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In Cold blood
In Cold blood: He did not think he had put himself in danger because he did not identify the officer by name,” the source said on condition of anonymity. Several others – all of whom requested anonymity, citing concern for personal security – said that Khim Sambo was writing about Cambodian National Police Commissioner Hok Lundy.
 Hok Lundy prior to his departure for a visit to the US (Photo: AFP) 
A woman prays in front of a portrait of journalist Khim Sambo, who was murdered along with his son in a Phnom Penh street on July 11. Police, who are being aided by the FBI, say they have no suspects in the case. Photo: AFP
In Cold bloodFRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2008
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (Hong Kong)
The circumstances surrounding journalist Khim Sambo’s murder point to official involvement, writes Vincent MacIsaac
"They had no fear of being arrested. They weren’t wearing helmets and made no attempt to disguise their identity" - Chan Soveth, of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association"Two weeks before he and his 21-year-old son were shot dead, Cambodian journalist Khim Sambo reported on a not uncommon topic in opposition-affiliated newspapers. When gamblers from the upper echelons of the ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP), accompanied by armed bodyguards or police, have prolonged losing streaks, it sometimes erupts in anger and even violence.
“When they lose, and cannot borrow more from the casino, they arrest the casino owners,” he wrote under one of his numerous pseudonyms, Srey Ka, in the June 28-29 weekend edition of the daily Khmer Conscience, which is affiliated with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP).
However, Khim Sambo – whose own anger needed to be “toned down”, according to a former colleague – went further than most, mocking the behaviour of a senior police officer described by many as “one of the most dangerous men in Cambodia”.
He reported on an incident that allegedly occurred – SRP newspapers are often accused of fabrication or exaggeration – on June 25 at a casino complex at a border crossing with Vietnam in the town of Bavet in Svay Rieng province.
After losing his shirt at Le Macau Casino and Hotel, the officer borrowed from the casino, lost that, borrowed more – and lost again. When the casino manager refused to lend any more, he had him arrested by the junior officers accompanying him, Khim Sambo reported.
He went further, describing how the officer stacked the deck: “When he loses US$100,000, the casino returns US$50,000. But he plays until losing the returned money, and demands to borrow more. If any casino owner dares to say ‘no’, he threatens to arrest him.”
Khim Sambo did not identify the officer by name but dropped enough hints so that when he concluded his report by stating “there is no need to name [the CPP gamblers] because everyone in Cambodia knows who they are”, he assumed readers would be able to identify the officer, a source said.
“He did not think he had put himself in danger because he did not identify the officer by name,” the source said on condition of anonymity. Several others – all of whom requested anonymity, citing concern for personal security – said that Khim Sambo was writing about Cambodian National Police Commissioner Hok Lundy.
The former governor of Svay Rieng province has been at the top of Cambodia’s police force since 1994. “There is hardly anyone in Cambodia who has shown more contempt for the rule of law than Hok Lundy,” Human Rights Watch has said. He “represents the absolute worst Cambodia has to offer”, it said.
“We believe the killing is related to that article,” Son Chhay, the whip of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party claimed, though he declined to identify the subject of the article.
The editor of Khmer Conscience, Dam Sith, who had been jailed on defamation charges in June, said he knew nothing about the article when interviewed by phone last Thursday.
That day, he was interviewed by one of the two agents from America’s FBI, said to be “supporting” their Cambodian counterparts in the investigation.
“I told them I don’t know anything about who is behind the killing, and that I hope they find who it is,” he said.
Chan Soveth, a programme officer at the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, warned that “if the FBI cannot work independently [their assistance] is just a political game”.
He arrived at the scene of the double homicide about 30 minutes after it occurred at about 6.30pm on July 11 and has been investigating ever since. He fears the police are protecting the perpetrators rather than trying to solve the crime.
Khim Sambo, 47, bled to death on the side of a busy street in central Phnom Penh, minutes after being shot twice in the back while riding a motorcycle driven by his son Khat Sarinpheata. The young man died the next day in a Phnom Penh hospital, after being shot twice while cradling his dying father, said Chan Soveth.
The killers, two men on a motorbike who approached Khim Sambo and his son from behind, were probably hired assassins, he said, pointing out that they used a K-49 pistol with a silencer.
“They had no fear of being arrested. They weren’t wearing helmets and made no attempt to disguise their identity. They acted like they were under protection,” Chan Soveth said.
When he arrived at the scene, he was able to gather information from bystanders but, when he returned the following morning, no one would speak to him, he said. Silence permeates human rights groups in Cambodia. When asked who he thought was behind the killing, Chan Soveth declined to answer. “I want to continue living in Cambodia,” he said.
He believes the murders were intended to create an atmosphere of fear ahead of the July general election, which the CPP won by a landslide. This view was widely promoted by Cambodian and international human rights groups who expressed outrage following the killing.
But SRP whip Son Chhay disputes that there was any link between the killings and the election. “It was not a political killing,” he said. “There was no order from the top of the CPP,” he said. “[Prime Minister] Hun Sen does not know who is behind the killings. If Hun Sen knew who was behind the killings, the FBI would not have been allowed to join the investigation.”
He added: “The FBI has been allowed in because the CPP believes they will be unable to find evidence of government involvement,” though he in no way suggests that the CPP has turned benevolent.
“Their behaviour, their totalitarian thinking is very much like the Khmer Rouge. Either you support the CPP or you are an enemy of the state. Killing opposition members is acceptable,” he said.
Son Chhay and Chan Soveth said they feared that the FBI was likely to be used by the Cambodian police to provide a veneer of legitimacy to what the latter described as a “sham investigation”.
Son Chhay noted: “They have this great ability to manipulate the international community and they will manipulate the FBI to make sure nothing happens [with the investigation].”
This is already happening, he said, pointing to a police statement published in the Cambodia Daily this month quoting Phnom Penh’s police commissioner as saying that an “FBI official had agreed that the killings were motivated by someoneseeking revenge against the journalist’s son”.
Senior police officers have suggested that the target of the killers was not Khim Sambo but his son.
In his initial report into the crime, Chan Soveth found no evidence thateither the father or the son were involved in a personal dispute that could have led to their murders.
US embassy spokesman John Johnson said he was aware that some human rights investigators had accused the local police of a cover-up. Because the investigation was ongoing, he said, he could not comment on the details of the case.
The FBI agents were playing a “purely supportive” role in the investigation at the invitation of the interior ministry, he said. Besides two investigators, who arrived on September 14, a forensic artist had arrived last week to assist localpolice with a sketch of the assailants, he added.
One day after meeting the FBI agents, Phnom Penh deputy police chief Hy Prou, who is in charge of the investigation, said there were no leads on a suspect and that the complexities of the case made investigating it difficult.
However, the fact that editor Dam Sith was interviewed for the first time after the FBI agents arrived could signal that the bureau is nudging the Cambodian police in a new direction – towards the articles Khim Sambo wrote before he was killed.
In an interview at his home last Saturday, Dam Sith said that one of the questions asked by the FBI agent, who was accompanied by a translator from the US embassy and two Cambodian officers, concerned the kind of articles Khim Sambo had written for him. He said he replied: “A lot of articles about different things.”
Dam Sith is a father with three young children. Since Khim Sambo’s killing he does not leave his home unless he has to. He looked like he had not slept in weeks and was in a highly nervous state.
