VOA, RFA was banned 3 days

VOA, RFA was banned 3 days spread a information on the Legislative vote?  A brief explanation by the Minister of Communications is in this video. This is where we realize that the vote was probably filtered.

 

Government Defends Ban on US Broadcasts During Election

Supporters of Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party, take part in a rally in Phnom Penh.

Monday, 04 June 2012
Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

“We banned all stations that handle VOA and RFA programs.”

A Ministry of Information official confirmed Monday the government had banned broadcasts of Voice of America and Radio Free Asia during the election Sunday.

San Putheary, chief of the audio-visual department at the ministry, told VOA Khmer the ban was to maintain a “quiet atmosphere” (sic!) as Cambodians went to the polls to elect local leaders of commune councils.

“We banned all stations that handle VOA and RFA programs,” he said, adding that the ban had been conducted legally.

Chea Sundaneth, director of the Women’s Media Center, which broadcasts the US-government programming on FM102, said they had received a call from the ministry Thursday night and were told to cease the broadcasts. They also ceased broadcasts of Radio France International and Radio Australia.

Sam Rainsy's Optimistic Over the Future of His Party (Part 2 of Sam Rainsy's Interview on VOA)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5iQ7PPGi4U

Sam Rainsy's interview with VOA's Kate Woodsome

Last week, Sam Rainsy traveled to Washington to rally support from the U.S. government and human rights groups. During the trip, he sat down with VOA's Kate Woodsome, to talk about his legal troubles and the future of the opposition.

Survivors Recall Horrifying Hours on Bridge

From left to right: Ros Kong, Bun Sophal, and Math Seila. The Diamond Bridge survivors were guests on Hello VOA, on Thursday. (Photo: by Heng Reaksmey)

Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Washington, DC Friday, 26 November 2010

"The whole crowd became like trees bent in a gust of wind, to the left or right, as the wave of pushing surged.”

On Monday night, there were sounds of joy, as revelers spent the last few hours of the three-day Water Festival on Diamond Island. But as they crossed the bridge, those sounds were replaced by groans, as more and more people packed onto the structure.

People were pressed from all sides, three survivors of the tragedy, which claimed 347 lives, told “Hello VOA” on Thursday.

“When the crowd became more and more narrow, with people pushing in, it was hard to breathe,” said Ros Kong, who was stuck among the mass of people that would eventually panic and stampede. “People then tried to push upwards to breathe. The whole crowd became like trees bent in a gust of wind, to the left or right, as the wave of pushing surged.”

Authorities have not found a definitive moment when the overcrowding devolved into something more dangerous, but an investigative committee official said Wednesday he suspected people thought the swaying suspension bridge was close to collapse.

As panic ensued, people began to climb over each other. Those who could not stand fell beneath the feet of the others. Health officials say most of the casualties were crushed or suffocated.

For survivor Bun Sophal, the stampede led to an arduous wait on the bridge, as police and medical responders fought a heavy crowd to reach the bridge.

“I almost made it to the end of the bridge,” Bun Sophal said. “But because it was too narrow, I got stuck right there. I had to wait until I almost died for police to come.”

The survivors spoke live following a national day of mourning that brought some comfort to relatives of the victims. But serious questions remain as to who was responsible for allowing thousands of people to crowd onto the bridge.

Callers to “Hello VOA” said they wanted to know what caused the panic and who was to blame for the deaths. So far there have been few answers. The government’s inquiry is expected to issue results next week.

“I don’t know if there were police at both ends, because I was trapped in the middle of the bridge,” Math Seila, a third survivor said. “Had there been, they would have been able to save us on time.”

She eventually jumped from the bridge, escaping the crush of people but injuring herself in the process.

Ros Kong said it took almost two hours for police to reach the bridge.

“I could only see the authorities coming to help us after people started fainting and died,” Math Seila said. “Had there been security forces close by, they would have helped us long before. I just wonder why.”

Radio Play Explores Life Under Khmer Rouge

Washington, D.C., April 13, 2010 – "Breaking the Silence," a dramatic play about the impact of the Khmer Rouge regime on the lives of ordinary Cambodians, will make its radio debut April 18-24 on the Voice of America.

