International Report Highlights More Abuses Over Land, Press

A cop shooting at land-grabbing protesters in Oudong (RFA Video)

Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Thursday, 02 September 2010

“I do not think the violence is calming down,” he said. “But I think that arrests are increasing.”

The Cambodian government is facing more accusations it has cracked down on freedoms of expression and the media in the past several years.

In a new report by the Paris-based Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, researchers found “trade union leaders, land rights activists and journalists have faced among the worst human rights violations [and are] facing new legal restrictions and fierce retaliation for documenting and denouncing abuses.”

Dozens of land rights activists were detained on charges “designed to remove them from the role as community leaders,” the research group said in a statement.

The group cited the case of venerable monk Loun Sovath, who is embroiled in a land dispute in Siem Reap province, as an example.

Two of Loun Sovath's family members were shot during land protests in Anlong Samnor commune, Chi Kreng district, where villagers and the owner of a water reservoir were disputing ownership of nearly 100 hectares of rice fields.

Loun Sovath, who has led a number of awareness campaigns over the dispute, told VOA Khmer on Thursday the arrests of nine protesters and the wounding of others was “unjust for villagers who led a protest against a land grab.”

“I do not think the violence is calming down,” he said. “But I think that arrests are increasing.”

The international researchers also pointed to the jailing of opposition newspaper editor Hang Chakra as further evidence of the erosion of free expression.

Hang Chakra, the editor of the Khmer Mchas Srok newspaper, was jailed for nearly a year in 2009, after he published articles alleging corruption within the Council of Ministers.

“Since I was in jail, I think media expression has gone down,” he told VOA Khmer Thursday. “The Cambodian government should open their hearts to receive criticism and consider what the NGOs and media are doing. That's better than thinking about a dictatorship against criticism.”

Cheam Yiep, a lawmaker for the Cambodian People's Party, said freedoms of expression and media were not on the decline. “Right now the Cambodian government is reforming step by step on human rights issues,” he said.

Govt approves editor’s release

Hang Chakra (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post)

Thursday, 01 April 2010
May Titthara and Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post

JAILED newspaper editor Hang Chakra is to be released from prison during the round of Royal pardons coinciding with the upcoming Khmer New Year holiday, as are 75 other prisoners from across the Kingdom, an official at the Ministry of Interior said Wednesday.

Heng Hak, director general of the Ministry’s Department of Prisons, said that he has forwarded a short list of 404 pardon candidates to the Ministry of Justice, adding that the government had already singled Hang Chakra out for a pre-holiday pardon.

“Hang Chakra is separate – he is a special case because he wrote a letter apologising to Prime Minister Hun Sen, so he will be released before Khmer New Year,” he said.

Hang Chakra, editor-in-chief of the opposition-aligned Khmer Machas Srok newspaper, was sentenced to one year in prison last June after he was convicted of spreading disinformation in a series of stories accusing officials of corruption. On July 8, he wrote to Hun Sen stating that he “repeatedly failed to act properly and seriously” while at the helm of the paper, and pledged to cease publication if he was released.

King Norodom Sihamoni traditionally offers pardons to prisoners on four occasions each year: Khmer New Year, Visak Bochea Day, the Water Festival and the King’s birthday.

Heng Hak said he has recommended that 75 of the 404 inmates – including eight women – be released from prison, with the remainder to receive reduced sentences.

He noted that prisoners must have served two-thirds of their sentences to be eligible for release, and one-third of their sentences to be eligible for a sentence reduction.

When contacted Wednesday, Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) spokesman Yim Sovann said he had not yet been informed of the pending pardon, but said it would be a positive development, albeit one long overdue.

“Hang Chakra has done nothing wrong – he expressed his opinion, he expressed his ideas through his writing,” he said. “He should have received an amnesty from the King a long time ago.”

He also called on the King to grant pardons to other government critics serving prison terms, including two Svay Rieng villagers who were jailed in January after joining SRP president Sam Rainsy in uprooting border demarcation posts along the Vietnamese border.

“All of them should be granted amnesties, including the two people in Svay Rieng, because what they have done they have done for the interests of the country,” he said.

Thun Saray, president of local rights group Adhoc, said a Royal pardon for Hang Chakra could signal an enhancement of freedom of expression in Cambodia.

“We applaud this kind of pardon,” he said. “I think freedom of expression should be improved from now on in order to reduce the fear among journalists of being put in jail or punished for disinformation.”