In 2006, Hok Lundy was denied a US visa due to allegations that he was involved in drug and human trafficking. The following month, however, the FBI awarded him a medal for his efforts in fighting terrorism. In April last year, he was finally granted a US visa, to attend a counter-terrorism workshop.Labels: CPP, Hok Lundy, Journalism, journalist
Cambodia's Free Press Under Fire
MANAGING DEMOCRACY Cambodia's Free Press Under FireBy Sophal Ear and John A. Hall
Published: July 27, 2008 (International Herald Tribune)
On the evening of July 11, Khim Sambor, a Cambodian journalist, was shot to death in public by two unidentified men on a motorbike. He was a member of an increasingly endangered species in Cambodia: a journalist for one of only two opposition newspapers still permitted to operate by Prime Minister Hun Sen's government. Although Cambodia held nominally democratic national elections on Sunday, this is clearly a country in which the Fourth Estate - the free press - is in serious and perhaps terminal jeopardy. Just a month prior to Sambor's murder, the military police arrested his editor, Dam Sith, after his newspaper reported on allegations about the current foreign minister's role during the Khmer Rouge regime. Although Sith was released after a week in jail and the foreign minister dropped his lawsuit against the editor, he still faces criminal charges of defamation and disinformation under Cambodia's penal code. Sith's arrest came only days after the Ministry of Information ordered the closing of a provincial radio station, Angkor Ratha FM105.25, shortly after it leased air time to four political parties, none of which happened to include the governing Cambodian People's Party, or CPP. According to the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee, a coalition of 21 local human rights organizations, Khim Sambor's murder was related to his journalism. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has analyzed his most recent articles and found that they dealt with allegations of government corruption, internal rifts inside the governing CPP, and questions about the distribution of benefits from recent Chinese investment in Cambodia. Sambor is at least the 12th journalist to have been killed since 1992, when the United Nations landed in Cambodia to undertake what was then its largest and most expensive peacekeeping operation, the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia. The UN ran Cambodia's first national election after a decade of Vietnamese occupation and the Killing Fields. Although a royalist party won that ballot, Hun Sen refused to relinquish power and forced a power-sharing agreement that created an unstable dual prime ministership. He ousted his rival prime minister in a coup in July 1997. Elections in 2003 saw the creation of the world's largest cabinet, with more than 300 ministers, secretaries of state, and undersecretaries, far outnumbering members of parliament and senators, combined. To be fair, a decade and a half after the UN authority arrived, this election season has shaped up to be Cambodia's least deadly for politicians. The police commissioner of Phnom Penh noted that the number of murders have decreased in comparison to the previous election campaign in July 2003. With the election on Sunday, Cambodia has entered a new phase of managed democracy: Mostly gone are the brazen assassinations of non-governing party candidates, people like Om Radsady, a former royalist member of Parliament who was killed five months shy of the 2003 ballot by two gunmen in Phnom Penh. Radsady allegedly floated the provocative idea of asking the prime minister to answer questions before the National Assembly concerning anti-Thai riots that had resulted in the burning of the Thai Embassy and the destruction of Thai businesses in January 2003. While it is no mystery that the CPP will win the current elections in Putin-like fashion, what the governing party needs - more than the veneer of electoral legitimacy - is accountability. The real challenge is not just elections for their own sake - Cambodia has proven that a country can have a series of less and less violent elections that result in the same outcome, in which the governing party consolidates power - but the creation and preservation of checks and balances within single-party rule. These are virtually nonexistent in Cambodia. The judiciary is captured and both the National Assembly and Senate are powerless against an executive that rules by edict. Cambodians know all too well the Chinese adage: "Kill the chicken to scare the monkey." Now, the Fourth Estate is under fire. All of the country's television stations are pro-government, while the number of independent radio stations has dwindled to two. Speaking truth to power has never been more difficult than at times like these. Supporting a free press in Cambodia has never been more critical. Sophal Ear is an assistant professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. John A. Hall is an associate professor at Chapman University School of Law, Orange, California. The views expressed are those of the authors alone. Labels: Election, Journalism, journalist
Fears multiply after murder
Fears Multiply After MurderJournalist’s Family Urge Govt to Work with FBI
Written by Cheang Sokha and Porter Barron
Friday, 25 July 2008 (The Phnom Penh Post)
The relatives and friends of slain opposition journalist Khim Sambo and his son Khat Sarinpheata say the investigation into their murders has stalled and are urging Cambodian authorities to cooperate with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
 Khim Sambo, a journalist with the Sam Rainsy Party newspaper Moneaksekar Khmer, was gunned down on July 11 while riding a motorbike with his son outside Olympic Stadium.
The deaths stunned the community and outraged rights groups and journalist’s organizations, who claimed the killers were trying to stifle press freedoms ahead of the July 27 general elections.
“If the killing was related to powerful, high-ranking officials, the investigation would progress quickly and the perpetrators would be arrested immediately. But for normal families the killer is never found,” said Khim Laurent, Khim Sambo’s brother.
“The government should cooperate with the [US Federal Bureau of Investigation] to find the killers. I think the FBI does not believe the Cambodian authorities can arrest them, because they offered their help.”
Three days after the assassination, the US embassy volunteered the FBI’s assistance to the Cambodian authorities, but an embassy spokesman said this week the Cambodians had not taken up the offer.
A senior Cambodian police official, who asked not to be named, explained: “The Cambodians do not need any assistance from the FBI. We have enough ability to handle this on our own.”
Meanwhile, Moneaksekar Khmer has shuttered its offices although it continues to publish. The shooting followed last month’s week-long arrest of the paper’s editor-in-chief Dam Sith on defamation charges filed by foreign minister Hor Namhong.
Dam Sith is also a Sam Rainsy Party election candidate, and his detention was roundly criticized by rights group as an effort to intimidate the press before the polls.
“Since Dam Sith was arrested and Sambo was murdered, the office has been closed,” said a reporter who also did not want to be named.
“The editor-in-chief has instructed all of the staff not to meet anyone in person for security reasons. We can only talk by phone. The office will reopen when the situation is better.”
A second Moneaksekar Khmer reporter appealed for authorities to catch Khim Sambo’s killers, saying, “We are worried for our safety.”
People are scared to talk. This is the same as the Chea Vichea case.
“Arrest the real killers, not the fake killers like the case of Chea Vichea,” referring to the 2004 daylight shooting of Cambodia’s top labor leader.
The two men convicted in his death are largely thought to have had nothing to do with the murder of the popular opposition-aligned unionist.
As with Chea Vichea’s killing, Khim Sambo’s death has cast a pall of fear over those who knew him, with frightened witnesses hesitant to come forward.
Several have disappeared and are thought by the victims’s family and rights workers to be in hiding.
“People are scared to talk. This is the same as the Chea Vichea case,” said Chan Soveth, a human rights worker with the Cambodian group Adhoc.
Deputy Military Police Chief Pol Davy on July 24 dismissed the notion of a political killing, saying: “After the shooter fired, his son screamed out to the witnesses, ‘Please help! Please help! It’s a revenge issue!’”
Municipal Police Chief Touch Naruth also attributed the killing to a personal dispute, and he claimed progress in the investigation. “We have a sketch of the shooter, based on information from the witnesses.”
But rights groups are skeptical.
