A Historic Day for Cambodia "Media Freedom Is Crucial for Cambodia’s Democracy"

On August 9, 2013
Official blog of William E. Todd, U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia

While uncertainties remain about the final results of Cambodia’s national elections last month, there is no debating the fact that the Cambodian people were active participants in the democratic process, campaigning and turning out to vote in large (and enthusiastic) numbers.  Regardless of the final election outcome, Cambodians clearly want the country to move forward with reforms that will bring meaningful change to the average citizen.

One crucial way that the electoral environment should be reformed in order to strengthen Cambodia’s democratic process is by making more balanced news coverage available nationwide.  Access to information is crucial for a democracy.  Voters can’t make informed decisions without knowledge of the parties’ platforms and important political issues.  Unfortunately, during the campaign period, balanced and relevant information was hard to come by, with most Cambodian media outlets representing only the narrow political interests of their owners.  This made getting reliable information extremely difficult.

On August 1, the Phnom Penh Post printed a front-page story about Hun Sen’s first public remarks after the national election.

With traditional media largely taking a back seat, social media played a crucial role in disseminating a broad range of opinions and information to the electorate.  With access to the Internet, people were able to access a variety of news sources and information.  So even when traditional media outlets in Cambodia failed to cover major events or issues, Cambodians were able to learn about them through social media.

Among the many sources of information and opinion available on the Internet is the U.S. Embassy Facebook page which is now nearing 100,000 fans.  I am glad so many Cambodians are taking advantage of our Facebook page, as well as my “Ask the Ambassador” column which Rasmei Kampuchea publishes each Sunday in its print newspaper and on its Cambodia Herald website.  Rasmei Kampuchea is an example of traditional media embracing social media and contributing to the proliferation of valuable information available on the Internet.

On August 7, the front page of Phnom Penh Post Khmer featured a photo of opposition supporters at a rally in Freedom Park in Phnom Penh.

 

While social media has an important function in modern society, it should not be the sole source of information for citizens in a democracy.  They have every right to insist that reporting by newspapers, radio, and television be robust and diverse.  They expect the media to act as their eyes and ears, investigating issues and problems that are important for the people to know about.  It is vital that media outlets in a democracy live up to their responsibility to provide accurate and timely information to the public.

In the coming months and years, I hope to see Cambodians continue to call for greater media freedom and to demand accurate and relevant reporting from their news sources.  If democracy in Cambodia is to grow and thrive, this issue will be of paramount importance.

Do you think media freedom is important?  Please leave a comment and let me know.

Link to article: http://blogs.usembassy.gov/todd/2013/08/09/media-freedom-is-crucial-for-cambodia%e2%80%99s-democracy/