Although there is still a “long way” to go, Thun Saray said, the country’s long-term outlook is good. “You can see the trend in general could be improving from one period of time [to the next],” he said.

Chat Sineang, the chief of Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison, said he writes a letter to the King before each of the four traditional holidays seeking pardons and sentence reductions, adding that 26 names were on Prey Sar’s list for this Khmer New Year. “Normally we get a result after the Khmer New Year,” he said.

Pov Buntheoun, director of the Justice Ministry’s Criminal Department, said he was preparing a document containing the names of the prisoners for the government to review before it is sent to the Royal Palace.

“I see Hang Chakra is on the suggestion list, but we cannot force the King to move quickly for us, so we have to wait,” he said. “When I get a result from the Royal Palace, I will be in a hurry to pass it to the court.”

Oum Daravuth, a member of the Royal Cabinet, declined to comment Wednesday.

2009 LICADHO Report: Cambodia’s Media Continue to be Attacked, Threatened and Censored

May 2, 2009
Source: Licadho

Cambodia's media is often described as one of the freest in the region, especially relative to the likes of Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos or China where the media is all but controlled by the government1. But the reality is that Cambodia's media still exists in a repressive environment where the government controls the majority of the media. Those that it does not control, it is not afraid to attack, threaten or censor.

The 15 months reviewed in the latest LICADHO briefing paper - from January 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009 - saw a number of cases of defamation lawsuits, repeated censorship, attacks, threats and intimidation.

The period review was crucial politically with the national election held in July 2008. The murder two weeks before the vote of opposition-aligned journalist Khim Sambo was a chilling reminder of the risks Cambodian journalists face for doing their job.

"The continued intimidation of the media through physical attacks, threats, charges of defamation and disinformation and murder ensure the lack of an environment free from political pressures for media to cover sensitive and important issues affecting Cambodians," says Naly Pilorge, Director of LICADHO.

As yet, no one has been arrested for the killing of Khim Sambo, a pattern consistent with the murders of journalists in Cambodia since 1993. In 2008, another journalist fled Cambodia with his family and has since been granted asylum in Norway after receiving death threats for his work for Radio Free Asia (RFA).

Most of the Kingdom's media outlets are aligned to a political party and most favor the Cambodian People's Party (CPP). All eight television channels are aligned with the CPP, as are 11 of the main 22 Khmer-language stations, and 13 of the 24 larger Khmer-language newspapers.

The briefing paper is titled Restrictions on the Freedom of Expression in Cambodia's Media, and is published in celebration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2009. The briefing paper is an update to LICADHO's previous report on the subject of media restrictions which was published in May 2008 - Reading Between the Lines: How Politics, Money and Fear Control Cambodia's Media.

The report is available from http://licadho-cambodia.org/reports.php?perm=130

For more information, contact:
Dr. Kek Galabru, President of LICADHO at 012 940 645

Press freedom in Cambodia: NOT FREE due to increased violence against journalists

Press freedom declining around the world: study

Friday, May 01, 2009

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Press freedom declined around the world last year, deteriorating for the first time in every region, according to a study released by Freedom House.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), meanwhile, unveiled its list of "10 worst countries to be a blogger," naming Myanmar, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Tunisia, China, Turkmenistan and Egypt to its "dishonor roll."

Out of the 195 countries and territories covered in the Freedom House study, 70, or 36 percent, were rated "free," 61 (31 percent), were rated "partly free" and 64 (33 percent) were rated "not free."

Freedom House, which is funded by the US government and private groups and has been conducting an annual study of press freedom since 1980, said that 72 countries were rated free the previous year.

It said that while press freedom had declined in 2008 for the seventh year in a row, last year marked the first time it had deteriorated in every region.

"The journalism profession today is up against the ropes and fighting to stay alive, as pressures from governments, other powerful actors and the global economic crisis take an enormous toll," executive director Jennifer Windsor said.

Freedom House said gains in South Asia and Africa were "overshadowed by a campaign of intimidation targeting independent media, particularly in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East and North Africa."

It said Israel, Italy and Hong Kong slipped from free to partly free status in 2008.

Among the worst-rated states were Belarus, China, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, the Palestinian territories, Rwanda and Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.

In Asia, Cambodia fell to not free status because of increased violence against journalists, while Hong Kong slipped to partly free as Beijing exerted growing influence over the media.