“The Cambodian authorities should surprise everyone for once and hold accountable those responsible for Khim Sambo’s murder, no matter their political allegiance,” said Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch.Labels: Election, Journalism, journalist, Sam Rainsy Party
Two Cambodian Journalists Win Hellman/Hammett Writer’s Award
Two Cambodian Journalists Win Hellman/Hammett Writer’s AwardRights Group Honors Defenders of Independent Media in Cambodia (New York, July 22, 2008 - ) – Two young Cambodian journalists, Chheang Bopha and Duong Sokha, are among a diverse group of 34 writers from 19 countries to receive the prestigious Hellman/Hammett writer’s award, which recognizes courage in the face of political persecution, Human Rights Watch said today. The Hellman/Hammett grants, administered by Human Rights Watch, are given annually to writers around the world who have been targets of political persecution or human rights abuses. The grant program began in 1989 when the American playwright Lillian Hellman willed that her estate be used to assist writers in financial need as a result of expressing their views.
“Chheang Bopha and Duong Sokha represent a small minority among Cambodia’s press corps who dare to challenge corrupt and politically biased institutions through their writings and their actions,” said Sara Colm, senior Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Bopha, 28, and Sokha, 27, worked as reporters at Cambodge Soir, Cambodia’s leading French language daily newspaper. They quit in 2007 to protest the dismissal of a colleague who was fired for writing about a report by Global Witness, an international environmental organization, that documented the alleged complicity of top government officials in illegal logging.
Striking Cambodian staff elected Sokha as their spokesperson to demand that Cambodge Soir reinstate the fired journalist and guarantee editorial independence. The newspaper’s owners responded by closing the paper and reopening it several months later under new editorial management. Most of the former employees eventually returned to work without reassurances of editorial independence, but Sokha and Bopha refused despite intense pressure to do so.
They both pursued far less lucrative work in journalism teaching before eventually joining forces with other journalists to start an independent internet publication in Cambodian and French, Ka-Set (http://www.ka-set.info). Bopha will soon be leaving to pursue a master’s degree in journalism at the Training Center for Professional Journalists in Paris.
“In a climate of increased suppression of free expression and attacks against independent media – including from the highest levels of the government – few journalists dare challenge the system,” said Colm. “Sokha and Bopha aim to uphold professional media standards in a country with few truly independent media outlets.”
Ka-set was the brainchild of a group of four former Cambodge Soir journalists and a Magnum photojournalist. Originally launched in March 2008 with the journalists’ own money, the internet publication uses a multimedia approach to cover a wide range of issues – politics, justice, human rights, economics, Khmer Rouge, environment, culture and society. Access is free, and income comes from advertising, although the team, now numbering 10, is currently seeking additional support.
“The rare professional skills, ethics and courage exhibited by Duong Sokha and Chheang Bopha should be applauded and encouraged, especially at a time when independent journalism in Cambodia is increasingly at risk,” said Colm.
The Cambodian government controls all broadcast media and regularly suspends, threatens, or takes legal action against journalists or news outlets that criticize the government. In addition, reporters risk dismissal, physical attack, or even death for coverage of controversial issues. Earlier this month, for example, gunmen shot and killed Khim Sambo, a journalist for Moneaksekar Khmer (Khmer Conscience), a newspaper affiliated with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP).
“As political power is increasingly consolidated in Cambodia in the run-up to the July 27 national elections, so is control over the media,” said Colm.
In June, military police arrested Moneaksekar Khmer editor, Dam Sith, who is also running as a SRP candidate in the elections, after the paper reported on allegations about the current foreign minister’s role during the Khmer Rouge regime.
In 2007, a reporter in Pursat Province was the victim of two attempted arson attacks on his home, which the local police chief attributed to the reporter’s coverage of illegal logging. In June 2007, the government banned Global Witness’s report on illegal logging. Journalists who covered the report and people who helped prepare it received anonymous death threats.
Bopha holds bachelor’s degrees in French literature from Phnom Penh University and in management from the National University of Management. At Cambodge Soir she covered the human rights beat, vividly documenting the plight of Khmer Rouge victims, garment workers, women, ethnic minorities and children. She has also worked as a correspondent for Radio France International, Radio Free Asia, and International Press Service. In 2003, she assisted with the production of a documentary film, “Les Artistes du Theatre Brulé”, by Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh. Bopha has also taught print journalism at the Royal University of Phnom Penh.
Sokha studied French at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. During his four years at Cambodge Soir, Sokha was known for his reporting on justice, human rights and politics. In addition, he has worked as a French lecturer at the Royal University of Law and Economics, an event promoter for the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center, and a television reporter for “Cambodian Voices,” broadcast on TV-9 in Cambodia.
“Though young, both Bopha and Sokha are respected for their leadership and integrity during and after the newspaper strike, as well as their hard-hitting coverage of social issues and human rights,” said Colm.
Since 1989, Human Rights Watch has administered the Hellman/Hammett awards, which have been given to nearly 700 writers – including 10 Cambodians – over the 19 years of the program. The Hellman/Hammett program also makes small emergency grants to writers who have an urgent need to leave their country or who need immediate medical treatment after serving prison terms or enduring torture Labels: Election, Journalism, journalist
Scribe's Murder, Temple Dispute Muddy Cambodian Polls
Scribe's Murder, Temple Dispute Muddy Cambodian PollsBy ANDREW NETTE / IPS WRITER
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 PHNOM PENH (irrawaddy.org) — Cambodia has entered the final week of its national election campaign shocked by the murder of a well-known journalist and facing an increasingly tense standoff with Thailand over a disputed 11th century Hindu temple.  The July 11 slaying of Khim Sambo in a drive-by-shooting in Phnom Penh has cast a cloud over the poll, which until then had been largely free of serious violence, and sent shock waves through the journalist community.