(Media-Newswire.com) - Washington, D.C., April 13, 2010 – "Breaking the Silence," a dramatic play about the impact of the Khmer Rouge regime on the lives of ordinary Cambodians, will make its radio debut April 18-24 on the Voice of America.

The seven scenes of the play will be broadcast by VOA’s Khmer Service on consecutive nights, beginning Sunday April 18 and re-broadcast on weekends in May.

The new theater drama has been stage-produced in several Cambodian provinces for large audiences in recent months.

"The radio broadcasts of the play by VOA Khmer will ensure the drama is heard by a wider, national audience," said Youk Chhang, director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, which helped produce the play.

"Breaking the Silence" describes how cruel life was under the Khmer Rouge regime – which held power in Cambodia from April 1975 to January 1979. The play encourages Cambodians affected by the regime to share stories about the past in an effort to heal.

Each of the radio play’s seven scenes – ranging from 15 to 21 minutes each – reflect true stories that Dutch playwright and stage director Annemarie Prins encountered when meeting survivors in recent years.

"The main goal of this production is to find a way out of trauma’s silence; contributing to open dialogue as part of the process of reconciliation," Annemarie Prins said.

The Documentation Center of Cambodia and Amrita Performing Arts in Phnom Penh collaborated on both the stage production and the radio play production of "Breaking the Silence."

"It is a play which seeks to break Cambodia's silence," Youk Chhang said. "It is a play about the Cambodian people, their suffering, anger, and courage to move on no matter the circumstances. This play is very important for all Cambodians to see and hear. It will help restore our dignity and humanity and lift up our morality. It will also help our children to better understand their country."

VOA Khmer’s twice-daily broadcasts in Cambodia are carried on AM 1575, FM 102 and FM 105.

The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts approximately 1,500 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 125 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages and are intended exclusively for audiences outside of the United States.

For more information, please call VOA Public Relations at ( 202 ) 203-4959, or e-mail
askvoa@voanews.com.

VOA Cambodia spins the audience with the translation of the phone interview with Khieu Samphan aka "Lang"?

Oct 16, 2007
Opinion by Anonymous KI-Media Reader

Suffices it to say that after listening to them again and again, and scrutinizing the audio clips of the interview in question, Khieu spamhan aka "LANG" appeared to have incriminated the Vietamese for their role and involvement in the killing fields.

VOA Cambodia seems to have rather spun the translation making reference to it simply as "Given room to speak, Khieu Samphan raises points that have been raised before, shifting blame from the Khmer Rouge for its autogenocide to foreign powers, often the Vietnamese and the Americans."

Is VOA Cambodia capable of transcribing and translating what Khieu Samphan aka "LANG" has to say in that interview? or is it that VOA Cambodia has some other hidden agenda in the subject matter?

Under the FOIA, I personally request that VOA Cambodia publishes the transcripts and the exact translation of the phone interview with Khieu Samphan aka "Lang". Thank you.

A retired Cambodian-American

Only RFI, BBC, and ABC have the authorization to install relay for direct broadcasting in Cambodia ... RFA and VoA are not allowed

Cambodian government judges the independence of several foreign public radio stations

28-09-2007
By Kong Sothanarith
Cambodge Soir
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

During a seminar, the Ministry of Information (MoInf) indicated the government policy regarding the broadcasting freedom by foreign radio stations in Cambodia.

Only three international stations have the right to set up relay stations in Cambodia. That was what Khieu Kanharith, the minister of information, announced on Thursday 27 September, during a seminar on the role of radio and television in the development of Cambodia. “More than 30 radio stations are operating in Cambodia. Only RFI, BBC, and ABC [KI-Media note: ABC stands for Australian Broadcasting Corp]. have the mean to broadcast directly through relays under the present condition, because they are independent of their respective governments.” On the other hand, Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, and radio stations from the People’s Republic of China, and those from various Arab countries, are considered too close to the political power, and they did not receive the authorization to broadcast directly. Cambodian political parties still do not have the right to set up their own radio station, but they have the right to buy broadcast times on independent radio stations such as Taprohm, Beehive FM, and FM 93.5. To some members of the opposition party, as well as to some civil society organizations, this is “a discrimination policy aimed at the mastering of the airwaves (by the ruling party).”