Sam Borin fired from RFA

Saturday, October 10, 2009
KI-Media

Sam Borin, a reporter for RFA Khmer Service, was fired, DAP-news reported today. With the previous firing of 6 RFA reporters and employees, Sam Borin is the seventh RFA employee who has been fired recently. Sam Borin is well known for his series of interviews with Professor Keng Vannsak, including the one in which Prof. Keng Vannsak was questioning the origin of King Jayavarman VII. The Cambodia Daily reported on 09 October that Soy Sopheap, the owner of DAP-news sent a letter to US Ambassador Carol Rodley, asking her to intervene on behalf of four RFA employees fired at the end of September. John Estrella, RFA Director for External Relations and Communications, sent an e-mail attachment to The Cambodia Daily’s inquiry on these firings stating: “In a continuing effort to produce valuable, high-quality broadcasting, Radio Free Asia will on occasion making staffing changed to further this goal. All decisions are made to preserve the integrity of our programming and to improve the service to our audience, while respecting and honoring our contractual agreements.”

DAP-news reported also that RFA did not send its representative to discuss with the Cambodian ministry of Labor regarding potential illegal firing of former employees. RFA informed the ministry of Labor that it did not gathered sufficient documents to provide clarification to the ministry. DAP indicated that a source claimed that San Suwidh, the 6th RFA employee fired, and Sam Borin were fired because they criticized the new RFA Khmer service direction led by Kem Sos and Sam Poly, his deputy.

Fired RFA employees are sending their grievances to the ministry of Labor

Fired RFA employees protest by burning a tire (Photo: Vannara, RFI)

03 October 2009
By Ky Soklim
Radio France Internationale
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Fired RFA employees have sent their grievances to the Cambodian ministry of Labor. Meanwhile, Hun Xen is also pushing RFA to respect the work rights of its employees.

Employees of RFA Khmer Service, who were fired at the end of September, have sent their grievances to the Cambodian ministry of labor yesterday, asking that the ministry help resolve this dispute through legal means.

At the end of September, 5 RFA reporters and employees saw their work contract cancelled one after another.

On Saturday 03 October, Huy Vannak, a reporter who was also fired, said that he wants the director of RFA Khmer Service [Kem Sos?] to resolve the employee firing issue according to the law. This is the reason why he sent his grievance to the ministry of Labor. He indicated that his group was not fired according to the law. Huy Vannk added that he did not commit any professional mistake, but yet he was fired.

A RFA reporter who declined to give his name said that the demand made by the reporters who were fired was not made just for work and salary purposes only, but that the demand was made so that the RFA administration resolve this issue according to the law.

Today, Sam Poly, the deputy director of RFA Khmer Service, declined to comment on this issue that affects RFA.

However, one RFA reporter who is still work there reacted to the statements made by the fired reporters, the reporter indicated that these employees were not fired but that their contracts ended. This reporter also indicated that this is only a reform within RFA only.

Regarding this affair that is taking place at this US radio station, yesterday, PM Hun Sen called on RFA representatives to respect its employees’ rights according the labor law.

Regarding the RFA case, the Club of Cambodian Journalists also called on both sides to resolve the dispute through legal means.

When the toad sells itchy skin cream

28 September 2009
Op-Ed by Sopheak
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Click here to read the article in Khmer

KI-Media WARNING: Any resemblance to actual persons or events, living or dead, is unintentional and purely coincidental.

At the fake merchandise shop where Ah Choch, my pal, works, “freedom” or the so-called “democracy” – that people would speak excitedly about – are extremely popular.

Did you know that the workplace of Ah Choch, my dear pal, is involved with an intricate affair that sends out the alarm to all over the world of fake merchandise? Ah Choch was kicked out by his workplace, just like a dog being chased out of the house, there was no question asked, no explanation provided. I did not want to ask him about the cause of his firing, this is what Ah Choch deserves!

Up to now, 5 office employees, including Ah Choch, were fired one after another. Based on the gossip he told me, the firing was due to clannishness. I couldn’t believe him at all, so I asked him: “Are you joking me? By what I know, I heard that your working place is full of democracy! People maintain proper work order, and human rights are very well respected. Why then, out of the blue, would they fire employees without explanation? They call you in to meet for 3 minutes and they fired you immediately like this? Aren’t you lying?” Even when I told him all these in his face, he still kept on saying: “There’s nothing I can do if you don’t believe me! Just wait and see how this will go on.”

