Sentence for Angkor ‘incitement’ upheld

Moeung Sonn (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Thursday, 12 April 2012
Tep Nimol
The Phnom Penh Post

A controversial jail sentence handed to the head of a cultural organisation for suggesting a lighting project at Angkor Wat was damaging the temple was upheld by the Supreme Court yesterday.

Moeung Sonn, director of the Khmer Civilization Fund, was sentenced to two years in jail and fined 15 million riel (US$3,615) after raising concerns that workers installing lights at the 12th-century temple had drilled holes deep into the structure’s walls.

The lawsuit, brought against him by the government, was upheld on appeal yesterday, even though the obsolete 1992 UNTAC penal code charge of disinformation was amended to incitement last May.

Moeung Son's invitation to the public

Moeung Sonn (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Dear Sir, Madam

I invite you to attend the verdict of the sentence of May 6th, 2011 which will take place

May 24th, 2011 at 2.00PM

At the Court of Appeal in Phnom Penh

On the affair of the lightings in temples of Angkor. This verdict is the most important for the image of the justice as well as for the right of the freedom of expression in Cambodia. It is my last chance to return to my homeland.

Thank you in advance for your presence.

Contact: Moeung Sonn H/P Thailand +6684 7083 055

----------------

Je vous invite à assister au verdict du jugement du 6 mai 2011 qui aura lieu

le 24 mai 2011

à la court d'appel de Phnom Penh

sur l'affaire des éclairages au temples d'Angkor. Cet verdict est le plus important pour l'image de la justice ainsi que pour le droit de la liberté d'expression au Cambodge. C'est ma dernière chance de retourner dans mon pays natal.

merci d'avance pour votre présence.

Moeung Sonn

http://www.box.net/shared/5nrb3crnm8

KCF chairman’s conviction upheld in Municipal Court

Moeung Sonn

Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

Phnom Penh Municipal Court upheld its verdict against Khmer Civilisation Foundation (KCF) chairman Moeung Sonn on Tuesday, ordering the absent defendant to serve two years in jail and pay a fine of 15 million riels (US$3,598).

In a retrial of a case originally decided on July 14, deputy prosecutor Ek Chheng Huot and government lawyer Pal Chandara argued that Moeung Sonn, currently living in France to avoid imprisonment, was guilty of disinformation for comments he made at a press conference in May that a light installation at Angkor Wat would damage the 11th-century temple. The KCF chairman subsequently appealed the decision.

“The accused has filed a complaint contesting the original verdict, but he does not have the confidence to show up here today, so I would like the court to uphold its decision,” Ek Chheng Huot said.

Sam Sokong, Moeung Sonn’s lawyer, told the court that his client had not engaged in disinformation, but had merely voiced valid concerns also aired elsewhere.

“He just said that the company [that installed the lights] did not perform its work properly. My client’s comments were not disinformation, and he had no intention to degrade the government’s reputation,” Sam Sokong said.

Sam Sokong added that he planned to lodge an appeal on Moeung Sonn’s behalf, and that Moeung Sonn would write new letters of apology to the government in hopes of securing an acquittal. Moeung Sonn had previously written a letter of apology to deputy Prime Minister Sok An, head of the Apsara Authority.

Pal Chandara said that Moeung Sonn’s comments were tantamount to incitement and defended the need for government action in the case.

“Moeung Sonn is not the only one who loves Angkor. We all love Angkor together,” Pal Chandara said. “Moeung Sonn’s allegations caused a strong reaction from the people, so if the government had not intervened on time, unrest would have occurred.”

Judge Chhay Kong said the hearing had done little to change his opinion from July’s decision, and reaffirmed the original prison term and fine levied in the case.

Speaking by phone from France, Moeung Sonn said there was no chance for him to receive a fair trial because he could not attend the hearing without fear of being arrested upon arrival in Cambodia.

“I did not attend because I was afraid of being arrested, but I do not have the intention to harm the government’s reputation,” he said.

Jail sentence for temple lighting critic

Thursday, July 16, 2009
By Robert Carmichael for Radio Australia

Human rights groups in Cambodia have condemned a two-year jail sentence handed down against the head of a nationalist charity.

The leader of the Khmer Civilisation Foundation was convicted in his absence for suggesting newly installed lighting at the historic Angkor Wat temple complex would damage the 11th century monument's stonework.

Moeung Sonn, who holds dual French-Cambodian citizenship, fled to France in June after the Government announced he would be charged with incitement and spreading false information.

Angkor Wat temple is the pre-eminent symbol of Cambodia and the Government said his comments could lead to civil unrest.

The court issued an arrest warrant for Moeung Sonn should he return.

It is the latest in a series of cases brought by the Government against people it perceives as critics.

One opposition MP said the Government was treating its opponents as "enemies of the state".

Human rights groups are appalled, with one describing Moeung Sonn's sentence as a grave injustice.

More cases brought by the Government are heading to court in coming weeks.