"For Cambodian people it is scary," said Kek Galabru, president of Licadho, a prominent local human rights organization that is investigating the incident. "The killing will have a negative impact on the election. In journalists it will increase self-censorship. There is a chilling effect. Everyone is wondering who will be next." Although some have claimed that the Sambo killing was an election-related political assassination, no evidence has been produced to back this. "We estimate at 70 percent (probability) that this is a revenge case," Phnom Penh police commissioner Touch Naroth told the media last week. "The journalist could have had personal conflicts." The most feasible explanation, according to local and international human rights groups, is that Sambo was killed because of his articles.  A veteran reporter for the newspaper ‘Monseaseka,’ or Khmer Conscience, which is affiliated to the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), the country’s main opposition political party, Sambo reported on issues relating to corruption, land grabbing and other controversial topics. Monseaseka’s editor, Dam Sith, an SRP election candidate, was last month charged with defamation against a senior government minister and jailed for a week. In a statement the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it was "concerned that Sambo may have been targeted in reprisal for his reporting on government corruption." "My feeling is that it is certainly related to what he wrote," said Galabru. "Whatever the case, there was a crime and we want the authorities to mount a serious investigation to being the perpetrators to justice." No one has yet been arrested for the killing and opposition parties and human rights investigators are pessimistic that any one will be. According to the United Nations Office of High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Cambodia, Sambo’s killing is one of eight similar murders and attempted murders of journalists since 1994. In all the cases cited by OHCHR no one was arrested and the perpetrators remain at large. The uncertainty relating to Sambo’s death says much about the difficulties facing journalists in Cambodia. Almost all Cambodia’s media is politically aligned, either through the direct ownership by parties or by wealthy individuals who have strong political connections. According to a May 2008 Licadho study on the state of the country’s media, journalists are typically poorly paid and many live in fear of physical or legal attack because of their work. "Fear is a fact of life for many of Cambodia’s journalists," it said. The study cited a 2007 survey of 150 journalists which showed that 65 percent of them were afraid of being physically attacked, and 62 percent feared legal action. "More tellingly, 54 percent said they had been threatened with physical harm or legal action,’’ the survey said. The report also stated that problems also arise from endemic corruption in the media, with many journalists regularly taking bribes for favorable coverage or for not reporting stories. "Even if it (the Sambo killing) is not politically related the environment of fear it creates is a serious issue", said Mar Sophal, monitoring coordinator with the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia. It is difficult to get accurate figures on the number of killings and acts of violence related to the election. According to Sophal, by the end of last week there had been at least four politics-related deaths during the official four-week campaign period. Three of the victims were CPP-affiliated activists. The fourth was an opposition party supporter. Another issue creating uncertainty in the closing stages of the Sunday election is the escalating dispute between Phnom Penh and Bangkok over the ownership of the Preah Vihear temple that stands on the border between the two neighboring countries. The standoff has placed Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) in a difficult position. They must prevent a broader conflict while placating public anger over the presence of Thai soldiers in the temple, which many in the Khmer media are calling "an invasion". The United Nations’ recognition of the temple as Cambodian produced a massive public outpouring of national fervor across the country, with mass rallies, cultural celebrations and fireworks displays. CPP officials were quick to credit the World Heritage committee’s decision to Hun Sen’s leadership and placed advertisements in all the Khmer newspapers stating this. "They have tried to take credit for it and have used the state budget to promote themselves as heroes," said Son Chhay, an SRP parliamentarian. "Now they have backed off given their desire not to antagonize the Thais." In a letter sent Saturday to the Thai Prime Minister, Hun Sen maintained the temple is Cambodian, but pressed for a negotiated end to the stalemate. Indeed, it is the opposition parties that are now trying to take advantage of the situation. In a statement released last week the SRP called the presence of Thai soldiers at the temple "an invasion" and said the government should refuse to negotiate "as long as the Thai government remains on Cambodian territory". It demanded the withdrawal of the Thai ambassador and steps to "strengthen the armed forces into a national army that is capable and well-equipped with adequate weapons to withstand the invasion of neighboring countries." Labels: Election, Journalism, journalist
'Selective' Coverage After Murders
'Selective' Coverage After Murders:
Reporter By Mean Veasna, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
14 July 2008 The murders of an opposition journalist and his son in Phnom Penh Friday night have sent a ripple of self-censorship through his old newspaper, journalists said Monday. Khim Sambor, 47, and his 21-year-old son, Khat Sarinpheata, were gunned down as they drove on a motorbike near Olympic Stadium Friday evening, just 16 days away from a national election. Khim Sambor died at the scene, and his son died at a local hospital a few hours later. Both men were cremated in a Buddhist ceremony Sunday. The killings have meant a change in the way Moneaksekar Khmer will operate, the editor said Monday. "We don't know if there will be other pressure after the murders. We must be very careful, even for security, and in the work," the editor, Dam Sith, said. "We are afraid that if we write something risky, it could bring us in front of accusations." Dam Sith was held in jail for a week last month following a story he ran implicating Foreign Minister Hor Namhong as a member of the Khmer Rouge. He was released when Hor Namhong dropped defamation charges against him, and Dam Sith swore at the time to continue his pro-opposition coverage of the country. Now, his stories will reflect a more cautious editorial approach. Self-censorship on the meaning of story text and the choice of words will change, he said. "The murder of Khim Sambor is a serious threat against Moneaksekar Khmer," Dam Sith said. "We are worried now for the whole staff as they are reporting, and when they get back home." Other Moneaksekar Khmer journalists echoed Dam Sith's concerns. "We are concerned in accomplishing our jobs," said Vong Sopheak, a reporter for the newspaper. "We don't know what will happen to us, and so we must be more careful. We don't want to have a confrontation. And now we are selective of the information and selective of the topic." Khim Sambor had covered politics, including the reporting of stories on government corruption, for the newspaper, which is affiliated with the Sam Rainsy Party. Human rights groups said his murder was likely due to his reporting. Khim Sambor had reported for many years, and focused on conflicts, election irregularities, illegal logging, fisheries crimes, land grabbing, "which are related to powerful Cambodian officials," the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee said in a statement. His murder was likely related to his reporting, the group said. The killings were roundly condemned by local and international rights groups. "Allowing this murder to go unpunished would have a considerable impact on the 27 July elections, and we therefore hope the investigation will produce quick results," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement Saturday. Moneaksekar Khmer is only one of two opposition newspapers. A third, Sralanh Khmer, began reporting from a pro-Cambodian People's Party point of view following the defection to the ruling party of its top editor, Thach Keth, who is now a CPP undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Information. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy called Khim Sambor's killing a political assassination and called for an immediate investigation. "When one who dares to write or argue against those with absolute power is assassinated, the perpetrators behind the killing are never found nor tried according to the law," he said in a statement Saturday. "This clearly demonstrates the nature of those in power." Sam Rainsy also called for further investigations into murders of other opposition supporters, including labor leader Chea Vichea, parliamentarian Om Rasadie, "as well as countless numbers of journalists, political activists and others." Police have made no arrests in Friday's killings. The US Embassy issued a statement Monday offering the help of its Federal Bureau of Investigation office "if requested by the Cambodian government." Labels: Election, hun sen, Journalism, journalist, Sam Rainsy Party
CAMBODIA: Journalist Shot and Killed in Run-up to Elections
CAMBODIA: Journalist Shot and Killed in Run-up to Elections
New York, July 14, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of journalist Khem Sambo and calls upon Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to immediately launch an independent investigation into the killing. CPJ is concerned that Sambo may have been targeted in reprisal for his reporting on government corruption.
A journalist with the opposition-aligned Khmer-language daily paper Moneaseka Khmer, Sambo was shot twice while riding his motorcycle with his 21-year-old son on July 11 in the capital of Phnom Penh, according to international and local news reports. He died later in the hospital. His son was also shot and killed, the reports say.
The gunmen were also riding on a motorcycle and sped away after the shooting, news reports say. Cambodian police officials said on Sunday that they had not yet identified a motive or any suspects in the murder, which occurred during the run-up to general elections on July 27.
“We call in the strongest terms for the government to work to bring Khem Sambo’s killers to justice,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program director. “The killing of journalists unfortunately harks to Cambodia’s violent past. A lack of justice would be inconsistent with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s recent stated commitment to protect and uphold press freedom.”
Moneaseka Khmer is affiliated with the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, and Sambo was among the publication’s most hard-hitting reporters. Content analysis of Sambo’s reporting in the weeks before his murder compiled by the Cambodian League for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights and reviewed by CPJ reveals a steady stream of critical reporting on Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodia’s People’s Party.
His most recent reports, written either under the pennames Srey Ka or Den Sorin, touched on allegations of government corruption, internal rifts inside the ruling party, and questions about the distribution of benefits from recent rapid Chinese investment in the country. The Moneakseka Khmer is one of only a handful of consistently critical publications in Cambodia; the broadcast media all report unswervingly in the ruling party’s favor.
On June 8, Moneakseka Khmer’s editor-in-chief, Dam Sith, was arrested and detained on defamation and disinformation charges filed by Foreign Minister Hor Namhong for a story published in the newspaper quoting a speech by opposition politician Sam Rainsy that was highly critical of several government officials. He was discharged without bail on June 15 after Hun Sen requested his temporary release while the trial was still pending, according to news reports that quoted the journalist’s lawyer.
