(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 24 May 2000 RSF press release: 24 May 2000 PRESS RELEASE Cambodia Donor countries’ meeting Six journalists murdered since 1994: RSF concerned about total impunity enjoyed by killers As the annual meeting of the consultative group of donor countries and a Cambodian government delegation is due to go ahead […]
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 24 May 2000 RSF press release:
24 May 2000
PRESS RELEASE
Cambodia
Donor countries’ meeting
Six journalists murdered since 1994: RSF concerned about total impunity enjoyed by killers
As the annual meeting of the consultative group of donor countries and a Cambodian government delegation is due to go ahead in Paris on 25 and 26 May, Reporters Sans Frontières is sending a series of recommendations to the participants. The aim is to improve press freedom in Cambodia in a lasting manner.
Since the end of 1998 and the formation of a new coalition government made up of supporters of prime minister Hun Sen belonging to the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and royalists, the situation has improved considerably for the media. The printed press enjoys real freedom and more than 260 publications have been recorded by the information ministry – although only ten appear regularly.
The laws in force in Cambodia allow publications to be suspended solely as a result of an administrative decision by the information ministry. On 4 April 2000, the ministry suspended the weekly Cambodia News Bulletin for 30 days.
The killers of the six journalists murdered between 1994 and 1997 have not been punished. Police have not identified any of the killers and there is reason to fear that they will never come to trial.
Six journalists murdered between 1994 and 1997
Between 1994 and 1997, six journalists were killed in the course of their work. In June 1994 Tou Chom Mongkol, editor of Antarakhum, was found dead in a Phnom Penh street. Police initially said he had died in a road accident, but a post mortem showed this was not possible. His newspaper had published a series of articles accusing leading political and military figures of involvement in corruption. In September of that year Nuon Chan, editor of Samlong Yuvachon Khmer, was shot dead with two bullets. Two suspects were arrested and confessed to the crime – yet they have never been tried and it is not known who gave orders for the killing. Nuon Chan’s newspaper is close to minister Sam Rainsy and the stories he used had already earned him numerous threats. In December 1994 Sao Chan Dara, a correspondent of the Khmer-language newspaper Koh Santepheap, was shot dead by two strangers in Kompong Cham province, north-east of the capital. A few weeks earlier he had accused the local authorities of involvement in timber trafficking.
In May 1996 Thun Bun Ly, former editor of the opposition newspaper Uddomgatik Khmer, was shot dead by a man on a motorbike. A few days earlier he had written some harsh criticism of the wife of prime minister Hun Sen.
Chet Duong Daravuth, formerly a journalist with Neak Proyuth, died when a grenade was thrown into a crowd of demonstrators supporting Sam Rainsy in March 1997. Eighteen other journalists were injured in the attack. In July of the same year Michael Senior, a Canadian journalist working for Cambodian television, was shot dead at point-blank range by Cambodian soldiers in central Phnom Pemh during clashes between royalists and CPP supporters.
None of the killers referred to in the preceding paragraphs has come to trial and police inquiries have reached stalemate. The same can be said of all the other infringements of press freedom – grenade and rocket-launcher attacks, assaults and threats – committed during the 1990s. Because of this impunity, journalists are not able to go about their work freely. For fear of reprisals, some opposition newspapers keep their addresses secret.
Broadcasters under government control
The six Khmer-language television channels and 14 radio stations on the FM waveband are still under government control. Almost all the Khmer-language radio and television stations are owned by members of the government or people close to them. Despite repeated requests, opposition leader Sam Rainsy has never managed to obtain a licence from the information ministry.
The international station Voice of America can be picked up on medium wave and Radio Free Asia on short wave. At the start of 2000 Radio Free Asia was not given permission to broadcast on FM by the information ministry.
Finally, the spread of the Internet is being hindered by the government. For the moment, only one private Internet Service Provider, big-pond.com.kh, has been given official permission to operate in addition to the public ISP, camnet.com.kh. The media are seriously under-equipped. For instance, the leading daily, Raksmey Kampuchea, has no email address.
A repressive press law
The only law governing the media was promulgated on 18 July 1995. Vague concepts such as “damaging national security and political stability” and “material that insults or mocks the authorities” pose threats to newspapers.
The law also gives full powers to the Cambodian information ministry to ban publications. Under the terms of Article 12, a newspaper may be suspended for a maximum of 30 days for “damaging national security and political stability”. In most cases, when the government threatens to suspend a newspaper, the editors can avoid sanctions by writing a letter of apology to the ministry – but the threat remains.
On 15 September 1999 the secretary of state for information, Oum Darawuth, announced the suspension of the anti-royalist newspaper Sathearnakroath (Republican News) for a month, on the grounds that it had published two reports regarded as “disrespectful” to the king. The newspaper had described the king as an “old fox” in reference to his long political career.
On 4 April 2000 the information ministry decided to suspend the weekly Cambodia News Bulletin (CNB) for 30 days. The reason given was “libelling several members of the government”. The CNB management denied the allegations and said the newspaper had not been asked to print a correction or reply, as provided for in the 1995 law when people believe they have been unfairly accused.
Even the foreign-language press, which is much more independent than the Khmer-language press, is not safe from pressure. In October 1998 the authorities considered suspending two English-language newspapers, The Cambodia Daily and Phnom Penh Post, and expelling American journalists accused of “serious professional misconduct”.
When the press law was promulgated in 1995, the government had announced that more liberal decrees would be issued regarding its implementation, but the promise was not kept. On the other hand, proposals for a law on broadcasting that would make the sector more liberal are currently under consideration.
Recommendations
Reporters Sans Frontières calls on the government of the Kingdom of Cambodia to:
– publish the findings of its investigations into the six murders of journalists that took place between 1994 and 1997,
– amend the press law, and particularly article 12, which allows publications to be suspended for a maximum period of 30 days in the event of “damaging national security and political stability”,
– put forward a draft law on broadcasting that would make the sector more liberal and set up an independent body to allocate broadcasting frequencies.
Reporters Sans Frontières also calls on Cambodian journalists to scrupulously respect ethical and professional standards, as set out in the Charter of Journalists’ Rights and Obligations approved in Munich in 1971.
Finally, Reporters Sans Frontières calls on donor countries to:
– put pressure on the Cambodian government to carry out a full investigation of the murders of journalists,
– provide support and assistance to the media, particularly to enable them to have access to the Internet.