Lighting Scheme Has ‘No Affect’ on Temples: Council

(Photo: Dap-news)

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
19 June 2009

Council Minister Sok An told the National Assembly Friday that a system of outdoor lighting at the Angkor Wat temples will not hurt the ancient structures and could be a boon to tourism.

“The heat from the lamps is 50,000-times weaker than the sun and less than the moon,” Sok An said, citing lengthy studies prior to the beginning of the scheme.

Critics of the plan worry the lighting, undertaken under the Apsara Authority, the government body that oversees the temples, could be damaging.

Moeung Son, chairman of the Khmer Civilization Foundation, is facing a lawsuit for his public criticism of the lighting.

The International Coordinating Committee for Angkor, which advises Apsara, recommended the lighting, on the entryway to Angkor Wat and along the famous temple’s northern bas-relief gallery.

Sok An said broadcasters Radio Free Asia and Voice of America were distorting news about the lighting and were “the cause of the confusion of public opinion.”

The lighting will enable tourists to visit the temple at night and is among several initiatives being developed by the Ministry of Tourism to attract more visitors at time when the economic crisis has stunted arrivals, Sok An said.

Tourism is the second-leading economic driver in Cambodia, behind garment exports. Both sectors have been hard-hit by the global economic crisis.

Cambodian authorities consider opening Angkor Wat temples at night for tourists

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Cambodia is considering opening the famed Angkor Wat temples at night to draw more tourists to the impoverished country, an official at the archaeological site said.

Similar night tourism efforts have been introduced at other sites in Southeast Asia.

Cambodia already has installed some lights at the network of centuries-old temples, said Bun Narith, who leads the agency responsible for managing the Angkor park.

Tourism is a major foreign currency earner for cash-strapped Cambodia. More than a million foreign tourists are expected to visit this year, with most from South Korea, Japan and the United States. More than half of tourists visit the Angkor temples, by far the country's biggest draw.

Visitors are now ushered out of Angkor at sunset, but authorities are considering extending visiting hours to as late as 8:30 p.m. local time.

"We want tourists to see all views of the temple, even in the dark places where they may have not have seen some of the sculptures and statues," Bun Narith said.

But conservationists have long expressed concerns about tourism's impact on Angkor. They say the uncontrolled pumping of underground water to meet the rising demand of hotels and residents in the nearby town of Siem Reap may be destabilizing the earth beneath the temples.

Unofficial survey of Siem Reap tour guides on the nighttime lighting of Angkor Wat temple

Source: Anonymous Reader from Siem Reap

Good Morning KI-Media,

We have read your news again about the lights that hang on the gallery of Angkor Wat temple. On Saturday 12th June 2009 at 3.00PM, we have seen them remove the light bulbs out of the Angkor Wat gallery. We are very very pleased for their removing it out but we do not know when they will put it back again.

I have interviewed around 200 guides who are my friends who worked as Tour Guides in Siem Reap - Angkor about their ideas of light bulbs along Angkor Wat from 1st - 13rd June 2009.

My questions were:

What is your friendly thought about the light bulbs hanging on the gallery? Do you think that

1. they are suitable to hang on?
2. they are not suitable to hang on?
   

My friends answers are summarized below:

1. 5% want to keep them on for 100 years.
2. 5% shook their heads like a bee sting: Theirs head move to the left while [shaking] their right hands.
3. 90% answered that they are not suitable to hang on.

We do strongly hope that our friends will not bring the tourists to visit Angkor Wat temple at night time. We need to keep our Angkor Wat to have a long life forever for our children.

These tour guides are not in opposition to or against this lighting works but they have already decided that they will not bring the tourists to visit at night time. They will explain the reason to the tourists on the tour bus.

Regards,

(Name withheld for safety concerns)

Nobody is allowed to criticize Hun Sen's govt action, not even on Angkor lights

Lawyer calls on KCF head to pay for criticism of Angkor Wat lights

Thursday, 11 June 2009
Written by Chrann Chamroeun
The Phnom Penh Post

"The government shouldn't have sued Moeung Sonn for his concern over the lights at Angkor Wat - which surely damaged the temple, but the government rejected the truth and sued him ... Government officials are now using the court system to discourage all critics" - Rong Chunn.

KCF President Moeung Sonn, who has fled to France, maintains that the government is to blame for public outcry over installation work.

Government lawyer Pal Chan Dara answered questions in Phnom Penh Municipal Court Tuesday regarding his June 2 complaint accusing the president of the Khmer Civilisation Foundation (KCF) of inciting the public and spreading false information.

Moeung Sonn, the KCF president, held a press conference in Siem Reap last month during which he claimed that the installation of new light fixtures had damaged Angkor Wat.

Pal Chan Dara said Tuesday that he asked the court to make Moeung Sonn pay 10 million riels (US$2,400) for severely damaging the government's reputation.

The lawyer criticised Moeung Sonn's "rubbish press conference in Siem Reap", which he said "was absolutely wrong ... and made tourists fearful and unwilling to visit the temple".