Ugh! Is this how it was? At his workplace, besides selling fake merchandise, there a lot of sweet talkers, they cheat the buyers, they boasted to the buyers about how good their merchandises are and they even teach the buyers to bargain down the prices! How funny! In the future, will they still be able to cheat the buyers again or not? Who knows?

This firing story was heard all over the kingdom, and my friend and his fired co-workers even went on to burn a tire (that’s the habit of demonstrators in his village) that bellows smoke all over the place. The administrators of his former office acted as if nothing happened, there’s not even a peep from them, nobody opened their mouth to inform the clients at all, unlike what they always do when it is somebody else’s affair. This is just like the old saying goes: “When it is one’s fault, one can’t see it, but if it is somebody else’s tiny mistake, it sure looks like a mountain.” My friend blurted out to me that, in truth, the administration at his workplace is no different from a toad selling itchy skin cream.

Tire burning protest in front of RFA office following the firing of 4 employees and preventing them from protesting

Fired RFA employees burnt a tire to protest in front of RFA office (Photo: Khmer Sthabna)

26 September 2009
By Sopheak and Sopheap
Khmer Sthabna
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

The firing of 4 Radio Free Asia (RFA) employees and the work contract reduction for a fifth employee without providing a reasonable explanation, the prevention of these employees to protest against these firings and their evictions out of the RFA office on 25 September led to a tire burning protest. The protesters were wearing mask to symbolize the fact their freedom of speech was silenced by the administrators of RFA, a radio station that is supported by the US government.

The 4 former RFA employees gathered in front of the RFA office, located on Street No. 240 (behind the royal palace), at 7PM on 25 September 2009 to burn the tire in protest.

Phan Sophat (aka Ath Bonny) claimed in the evening of 25 September at the protest location that 4 employees were fired one after another on 25 September 2009. They are: Mrs. Sean Sophorn, Mr. Huy Vannak, Mr. Um Vun, Mr. Thai Sothea. Phan Sophat said that his 1-year work contract was cut down to 3-month instead. RFA administrators did not allow these 5 employees to lodge their protest (no comment?) and security guards walked them out of their offices.

Phan Sophat told reporters that silencing their freedom to protest is likened to the situation in Tuol Sleng (S-21) jail under the Khmer Rouge regime. Furthermore, even under the KR, they allowed the prisoners to criticize somewhat, but in the case of the sacked RFA employees, they were not allowed to comment on their firing at all. Such action is very shameful because RFA belongs to the US.

Thai Sothea, the RFA Khmer Service website admin who was also fired, indicated: “They (Kem Sos, the RFA Khmer Service director, and US administrators) did not allow us to lodge a protest at all.” Phan Sophat added that the 5 RFA employees suffer from injustice and they sent a letter to the US embassy in Cambodia, a protest letter to the Cambodian ministry of Labor, to the unions, and they also sued for employment termination without reasonable cause.

Phan Sophat also added that: “Originally, Seang Sophorn was improperly fired, in violation of the labor law, i.e. she was only informed verbally about her firing and no advance notice was provided to her. Such action is a violation of law and the human rights. So we helped her protest by telling [RFA’s administrators] that such firing is improper, RFA should set the example. If I did something bad, how can I go interview people? How can I tell others what to do? If people ask me about the law, how can I answer them? Therefore, [RFA] cannot afford to take such bad action.”

Phan Sophat indicated also that, with many employees protesting, RFA decided to fire 2 additional employees. As for himself, Phan Sophat said that he was not fired, he was told earlier to continue his 1-year contract, but in the morning of 25 September, he was informed that his contract was reduced to 3-month instead without any explanation provided to him, i.e. “no comment, no opinion, no discussion.” In this case, Norm Thompson (?), the US RFA vice-chairman, did no respect human rights and the labor law.

Phan Sophat added that RFA journalists usually report about the firing of factory workers by owners who violate the law and human rights, but when it is RFA’s turn to violate the law, how can he interview anybody? Phan Sophat regrets the action taken by RFA which serves as a forum in the past 12 years (from 1997 to 24 September 2009), and he said that the fired RFA employees dedicated themselves to their work and they even risked their own lives in the past when the situation was still unstable, they did all these because they love freedom.

At 7:30PM on 25 September, the 4 RFA employees fired dropped their protest letter to Ambassador Carol Rodley at the US embassy in Phnom Penh. They also met with John Johnson, the embassy spokesman on that same evening and they requested him to help resolve this problem with RFA administrators who fired them.