Hang Chakra to receive the Human Rights Watch’s Hellman-Hammett prize

Hang Chakra (Center, Photo: Cambodge Soir Hebdo)

13 Sept 2011
By Sok Serey
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Soch

A Cambodian reporter who is critical of the government will soon receive the Human Rights Watch (HRW) prize. However, government officials do not applaud such prize to the reporter.

Human Rights Watch will bestow its honorific prize to Hang Chakra, the editor of the Khmer Machas Srok newspaper, for his fight to defend freedom of expression in criticizing corrupt high-ranking government officials. He was also arrested and jailed by the government.

Hang Chakra will leave Bangkok on 13 September to go receive his prize, the Hellman-Hammett grant, which is bestowed to defenders of freedom of expression.

Hang Chakra said at the Phnom Penh International Airport before his departure that he will hold a press conference at the Club of Foreign Correspondents in Thailand to discuss about the tightening of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Cambodia.

Hang Chakra said: “I believed that this prize is very important to me, as well as to the Cambodian people in general because, right now, we are using our freedom of expression rights to fight to demand for justice and plural democracy. I will continue to provide constructive criticisms.”

HRW will bestow the Hellman-Hammett grants to 3 persons: Chiranuch of Thailand who is currently facing his cyber-crime trial in Thailand; Zunar, a Malaysian who is accused of incitation for unrest because he published political cartoons in a book that was banned by the Malaysian government; and Hang Chakra who fought against corruption and he was jailed for refusing to reveal the source of his article.

Keo Remy, the director of the Press and Quick Reaction Unit (PQRU) of the government Council of Ministers, said that this prize has no value for Cambodia.

Keo Remy added: “Human Rights Watch can be called a dimwitted anti-government organization which is filled with self-revenge, and secondly, [it is following] the policy of a number of foreign countries. It always likes to poke like that, based on my following [of their actions], i.e. it likes to encourage anybody that opposes the government, it only provides encouragement to people to rise up and continue their opposition.”

Hang Chakra is the editor-in-chief of the Khmer Machas Srok newspaper. The Phnom Penh municipal court sentenced him to 12-month of jail on 26 June 2009 after accusing him of disinformation because he published an article claiming that high-ranking government officials at the Council of Ministers are corrupt and clannish.

He was released from jail on 13 April 20101 after spending 9 months and 17 days in prison, i.e. 2/3 of his sentence time.