China's media environment remained "bleak" while media in Taiwan faced assault and growing government pressure.

"China should have had a better record in 2008 and upheld its promise to ensure press freedom during the Olympics, but instead it chose to remain the world's largest repressor of media freedom," said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, managing editor of the study.

South Asia saw improvement in Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan while Sri Lanka and Afghanistan suffered setbacks.

Myanmar also got poor marks from the CPJ.

"With a military government that severely restricts Internet access and imprisons people for years for posting critical material, Burma is the worst place in the world to be a blogger," it said.

Freedom House said the biggest drop in press freedom occurred in Central and Eastern Europe with journalists murdered in Bulgaria and Croatia, assaulted in Bosnia and denied judicial protection in Russia.

The Middle East and North Africa continued to have the lowest level of press freedom.

Restrictions on journalists and official attempts to influence coverage during the Gaza conflict led to Israel's downgrading to partly free status.

Freedom House said press freedom fell in Senegal, Madagascar, Chad, South Africa, Tanzania and others in sub-Saharan Africa while Comoros, Sierra Leone, Angola and Liberia showed improvement.

It said Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua registered major declines while Guyana regained its free rating and Haiti and Uruguay saw significant improvement. Mexico?s score dropped because of increased violence.

Western Europe boasted the highest level of press freedom although Italy slipped into the partly free category with free speech limited by courts and libel laws and concerns over the concentration of media ownership.

The reports from Freedom House, which was created in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of then US president Franklin Roosevelt, among others, and CPJ were released to coincide with World Press Freedom Day on Sunday.

Group Marks Cambodian Press ‘Partly Free’

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
01 May 2008

The pro-democracy group Freedom House rated Cambodian press “partly free” in 2007, citing government efforts to stymie criticism in the wake of a report on illegal logging last year.

The group made its announcement at the opening of a media museum in Washington Wednesday, ahead of World Press Freedom Day, which is Saturday.

Cambodia ranked 26 amont 40 Asia-Pacific countries in terms of press freedom, according to Freedom House.

“You really, really saw journalists trying to do their work and really trying to give people the information about somebody in a high-level corruption allegation,” said Sarah Cook, of Freedom House.

Government “pushback,” including the banning of the Global Witness report, which implicated senior ministers, businessmen and many people close to Prime Minister Hun Sen in illegal logging, contributed to a decline in Cambodia’s press freedom scores, she said.

Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Chiem Yeap said press freedom, including rights for non-governmental organizations and political parties, was much better than other countries in the region.

“Any press [outle] can curse whomever they can, even criticize the king or sometimes cause headaches to Prime Minister Hun Sen,” he said. “They are really critical.”

Freedom House rated Finland and Iceland as having the most freedom of the press. Burma and North Korea rated the worst.

Press freedom in Cambodia: Free but fearful [-Bloggers will soon test the patience of the authorities]

CAPJ presents 2007 free expression report to information minister, journalists

6 February 2008
Source: Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)

On 30 January 2008, the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists (CAPJ) held a meeting with Information Minister Khieu Kanharith and journalists to present its report on the state of press freedom in the country in 2007.

While welcoming the government's decision to decriminalise defamation on 13 August 2007, CAPJ noted a sharp increase in attacks on journalists, compared with 2006 figures: There were 15 incidents of journalists being threatened, nine lawsuits filed against them, three warnings issued to them and eight arrests of journalists.

A full report of the situation can be found in SEAPA's annual review, prepared with input from CAPJ and released on 27 December 2007:

Free but fearful in Cambodia

Cambodia appears to have in place all the laws ensuring media freedom, but the reality is a different matter altogether. The constitutional provision for press freedom is ironically often invoked to restrict this very right, for it says, rather broadly, that the exercise of this right must not infringe upon the rights of others, "affect good traditions of society", and violate public law and order and national security. The interpretation of these restrictions should conform to the standards in the ratified International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but that has not been the case.

For example, multiple revisions have incorporated into the 1995 Press Law unwarranted restrictions and self-contradictory stipulations, such as binding journalists to criminal law though acknowledging that "no persons shall be arrested or subject to criminal charges as a result of the expression of opinion".