Sith called the attack on Sambo “the gravest threat” to the publication, according to The Associated Press.Labels: hun sen, Journalism, journalist, Sam Rainsy Party
US Army trucks recently donated to the Cambodian government are being used to transport illegal logs
 Recently donated US Army trucks (Photo: AP)
By Sophorn (Radio Free Asia)
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy (KI-Media)
Click here to read the original article in Khmer
A witness, who is a local journalist, indicated that US Army trucks recently donated to the Cambodian government are being used to transport illegal logs, however, US embassy officials denied that this story is not true.
A local journalist claimed that soldiers from army unit Ngo-70 confiscated his camera while he was taking pictures of police arresting 2 trucks carrying wood logs. The trucks are suspected to be donations by the US.
The local journalist, who asked to remain anonymous for fear for his personal safety, indicated on 15 June, he saw soldiers and police officers stopping 3 trucks, he then started taking pictures of these vehicles when 3 soldiers from the army unit Ngo-70 came to take his camera and confiscated the film in the camera.
He added that about 30 minutes later, following an intervention from their superior, the soldiers then returned the camera back to him
According to an eyewitness, who happens to be a local journalist also, said that at about 2:00 PM on Sunday, at the Snab Ta Oan village, Koki commune, Kien Svay district, Kandal province, along National Road No. 1, a group of police officers stopped 2 trucks loaded with wood logs, during this operation, national military police force was also present.
He added that, later on the military police and soldiers group send 20-cubic-meter of precious wood to be stored at the house of General Mao Sophan, the commander of army unit Ngo-70, located in Spov Kanleng village, Dey Ith commune, Kien Svay district, Kandal province, then the trucks took off.
RFA attempted to obtain clarification from the Kien Svay district police chief since 17 June, but he told RFA to wait until 18 June instead, However, on 18 June, RFA called him and his deputy back many times, but no one picked up their phones.
Heng Thieb, the Kien Svay district governor, indicated that he knew there was a wood inspection that took place, but that this is the duty of the forestry department, and he said for RFA to ask the forestry department instead.
Heng Thieb said: “I only know that they belong to the joint force of the forestry department.”
Sophorn (RFA): So was there any confiscation as reported or not, Mr. Deputy-governor?
Heng Thieb: There was a wood inspection. The department of forestry is working on it.
On Wednesday, RFA tried to call Y Sophy, the director of the Kien Svay forestry department, for clarification, but no one picked up the phone.
Jeff Daigle, the public relation officer of the US embassy in Cambodia, said that he heard about this story since Monday. He sent an expert to check and the expert noted that the 31 trucks provided by the US Army have not been put to use yet, he said that the report is only a rumor.Labels: Illegal logs, Journalism, journalist, US State Department
Testimonials from former prisoners of the Boeng Trabek Camp under the direction of Hor Nam Hong between November 1977 and January 1979
 H.E. Hor Nam Hong, in charge of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Deputy Prime Minister
Translated from French
La version française se trouve en bas du texte anglais
These testimonials from people still alive now, were published in the
January 1990 issue of the Non Communist Resistance Bulletin Published by the Non-communist Anti-Vietnamese Resistance (Prince Norodom Sihanouk’s Funcinpec and Mr. Son San’s KPNLAF)
Testimonials by Mr. and Mrs. Ieng Kounsaky
We, Ieng Kounsaky and Keo Bunthouk, having known Mr. Hor Nam Hong since 1969 and having lived two years under his authority as the director of the Boeng Trabek re-education and forced labor camp near Phnom Penh, between 1977 and 1978, have the duty to reveal the following truths below:
As a very zealous director of this camp, Mr. Hor Nam Hong had as his aids: his wife who was the “President” of the women group, and his son who was “chief” of the youth group.
Testimonials from Mr. Sao Kim Hong
It is useful to recall that Hor Nam Hong’s family [at the Boeng Trabek camp] consisted of a family of presidents:
- Mr. Hor Nam Hong, vice-president [whom I knew since the old camp] at Chraing Chamres, became President after the departure of Mr. Van Piny in 1977.
- Mrs. Hor Nam Hong, née Borey, [women] vice-president, became President following the departure of Mrs. Van Piny in 1977.
- Their eldest son Thoun [Hor Sothoun] still assumed the position of youth president.
Testimonials from Mrs. Sisowath Ayrawadi
(…). There were about 60 people [in Section B32 of the Boeng Trabek camp]. It was in this center that I and my family lived until April 1978.
From January to November [1977], B32 was directed by Mr. Van Piny, the President of the center, Mr. Hor Nam Hong, the vice-president, was his right hand man.
When Mr. Van Piny and Chorn, his wife and the women president, were taken away, [Mr. and Mrs. Hor Nam Hong replaced them as B32 President and women president, respectively.]
-----------------------------
TEMOIGNAGES D'ANCIENS DETENUS AU CAMP DE BOENG TRABEK
SOUS LA DIRECTION DE HOR NAM HONG DE NOVEMBRE 1977 A JANVIER 1979
Ces témoignages de personnes encore vivantes à ce jour, ont été publiés dans le numéro de Janvier 1990 du Bulletin NCR (Non Communist Resistance) publié par la Résistance non-communiste anti-vietnamienne (Funcinpec du prince Norodom Sihanouk et FNLPK de M. Son Sann)
Témoignage de Mr et Mme Ieng Kounsaky
Nous soussignés Ieng Kounsaky et Keo Bunthouk, ayant connu M. Hor Nam Hong depuis 1969 et ayant vécu pendant deux années sous son autorité de directeur du camp de rééducation et de travaux forcés en 1977 et 1978 à Boeng Trabek près de Phnom Penh,
Avons le devoir de révéler les vérités ci-dessous.
En qualité de directeur très zélé de ce camp, M. Hor Nam Hong avait comme aides son épouse "Présidente" du groupe des femmes, et son fils "chef" du groupe des jeunes.
Témoignage de Mr Sao Kim Hong
Il serait utile de rappeler que la famille Hor Nam Hong formait [dans le camp de Boeng Trabek] une famille de présidents:
- M. Hor Nam Hong, vice-président [que je connaissais depuis l'ancien campement] à Chraing Chamrès, devint Président après le départ de M. Van Piny en 1977.
- Mme Hor Nam Hong, née Borey, vice présidente [des femmes], devint Présidente après le départ de Mme Van Piny en 1977.
- Leur fils aîné Thoun [Hor Sothoun] assumait toujours la fonction de président des jeunes.
Témoignage de Mme Sisowath Ayravadi
(…). On y compte une soixantaine de personnes [dans la section B32 du camp de Boeng Trabek]. C'est dans ce centre que moi et ma famille avons vécu jusqu'en avril 1978.
De janvier à novembre [1977], le B32 a été dirigé par M. Van Piny, Président du centre, secondé par M. Hor Nam Hong, vice-président.
Quand M. Van Piny et son épouse nommée Chorn, présidente des femmes, ont été emmenés, [Mr et Mme Hor Nam Hong les ont remplacés respectivement comme Président du B32 et présidente des femmes].Labels: Ek Cheng Hout, Hor Nam Hong, Journalism, journalist, Khmer Rouge Tribunal, Sam Rainsy
An Institution of Injustice
 My Court, My Justice... and My Jungle Law!!! (sacrava 1015)  I Am Not for Sale (sacrava 1012)  Release Him Immediately (sacrava 1013)
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Op-Ed by Chanda Chhay
If there were such a thing as an Institution of Injustice, the Cambodian Municipal Court in Phnom Penh would certainly fit into this dubious distinction. The way Judge Chhay Kong handled the case of Mr. Dam Sith, the editor of Moneasekar Khmer newspaper, was not only a miscarriage of justice but also a brazen abuse of the laws as well as the institution (court), which he represented. The issues of miscarriages of justice or judicial abuses could have happened anywhere, but Mr. Dam Sith’s case certainly merit some discussion, for it is so blatantly mediocre even a non-lawyer like me could see the flaws.
