Shutdown Of Independent News Outlet Spells Concerns For Cambodia

Another independent Cambodian media channel is being shut down, putting freedom of speech in the country at risk of eradication. Prime Minister Hun Sen said that Voice of Democracy, one of the few independent media outlets left in the state, had not only attacked his son but also hurt the country when it reported that Hun Manet had overstepped his authority by signing an agreement to donate aid for the catastrophic earthquake Turkey suffered last week. According to C.N.N., the outlet’s operating license was revoked by Monday. Both the English and Khmer websites for Voice of Democracy (V.O.D.) have been blocked and the outlet itself has now closed.

V.O.D. “has served as an important mainstay of independent investigative reporting and objective criticism for years,” says Human Rights Watch’s deputy Asia director Phil Robertson, and its closure is “a devastating blow to media freedom in the country.” The Cambodian people are the ones who have ultimately lost, Robertson says, as V.O.D. is not only one of their last remaining sources of independent news, but also goes beyond reporting problems which affect everyday life to inform Cambodians regarding their “livelihoods and human rights.”

Countries like Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. have also expressed concern about the closure, Reuters says, with U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price urging the Cambodian government to reconsider and to restore V.O.D.’s media license. Price noted that the decision is “particularly troubling” due to the “chilling impact it will have on freedom of expression and on access to information ahead of the national elections in July.”

The Prime Minister issued a statement on Facebook declining an official apology from V.O.D. and saying that the workers “should look for jobs elsewhere.”

Hun Sen is one of the world’s longest-serving leaders. Since he came into power as Cambodia’s prime minister in 1985, Sen has jailed and exiled dozens of opposition figures and shut down multiple independent newspapers and websites. Although Article 41 of the Cambodian constitution guarantees the rights to freedom of expression, information, and publication for all Cambodian citizens, media censorship, restrictive legislation, and judicial harassment have largely negated this right for a long time.

Alarmingly, it seems that everyone who speaks differently from the government is in danger. Some may remember Kem Ley, a political analyst who was shot and killed in July 2016. Another activist, Kong Raya, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2019 after the young student made a Facebook post asking Cambodians to join him in a “color revolution” to “change the government.” If even social media is not a safe place to share information free from government control, then free speech and access to independent information are close to nonexistent.

Independent media outlets like V.O.D. help citizens make educated and informed decisions by reporting diverse opinions without the influence of the government. When governments shut down these outlets, it becomes difficult to investigate events and to keep those governments accountable for their wrongdoings – a sign of lacking diplomacy that is concerning not just for a country’s citizens, but also for its outside allies. Information is a right. As Hun Sen has declared that he will not restore V.O.D.’s license, we can only hope that the remaining independent outlets will be able to stay in operation. There is no telling what the government would do if there were nobody left to keep it accountable for its actions.

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