Another restrictive constitutional provision that has been repeatedly invoked is Article 7, which states: "The King shall be inviolable". It was used to justify the confiscation of "Free Press Magazine" over an article that questioned former King Norodom Sihanouk’s immunity from the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

Despite the seemingly positive act to decriminalise defamation on 13 August—rendering moot the defamation threat against Thach Ket, chief editor of "Sralanh Khmer", and former king Norodom Sihanouk's lawsuit against the same newspaper for alleging Queen Monineath was a Vietnamese—there is still another favourite weapon of the authorities: the law on disinformation, which punishes transgressors with imprisonment from six months to three years or a fine of one million to ten million riels (approx. US$253 to US$2,530), or both. And even in civil defamation cases, journalists still face the threat of jail if they fail to pay the same steep fines.

Climate of fear

Much of the government’s workings remain shrouded in secrecy, with the access to information law ignored or not enforced by government officials. Journalists operate in a climate of fear made real by the past occurrences of colleagues being attacked and killed. While none was killed for their work this year, the sense of danger lurking persists under the authoritarian leadership of Hun Sen, the prime minister since 1985. Chim Chenda of "Kampuchea Thmei" was threatened with a gun by General Pol Sinuon for addressing the officer by his name, while Chandy of "Reaksmei Kampuchea" received an anonymous death-threat letter after he wrote a story implicating the Commune Chief of Tek Kraham in land grabbing. Phon Phat of "Chbas Ka" found his house razed twice over his reports on illegal logging.

Those threatened for their work would lie low or flee the country until the situation quietens down. A Radio Free Asia reporter bearing the penname "Keo Nimol" had to leave the country briefly after the prime minister lashed out at him, calling him insolent and rude. His colleague, Lem Pich Pisey, was forced to flee after receiving an anonymous death threat.

The Ministry of Information regularly issues and enforces bans on newspapers for reporting on sensitive issues like corruption and land grabbing, and criticisms against public officials. The biggest casualty was the closing of the major French newspaper, "Cambodge Soir", in operation for 12 years, after it defied the ban on an environmental report produced by an international non-governmental organisation which alleged official corruption. Soon after, the "Sralanh Khmer" newspaper was warned to stop further reports about the same issue. The "Khmer Amatak" newspaper was suspended a month for incurring the wrath of Deputy Prime Minister Nhiek Bun Chhay.

Government propaganda dominates the national broadcaster, allowing no room for the views of opposition parties. Even in the press and radio—where there is a certain level of plurality as ownership is open to political parties, businesses and non-governmental organisations—the authorities can limit ownership on a whim, as seen in the rejection of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights’ application to run a community radio station.

The Internet is a new medium that is as yet unrestricted, but it is accessible only to the minority middle class in the big cities—an estimated 44,000 users out of a total population of close to 14 million. A burgeoning community of bloggers continues to show and test the viability of the medium, and it will consequently, too, soon test the patience of the authorities.

Ethics problem

A lack of journalism ethics in an underpaid profession has also exposed journalists to physical harm, especially those in the poverty-ridden countryside where there is severe lack of basic infrastructure. A majority of the provincial journalists earn a monthly salary of about US$40, and would demand payment in return for their articles or other bribes. On 13 January, editors of the "Sangket Ka", "Samaki" and "Sangkum Cheat" newspapers were arrested and charged for blackmailing actress Vang Srey No. On 15 February, a "Polrath Khmer" reporter was attacked by an angry mob for alleged extortion. On 27 March, the publisher of "Vichea Khmer" newspaper was arrested for attempted murder. Most of such cases would be resolved behind closed doors or through "under-the-table" negotiations, entrenching the culture of bad journalism rather than breaking the cycle.

To address concerns about ethics and protect freedom of the press in general, a Press Council composed of 13 journalist associations was created on 20 July, with Um Sarin, president of the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists, elected to head the organisation.

This report was prepared with input from Sam Rithy Duong Hak, Vice-President of the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists, a SEAPA partner based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Press freedom an endless struggle for Asian media: Conference

January 15, 2008
The Jakarta Post (Indonesia)

The German-based Konrad Adenauer Foundation late last year held a conference on media and law in the Cambodian tourist center of Siem Reap. The Jakarta Post's Imanuddin Razak participated in the three-day conference, which covered discussions on press freedom in Asia.

Most people would agree that nothing in life is free -- including the obtaining or upholding of press freedom.

This basic truth was uttered by one conference participant who hailed from a Southeast Asian country.

An obvious example comes from the conference host: Cambodia itself.