A few days ago, amidst local and international condemnations, Judge Chhay Kong issued a firm refusal to a request from a dozen or so Members of Parliament for the release of Mr. Dam Sith on the ground that they (MP’s) had no “rights” or jurisdiction to meddle in judicial procedures (See Judge Chhay Kong’s letter in Khmer at the end of this article). However, two days after denying those MP’s request, Judge Chhay Kong has turned the integrity of his court and his noble principle of keeping outside influences away from judicial procedures upside down, when he suddenly bent backward to accept a lone Member of Parliament and head of the executive branch, Mr. Hun Sen’s request to release Mr. Dam Sith. Unbelievable! It is certainly counterintuitive to see any person, let alone a judge whose decision could take a person’s liberty or life away, making such an irrational decision.
One simple premise: If those other members of parliament had no rights to intervene in the judicial procedures, neither could Mr. Hun Sen, who is also a member of parliament. Therefore, Judge Chhay Kong should also firmly and confidently tell Mr. Hun Sen that he has no rights to interfere in the judicial procedures.
I know I am being harsh on this poor Judge Chhay Kong, who has possibly been pressured by powerful politicians to act according to their wicked whim. In a dictatorial democracy like Cambodia, it is not unusual to see a judge stuck between a rock and a hard place. But, that said, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t confront our predicaments and rise up to the challenges. After all, judges could not and should not afford to make mistakes or be reckless about their decisions because a person’s liberty or life depends very much on them. When a judge could not see this simple moral imperative, it is best for him or her to give up the law books and find a different career.
Chanda Chhay
Washington, DC.Labels: hun sen, Journalism, journalist, SRP
Cambodian groups decry arrest of editor, closure of radio station, in run-up to elections
Cambodian groups decry arrest of editor, closure of radio station, in run-up to elections
10 June 2008
Source: Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) Cambodian rights and free expression advocates are anxious and concerned in the run up to general elections in late July, sounding the alarm over recent attacks on the media that threaten the press and the open conduct of campaigns. The Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists (CAPJ), a partner of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance, this week expressed grave concern over reports that the Cambodian Ministry of Information (MOI) last week shut down a newly-established private radio station in Kratie province, 315 Kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh, on grounds that the radio owner had not complied with its operating contract with the ministry.
After securing permission from the MOI, Radio Angkor Ratha FM 105.25 went on air on May 15, 2008, and opened its airtime to the full range of Cambodia's political parties, including the Samrainsy Party, the Human Rights Party, the Norodom Ranariddh Party, FUNCINPEC and the League for Democracy Party.
Barely two weeks later, on May 28, the station was ordered to halt its broadcasts, allegedly for violating provisions in its operating contract with the Ministry.
Ten days later, on June 8, human rights groups reported the arrest of Dam Sith, editor-in-chief of the Phnom Penh newspaper, "Moneaksekar Khmer".
In a joint statement, the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), and the Cambodian League for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (LICADHO) denounced the arrest as "politically motivated".
Dam Sith has been charged with defamation and disinformation. CCHR says he has been "sent to Prey Sar prison for pre-trial detention".
The ADHOC-CCHR-LICADHO statement says "Dam Sith was charged following a complaint against him by Minister of Foreign Affairs Hor Namhong, regarding an article published in Moneaksekar Khmer on April 18. The article reported on a speech made by Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) president Sam Rainsy, at a Khmer Rouge victims' commemoration on April 17, in which he made comments about several government ministers. Hor Namhong subsequently filed a court complaint against both Sam Rainsy and Dam Sith." The rights groups say that the arrest of Dam Sith betrays the Cambodian judiciary's "continued disregard for the civil provisions of the 1995 Press Law, in favor of using the older UNTAC Criminal Code of 1992".
CAPJ, CCHR, LICADHO, and ADHOC all linked the closure of the Angkor Ratha 105.25 and the arrest of Dam Sith to general elections scheduled for July 27. All the groups warned that the recent developments could have a chilling effect on Cambodia's free press, and restrict the free and fair conduct of party campaigns and the overall elections.
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), a coalition of free press advocacy groups from the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, joins the Cambodian groups in calling for the release of Dam Sith, the lifting of the closure order on Angkor Ratha, and the Cambodian government's assurance for free expression and press freedom in Cambodia. Such freedom is crucial to the credible conduct of elections, and must be assured even beyond the heated political season. Labels: Election, Journalism, journalist
Rainsy's Bravery Might Produce Devastating Consequences
Rainsy's Bravery Might Produce Devastating Consequences Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization  Sam Rainsy's offer to swap jail term with Mr. Dam Sith, an editor of the Moneaksekar Khmer newspaper, who was arrested on the 8th of June on charges of defamation, has sent shiver down my spine. My worry has not so much focussed only on his brave offer, but much on the possibility that his offer might be accepted. I admired his courage and bravery but I also feel that his offer will result in devastating consequences for his political career and the survival of his party, if it is accepted. First, let's look at the real scenario that might come out of this deal. And let's look at the negative side first. Rainsy must realise that he is dealing with a brutal regime and a dictatorial prime minister. Should Rainsy's offer be accepted by the Cambodian court, aided and abetted by Hor Namhong, Rainsy could be sent to jail in no time. In retrospect, Rainsy should look at the Aung San Suu Kyi's case in Burma very closely. Suu Kyi is a classic case. She has been in jail for over 18 years. And even with strong protest and sanctions from the international community, the junta regime in Burma refused to budge. The worst case scenario that would come out of this daring deal would be the future of his political party. If he is jailed , and after international outcry Hun Sen still refuse to budge, what would the future hold for his party? A possible scenario would be that, if Rainsy is jailed for as long as Suu Kyi then his party would surely be weakened and disintegrate to the point of not being salvageable. And that would be the end of his party and his political career. No one, myself in particular, wants to see this scenario happen. Now, let's look at a positive scenario. If the offer is accepted and Rainsy is imprisoned and he is released immediately after the international outcry, then Rainsy and his party can claim to have won a moral victory over evil. If this scenario occurred, Rainsy and his party surely has achieved public and voters' sympathy that would translate to increased electoral chances for the upcoming election. And Rainsy would be hailed a hero upon releasing from jail. But one has to admit that Rainsy is dealing with a brutally undemocratic regime that is facing electoral defeat in the upcoming election. It will take any opportunity to sabotage Rainsy's chances of an electoral victory. And the ruling Cambodian People's Party, especially Mr. Hun Sen, would see Rainsy's offer of going to jail on behalf of Mr. Dam Sith as a great opportunity to thwart Rainsy's chances. Lastly, I wish that this defamation suit would be resolved in a civilised manner, with Dam Sith and Rainsy exonerated unharmed. Labels: Journalism, journalist, Sam Rainsy, Sam Rainsy Party
Cambodia Intimidates Media, Opposition Before Vote, Groups Say
Cambodia Intimidates Media, Opposition Before Vote, Groups Say
Bloomberg.com: Asia
