim Van Chheng.
12 comments:
I love WKR, they provide in dept analysis. If Cambodia have an equivalent of NPR, WKR is it! It has the potentials. Most of it's donors are private individuals like you and me, truly a public broadcasted radio!
I Support World Khmer Radio. It is a radio I recommend my family in KK to listen to freely without discretion.
អា រដ្ឋា ជាមេនាំរឿងក្នុងពិភពលោក វា សសៃប្រសាទហើយ វាព្យាយាមដើររកសម្លេងគាំទ្រ ហើយកុហកគេ រកលុយ យកទៅ ការ ប្រពន្ធ ពីព្រោះ វាអត់លុយ វាចេះតែនិយាយ ៗៗៗៗៗៗៗៗ តែការពិត វាកុហកទាំងអស់ វារកតែលុយ ៗៗៗៗៗៗៗ
To all Dear Khmer !
Let me ask you a big question ?
What is the real danger of Khmer country and Khmer people from today onward?
My answer is yuon Viet Minh,, Viet Congs, yuon illegal migrants everywhere in Cambdoia.
So both World Khmer and Mr. Sourn Serey Ratha please put this views of conflict or differences away and look deeper and deeper at danger of our poor Cambodia before it is too late like Champa , Kampuchea-Krom and Lao.
Both sides try to correct any mistake exist and let the Khmer people judge .
If some Khmer still fighting among ourselves Ho's Indochinese Federation welcome it.
Shame!! shame!!
You guides barks and bites at each others so well, but when you faces the enemies, you are becomes CHICKENS SHIT.
The double losers always pointing fingers, excuses and BULLSHITS.
People like you make Khmers feel hopeless.
2:11 PM , I agree with you stop bite and bark at Khmer, the real enemy of Khmer ( yuon Viet Minhm, Viet Congs ) is every where in Cambodia.
SSRatha is a lia. He already a dog of Hun Sen. This is just another Hun Sen's game.
1- SSRatha attacked Hun Sen in Cambodia.
2- SSRatha ran to USA.
3- Hun Sen has been giving money to SSRatha to do the job and travel everywhere. His job is to divide people who support SRP and HRP.
4- When SOME people in USA know that he is working for Hun Sen, they then make a leak of this offer letter. With this letter people may think that SSRatha doesn't work for Hun Sen.
Phnom Penh,
Ratha will be good with Tith Sothea , Phay Siphan and Keo Ramy as personal advisers to Hun Sen in quick and brutal reaction committee to presses.
Ratha is loudly like drum but hollow in substance.
Khmer RI
Don't fall into the CPP communist's trap. It is the same trap that Khmer Rouge used to bring khmer overseas to come into Cambodia and be slaughtered.
Sourn Serey Ratha’s hun sen leading trap.
Khieu Ratana,Keo Ratana,Ratana Keo,Koh Trol author...Are these names refer to the same person ?
I think everyone need to cut Ratha a break and consider that he has made a miscalculated reaction. This is a lesson to Mr. Ratha for critical reflection of his releases before going public next time.
Everyone is entitle to make mistake, let us not judge and condemn a good man or a person with potential out of existence.
We don't know whose side he is on, but even if he was a good guy, pushing him to an extent will convert him to a more alluring evil welcomings by the nicer folks at CPP.
This is where Khmer unity and tolerance is needed most, where we make mistakes, we must be willing to give the benefit of the doubt.
Thank you.
Keo Cham
World Khmer News radio is kind of boring and make me feel sleepy when I listen to it. I prefer to listen to kppm radio since it is more analyzing and active.
I know I saw a lot of bad news; it is very bad in Cambodia. I will support you and everything. I will tell my husband, my whole family and my relatives to support you of, (kppm radio -- Sourn, Serey Ratha). I will give my phone number to you, and you can call me at any time if you need any help. I encourage you to help and support Cambodia very much, and I thank you to you of doing that very much by helping and supporting of Cambodia. I am very happy for it.
Stockton, California.
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