The president of the Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ), Pen Samitthy, said due to a weak judicial system and law enforcement in Cambodia, the establishment of a press council to assist journalists in avoiding legal lawsuits was a necessity.

Looking at the number of media outlets in Cambodia -- 296 local newspapers, 90 magazines, 30 bulletins, 41 registered foreign media institutions, 22 radio stations and seven television stations, most of whom are privately owned -- there is widespread recognition the Cambodian media enjoy press freedom.

The image that press freedom in Cambodia is strongly upheld was strengthened by a government decision in 2006 to decriminalize defamation cases to ensure journalists would not be sent to prison for defamation.

This encouraged Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) to issue a statement deeming Cambodia the model for other Asian countries to follow in upholding press freedom; an important component of democracy. The group also ranked Cambodia 85 out of 169 countries with press freedom surveyed in 2007.

Cambodia rated far better than the other nine ASEAN member countries, including Indonesia (100), Malaysia (124), the Philippines (128), Thailand (135), Singapore (142), Laos (161), Vietnam (162) and Myanmar (164).

"However, I have to say that Cambodia is not a perfect place for journalists. There were six journalists killed between 1993 and 1997. Since 1997, there have been no journalists murdered; but arrests, threats and lawsuits are still concerns for Cambodian journalists," said Samitthy.

The press freedom trend has since experienced a change from the use of violence to the use of the legal system. In 2006, there were seven lawsuits filed against Cambodian journalists, an arrest of a journalist and 12 cases of threats against journalists.

Fortunately, there were cases that could be solved out of court through negotiations, in which the CCJ served as the mediator.

However, Cambodian courts prefer to apply the penal code rather than the Law on Press. As a result, journalists can be imprisoned if they are found guilty.

Another concern is there are some articles in the Law on Press that can be applied to imprison journalists. An example is article 12 of the law regarding national security and political stability, which gives the courts permission to prosecute journalists whose reports harm national security and political stability.

Cambodian journalists can also be imprisoned if they have been sued by a member of the public and proven guilty of defamation.

Cambodian journalists not only face legal lawsuits, but also have limited access to information. Article 5 of the press law stipulates that journalists have to wait one month to obtain requested information from government officials.

The CCJ, Samitthy said, was considering establishing its own regulations to help journalists avoid lawsuits.

"An important step is to set up a national code of conduct for Cambodian journalists and a mechanism to enforce the code of conduct through the establishment of a self-regulatory body, known as a press council, which will monitor and deal with the issues between journalists and members of the public," he said.

This is the lesson from Cambodia. But what about press freedom in India, an Asian country dubbed as the world's largest democracy?

"The Indian Constitution, which came into force in 1950, stipulates that all citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression," Mukund Padmanabhan, Senior Associate Editor of The Hindu, said at the conference.

"Yet, the constitution does not have a specific provision for the freedom of the press. Press freedom is a defined right in India as it has its roots in the right to freedom of speech and expression of the citizen."

Mukund specifically highlighted three laws -- the Contempt Law, Defamation Law and Privilege Law -- that had the potential to hamper press freedom in India, as they could be used to prosecute or even imprison journalists for their reports.

Meanwhile, press freedom in Malaysia and Singapore, which both impose an internal security act, remains a difficult issue to resolve.

The Reporters Without Borders group quoted Singaporean leaders as saying economic prosperity had to be paid for with freedom.

"I'm often accused of interfering in the private lives of citizens. Yet, if I did not, had I not done that, we wouldn't be here today," it quoted a statement by former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Lee's remark, according to Reporters Without Borders, sums up the policy of the country's longtime ruler -- that civil liberties are never a priority and that a good citizen should always remember national interests are more important.

This has remained the government's attitude since Lee partly handed over power to his successors in 1990, after ruling for 31 years.

Similarly, press freedom in Malaysia has been criticized as the press there has been heavily influenced by the government, in the name of prosperity and stability.

In the Philippines, however, as both judicial and press regulations have developed toward freedom of the press, problems that still hamper press freedom focus more around security and safety for media employees and organizations.

A report compiled by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) revealed that five Philippine journalists were killed last year, increasing the total number of journalists killed under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration to 54.

Indonesia's reform movement in 1998 led to the revocation of the Information Minister's decree on media publishing licenses; the most effective tool of the New Order government in controlling the media.

Yet, reforms have also led people to exercise their rights independently, including the filing of both criminal and civil lawsuits by parties or individuals dissatisfied with media reports.