By Michael Heath  June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Cambodia's government, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, is using the justice system to intimidate journalists and the opposition before next month's general elections, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said. Dam Sith, a candidate of the Sam Rainsy Party and editor of the Khmer Conscience newspaper, was arrested for questioning the role of Hor Namhong, the foreign minister, during the rule of the Khmer Rouge movement, the groups said in a statement. The arrest ``demonstrates how the criminal justice system is used and abused to silence government critics,'' said Brittis Edman, a researcher at London-based Amnesty. It ``sends a message of fear to journalists and other media workers in the lead-up to national elections.'' The ruling Cambodian People's Party will repeat its victory of 2003 when elections are held July 27 in the South Asian country of 14 million people, Hun Sen said earlier this week. Sam Rainsy spent a year in exile in France from February 2005, during which he was jailed for 18 months in absentia for defaming the prime minister. Cambodia's economy expanded 9.6 percent in 2007, after growing by at least 10 percent during the previous three years, according to data compiled by the World Bank. Hun Sen wants to develop oil and mineral resources to attract international investment and reduce Cambodia's dependence on clothing exports and tourism for growth. About a third of the population live on less than 50 cents a day and 90 percent live in rural areas. Intimidation Pattern Dam Sith's arrest is part of a pattern of intimidation against the opposition and independent media in the run-up to the election, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said. On May 21, Hun Sen threatened the independent Beehive radio station after it broadcast programming from opposition parties, according to the groups. A week later, independent radio station Angkor Ratha had its license, issued less than six months earlier, revoked after it sold air time to opposition parties, the groups said. Hun Sen said his party may win two-thirds of seats in the 123-member parliament, the Mekong Times reported yesterday. The party will probably win at least 81 seats, up from 73, and receive 73 percent of the vote versus 64 percent in the 2003 election, the Phnom Penh-based English-language daily cited him as saying. The Sam Rainsy Party won 24 seats in the last ballot. Hun Sen formed a coalition government in July 2004 with the royalist Funcinpec party, which won 26 seats in 2003. Opposition Members Dam Sith, who is running for election in Phnom Penh, was arrested as Hun Sen's CPP presses opposition members to join the party and punishes those who refuse, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said. In March, police detained local Sam Rainsy Party leader Tuot Saron in Kampong Thom. Tuot Saron is still in detention and faces charges of illegal confinement after seeking to assist a former party colleague following her alleged defection to the CPP, according to the groups. The court issued arrest warrants against three other local Sam Rainsy Party leaders, who are in hiding after avoiding arrest, the groups said. Cambodia's attention has been focused on five former leaders of the Khmer Rouge who are facing trial this year at a United Nations-backed genocide tribunal for crimes allegedly committed during the regime's 1975-1979 rule. The Khmer Rouge forced the population out of cities as it tried to establish an agrarian state, killing an estimated 1.7 million people through starvation, disease or execution. The regime was ousted when Vietnamese forces invaded Cambodia, plunging the country into civil war. Most fighting stopped after the 1991 Paris Peace Accords that called for a cease-fire and democratic elections, which were held in 1993. Penal Code Two years after the elections, Cambodia passed a Press Law that provides some protection to journalists, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty said. It's rarely used. Instead, the so-called 1992 UNTAC Law, Cambodia's current penal code, is used in most legal cases against journalists or media representatives. ``There's little room for critical or opposition journalists in Cambodia, and those who express dissent risk harassment, intimidation and, at times, imprisonment,'' Sara Colm, senior researcher at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in the statement. Dam Sith has been charged with violating articles 62 and 63 of the UNTAC Law. His newspaper, Khmer Conscience, is one of the few in Cambodia that is not affiliated with the government or the CPP, which controls all television and most radio stations. To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Heath in Sydney at mheath1@bloomberg.net. Labels: hun sen, Journalism, journalist, Sam Rainsy, Sam Rainsy Party
Journalists and Opposition Members Under Attack as Elections Near
For Immediate Release
Cambodia: Release Jailed Editor
Journalists and Opposition Members Under Attack as Elections Near
(London, June 11, 2008) – The Cambodian government should release a jailed opposition newspaper editor and candidate, and end its intimidation of journalists and opposition party candidates in the lead-up to National Assembly elections in July, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today.
On June 8, military police arrested newspaper editor Dam Sith, 39, who is also running as a candidate for the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), after his newspaper published allegations about the current foreign minister.
“Dam Sith’s arrest demonstrates how the criminal justice system is used and abused to silence government critics,” said Brittis Edman, researcher for Amnesty International. “His arrest sends a message of fear to journalists and other media workers in the lead-up to national elections next month.”
Dam Sith’s newspaper, Moneaksekar Khmer (Khmer Conscience), quoted allegations by opposition leader Sam Rainsy over the role of the current minister of foreign affairs, Hor Namhong, during the period of Khmer Rouge rule from 1975-1979. Hor Namhong filed a criminal complaint against Dam Sith for disinformation, defamation and libel under Cambodia’s 1992 penal code. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International believe that public officials who consider themselves defamed should not seek redress through the criminal law in order to protect their reputation.
Moneaksekar Khmer is one of the few newspapers in Cambodia that is not affiliated with the government or the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen, which also controls all television and most radio stations.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said that the arrest of Dam Sith is part of a pattern of intimidation by the government against opposition and independent media in the run-up to the July elections. On May 21, Hun Sen threatened the independent Beehive radio station for running programming from opposition parties, stating: “You have one channel; we have 39 channels. If you curse me, you will receive bad merit. Those who [previously] cursed me already disappeared from the world.”
On May 28, the government shut down independent radio station Angkor Ratha (FM 105.25) in Kratie province. The station, whose headquarters is in Siem Reap province, was granted a license to broadcast in January 2008. The Ministry of Information abruptly cancelled the license for the station’s Kratie broadcasts after it sold air time to opposition parties.
“There’s little room for critical or opposition journalists in Cambodia, and those who express dissent risk harassment, intimidation and, at times, imprisonment,” said Sara Colm, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called on the Cambodian authorities to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression, allowing journalists to report news and express opinions about politics without retribution.
Dam Sith, who is running as an opposition candidate in the capital Phnom Penh, was arrested in the midst of an intense campaign by the ruling CPP to induce opposition members to join the CPP and punish those who refuse. In March 2008, police arrested and detained local opposition SRP leader Tuot Saron in Kampong Thom. Tuot Saron is still detained and faces charges of illegal confinement after seeking to assist a distressed former party colleague following her alleged defection to the CPP under controversial circumstances. The court issued arrest warrants against three other local SRP leaders, who avoided arrest and remain in hiding.
“Arrests and other politically motivated legal actions are being used to intimidate, coerce and silence opposition members and journalists,” said Colm. “With elections pending, it’s crucial that Cambodians are able to receive information from a variety of news sources, and that opposition candidates are able to campaign without fear of reprisals.”
The right to freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Cambodian Constitution and enshrined in international human rights law. As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Cambodia is obliged to promote and protect these rights and ensure that people can fully enjoy them.
The 1995 Press Law provides for some protection of journalists, but is rarely used. Instead, the so-called 1992 UNTAC Law, Cambodia’s current penal code, is used in most legal cases against journalists or media representatives. These cases often violate the right to freedom of expression.