Moeung Sonn, who fled to France to avoid arrest, defended his actions in an interview with the Post, saying much of the blame for the outcry over Angkor Wat's new lights lies with the government.

"Government officials [should have] informed the public in advance that the installation of the lights designed to attract more visitors at night ... will not cause damage," he said from France, adding that he had asked Prime Minister Hun Sen, King Sihamoni and King Father Norodom Sihanouk to intervene on his behalf.

The Cambodia Watchdog Council (CWC) condemned the government's use of the judiciary to silence critics in a June 9 press release, and the CWC representative singled out Moeung Sonn's case as typical of the government's attacks on free speech.

"The government shouldn't have sued Moeung Sonn for his concern over the lights at Angkor Wat - which surely damaged the temple, but the government rejected the truth and sued him," Rong Chunn, the CWC representative said. "Government officials are now using the court system to discourage all critics."

New lighting to be installed at Angkor Wat by advise of UNESCO

PHNOM PENH, June 6 (Xinhua) -- UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) offered positive recommendation to ease the public concern over the installing of lighting at Angkor Wat, local media reported on Saturday.

Cambodian authorities installed new spotlights on the world famous tourism attraction - Angkor Wat to allow the temple to open more longer after sunset. The scheme includes the installation of lights near the ceiling of the northern gallery of the temple.

However, local press and opposition officials questioned the scheme and expressed their concern for the lights, claiming the light fixtures would cause damage to the centuries-old heritage in the long term.

After several days of increasing public arguing and attention, UNESCO gave a positive recommendation to the project recently on the condition that it (the project) is conducted in close cooperation with its International Coordinating Committee (ICC) for Angkor, the Chinese language newspaper Jian Hua Daily said.

The ICC, which advises government body the Apsara Authority on management of the World Heritage Site, advised the authority to limit illumination to the entrance way to the temple and its bas-relief gallery on the north side.

"We have to abide by the recommendation, but the decision is still from the Apsara Authority, as sovereignty from Cambodia," Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said, adding that the lighting project was still in a study phase.

This installation was monitored by the Apsara authority and UNESCO, according to the company who installed the lights, adding that the UN organization provided technical assistance.

UNESCO Country representative Teruo Jinnai denied that a test setup of the lights had damaged the temple. "There was no direct damage and all the holes were made a long time ago," he said. And the Apsara Authority said that only existing holes that once held wooden support beams were being used.

Moeun Sonn and SRP MP Son Chhay's letters to Hun Sen regarding the controversial lighting of Angkor Wat temple

Click on each page to zoom in

Critic of Temple Lighting Writes Hun Sen

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Cambodia
05 June 2009

Moeung Sonn, who is facing a criminal suit for criticizing the agency in charge of the Angkor Wat temples, has written to prime minister to explain.

The Apsara Authority has issued a complaint for incitement and defamation against Moeung Sonn, president of the Khmer Civilization Foundation, for publicly criticizing a decision to shine lights on the Angkor Wat temples at night.

“The lighting could damage the temples when there is rain,” Meoung Sonn wrote to Prime Minister Hun Sen. Some of the lights are old and could electrocute tourists, he wrote.

Moeung Sonn told VOA Khmer Friday he hoped the prime minister would consider his letter, and think about the lighting at the famed temples.

New lighting for night visits at Angkor Wat 'will not damage' site

Wed, 03 Jun 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - A Cambodian government official on Wednesday rejected claims that the installation of new lights at the 12th-century Angkor Wat temple would cause damage to the building's structure. Phay Siphan, spokesman of the Cambodian Council of Ministers spokesman, told reporters in the northern town of Siem Reap that reports of large sections of stone being removed for the lighting installation were false.

"This accusation that new holes were created simply is not true," he said. "The installation will not involve any new holes being drilled."

He said an official from UNESCO had visited Angkor Wat and approved the new lights, which are part of a drive to attract evening visitors to the temple.

The Apsara Authority, which administers the temple and the nearby Angkor Thom complex, last month announced that visiting hours to the temple could be extended to 8:30 pm.

Visitors are currently asked to leave the site at sunset.

Ahmed Bennis, a French lighting expert who was commissioned to install the new lights, said there would be no structure alternations made to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed site.

"These new lights will use solar power and they will not be built into the structure of the temple," he said. "Because the lights are powered by solar there will be no electricity cables at the site."

The extended visiting hours are part of efforts to boost tourism at Angkor Wat, which is suffering its first slump since the start of Cambodia's decade-long tourism boom.

The Tourism Ministry on Monday called on travel agents and hotel owners in Siem Reap, the closest town to Angkor Wat, to lower their prices by 20 per cent.

The call came after new figures revealed a 14-per-cent drop in tourists visiting Siem Reap during the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year.

The new opening hours and lighting were part of discussions at an annual two-day forum on the Angkor site in Siem Reap, attended by government officials, UNESCO staff and local non-governmental organizations.