Dam Sith has been charged with violating articles 62 and 63 of the UNTAC Law. Article 62 criminalizes the publication, distribution or reproduction of false information that “has disturbed or is likely to disturb the public peace.” Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch consider the provision to be too vague and sweeping, enabling the government to intimidate and prosecute those who are exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Article 63 provides that allegations against public figures “which the author, the journalist, editor, or producer knows to be false” may constitute defamation. The article does not carry a custodial sentence. This article also restricts the right to freedom of expression in violation of international law and standards.
“It is time for Cambodia to repeal provisions in its laws that allow individuals, including journalists, to be criminally prosecuted for peaceful speech,” said Edman.
For more information, please contact:
In Phnom Penh, for Human Rights Watch, Sara Colm: +855-12-804-755 (mobile)
In London, for Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams: +44-79-0872-8333 (mobile)
In Washington, DC, for Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson: +1-202-612-4341; or +1-917-721-7473 (mobile)
In London, for Amnesty International, Brittis Edman: +44-79-4692-4473; or +44- 20-7413-5773 (mobile)
For more: Human Rights WatchLabels: Election, Journalism, journalist, Sam Rainsy, Sam Rainsy Party, SRP
Journalist jailed on defamation, disinformation charges
CAMBODIA: Journalist jailed on defamation, disinformation charges Source: Committee to Protect Journalists
New York, June 10, 2008 — The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of Dam Sith, editor-in-chief of the opposition-aligned, Khmer-language daily newspaper Moneakseka Khmer.
 Dam Sith was arrested on Sunday by plainclothes police at a car wash and interrogated for several hours at the national military police headquarters in the capital, Phnom Penh. A criminal court charged Dam Sith the same day with defamation and disinformation in connection with an April 18 article on a speech by opposition politician Sam Rainsy, according to a joint statement from the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, and the Cambodian League for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (LICADHO).
Segments of the published speech were highly critical of several government officials and raised questions about ministers’ past association with the Khmer Rouge government, a few members of which are now standing trial for genocide.
Dam Sith is currently being held at Prey Sar Prison in Phnom Penh. On Monday, authorities refused to allow family members and others to visit him, LICADHO told CPJ by e-mail.
The charges were filed by Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, who has also taken legal action against Rainsy in the past.
“Dam Sith should not be in prison simply for reporting on a politician’s remarks, and he should be released immediately. This imprisonment constitutes harassment of a journalist of whom the government does not approve,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator.
The Cambodian government recently abolished prison sentences for defamation and libel, penalties that were once used to harass journalists. But disinformation convictions still carry three-year jail terms, and officials have in recent months used the threat of those charges to intimidate journalists.
Dam Sith’s imprisonment comes in the run-up to general elections scheduled for this July, which the ruling Cambodian People’s Party of Prime Minster Hun Sen is expected to win handily. Dam Sith, whose newspaper is one of only a handful in Cambodia that reports critically on the government, was a likely candidate to run for office under the opposition Sam Rainsy Party banner.
LICADHO noted that Dam Sith’s arrest comes after the Ministry of Information ordered the closing of provincial radio station Angkor Ratha FM105.25 soon after it leased airtime to four political parties to campaign for the election. The ministry had issued a license to the station in Kratie province on January 30. It gave no reason or legal justification for its cancellation on May 28, according to LICADHO.Labels: Journalism, journalist
Statement form the Cambodian Club of Journalists condemning Dam Sith's arrest
 Dam Sith (in blue shirt), Moneaksekar Khmer Editor, seen escorted by military police officers at the Phnom Penh municipal court Dam Sith brought to the Phnom Penh municipal court by plainclothed and unirformed military police officers Large contingent of military police presence in front of the Phnom Penh municipal court Scene in front of the Phnom Penh municipal court Several SRP MPs (Saumura Tioulong, Eng Chhay Eang) were also seen in front of the Phnom Penh municipal court
09 June 2008
By Sopheak
Moneaksekar Khmer
Translated from Khmer by KI-Media
Source: KI-Media
Civil society, journalist Associations, as well as SRP MPs have all criticized the Phnom Penh municipal court for issuing a warrant to the military police force to arrest Dam Sith, the editor of Moneaksekar Khmer newspaper, at around 11:00 AM on 08 June while the latter was washing his car. Dam Sith’s arrest is a serious threat on the freedom of the press, and it is also a political threat during the approaching general election.
Eng Chhay Eang, SRP Secretary-general and SRP MP from Battambang province, told reporters that, according to the press law, this should not be a criminal arrest.
Eng Chhay Eang said that Dam Sith’s arrest was done to silence and threaten those who dare criticize the ruling CPP party, and that this act is a serious violation of the freedom of expression, just before the upcoming election.
Eng Chhay Eang added that, by what he understood, several CPP hot shots tried to attract Dam Sith and buy him out, but Dam Sith refused to sell himself, his conscience, and Dam Sith is still devoted his own conscience and will, this is why the ruling CPP party uses the pretext of defamation and disinformation charges to arrest him.
Eng Chhay Eang said that Dam Sith’s arrest was done based on a arrest warrant issued by Judge Chhay Kong from the Phnom Penh municipal court, and the warrant was served by the military police with Dam Sith’s arrest on 08 June, however, this arrest is a violation of the law.
Eng Chhay Eang told reporters that, by what he knows, Dam Sith was arrested under the charge of defamation, cursing and disinformation. He said that the ruling CPP party is using the court as its tool to fight its competitors, and that this constitutes a psychological threat against Dam Sith after CPP hot shots were not able to pull him over to the CPP, in spite of their promise to provide him a (high) position in the government in exchange for his defection.
Eang Chhay Eang said that Dam Sith’s arrest under the defamation and disinformation charges is a psychological threat because the National Assembly brought an amendment to the law to eliminate these cases from the criminal law, and no journalist should be jailed for writing articles construed as defamation and disinformation. The maximum such charges can bring is a fine on journalists whom the court found guilty.
Eng Chhay Eang said that the arrest warrant against Dam Sith is a violation of the law, and that Judge Chhay Kong violates the law and threatens the freedom of the press. Eng Chhay Eang asked that the Phnom Penh municipal court to release Dam Sith and to properly pursue the legal case, the court should not issue a warrant to arrest Dam Sith. Furthermore, the police should return back Dam Sith’s confiscated Toyota Highlander SUV bearing the license plate PP 2I-1899 to his family, because this is not a criminal case or a robbery case at all, it is only a defamation case. However, Sao Sokha, the military police chief, said that this decision is up to the court.
Eng Chhay Eang indicated that Dam Sith’s arrest affect the voters for the upcoming election because Dam Sith supports the SRP and he is also a SRP MP candidate for the city of Phnom Penh as well.
Chan Soveth, an investigating official for the Adhoc human rights organization, regrets to see Dam Sith being arrested, and he said that the arrest does not look regular at all. Chan Soveth added that Dam Sith was charged with defamation and disinformation based on Hor Namhong’s lawsuit, and he was arrested on a Sunday, therefore, this is a threat on the freedom of journalists.
Chan Soveth said that Dam Sith’s arrest is a serious violation on human rights, and it poorly reflects on the freedom of journalists. He added that Dam Sith was coaxed by a number of CPP officials to join the CPP, and he said that Dam Sith’s arrest may be politically motivated because the Moneaksekar Khmer newspaper supports the SRP.
Chan Soveth also said that if Dam Sith was arrested because he refused to join the CPP, his arrest would be very unfair and it would constitute a political th | | |
Hok Lundy prior to his departure for a visit to the US (Photo: AFP)
