CAMBODIA: Newspaper publishing report on illegal logging is banned by Government

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that on 8 June 2007 the Minister of Information, Mr. Khieu Kanharith, reportedly issued a warning letter to the Sralanh Khmer newspaper to stop its publication of the Global Witness report on illegal logging. The GW report, released on 1 June 2007, reportedly exposed the involvement of Prime Minister Hun Sen, his relatives and other senior officials in the illegal devastation of Cambodia’s forests. The report itself has been banned in Cambodia, and GW staff have allegedly received an open threat from Hun Neng, the governor of Kompong Cham province and Prime Minister Hun Sen’s brother. The ban infringes upon the right of the media to freedom of expression. In Cambodia, the freedom of expression is often quashed by government officials to protect their own agendas, under the guise of alleging defamation or otherwise.

CASE DETAILS:

The Sralanh Khmer newspaper was publishing a portion of the Global Witness report in Khmer daily so that the ordinary people of Cambodia would have access to the information, and as a result grow aware and have a better understanding of the situation of illegal logging and governmental corruption in Cambodia so as to form their own judgments.

However, on 8 June 2007, after only 4 publications of the report in the Sralanh Khmer newspaper, the Information Minister and government spokesperson Mr. Kieu Kanharith has issued a warning to the Newspaper asking them to immediately desist publication or otherwise he would take legal action against the newspaper company.

On another occasion, on 10 June 2006, Information Minister Mr. Khieu Kanharith allegedly stated to The Cambodia Daily by phone that the media have had one week to put out their news on the findings of the Report and that is more than enough. Allegedly, he said that newspapers may publish reference to the Report, but they cannot reproduce it.

Rather than stating that the Government will take legal action against those who break the ban, he stated that newspapers and magazines that will print Global Witness report will be legally responsible if the people mentioned by the GW report file lawsuits against these newspapers and magazines. As most individuals named in the Report are government officials, it appears to be no less threatening than his earlier statement that he himself will take legal action against the newspaper as the Minister of Information.

The Cambodian government’s attempt to ban the media from publishing the Report is a violation of their freedom of expression. Additionally, for the Information Minister to try and dictate how much of the Report is permitted to be published, and for how many days, is a mockery to the meaning of freedom of expression.

Cambodians’ right to freedom of expression is guaranteed by Article 41 of the Constitution of Cambodia, which states: “Khmer citizens shall have freedom of expression, press, publication and assembly. No one shall exercise this right to infringe upon the rights of others, to affect the good traditions of the society, to violate public law and order and national security.”

The Information Minister’s action also violates Cambodia’s treaty obligation under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly Article 19(1) which protects the media’s freedom to hold opinions; and Article 19(2) which guarantees freedom of expression, including freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds.

This has not been the first incident in Cambodia where the media freedom has been violated by the Government. See also other cases: UA-281-2006 and UA-313-2006.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The Global Witness report titled ‘Cambodia’s Family Trees‘, published on 1 June 2007, reportedly revealed the involvement of the Prime Minister’s relatives and other senior officials including the Minister of Agriculture Chan Sarun, Director General of the Forest Administration Ty Sokhun and the President of the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia Ky Tech in dealings of illegal logging and governmental corruption in Cambodia. They are reported to be the individuals in control of Cambodia’s most powerful illegal logging syndicate Seng Keang Company.

The report detailed that the Seng Keang Company has illegally logged vast tracts of Prey Long Forest, yielding a timber haul worth more than US$13 million annually. Its targeting of resin trees has reportedly damaged the livelihoods of hundreds, if not thousands of families living in the area.

It also stated that leading members of the syndicate are heavily implicated not only in illegal logging, but also tax evasion, kidnapping, bribery and attempted murder.

The Report also detailed that the elite Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Brigade 70 unit is reported to make between US$2 million and US$2.5 million per year through transporting illegally-logged timber and smuggled goods. The report alleged that a large portion of the profits generated through these activities go to Lieutenant General Hing Bun Heang, Commander of the Prime Minister’s Bodyguard Unit.

For more details, please see the Press Release from Global Witness dated 6 June 2007: Cambodian officials respond to Global Witness report with ban and threat of violence.

To know more about the illegal logging issue in Cambodia, please also refer to the following Global Witness reports: A  Tug of War; Reform of the Forest Crime Monitoring and Reporting; Taking a cut; Corruption, war and forest policy.

The government of Cambodia has responded to these accounts of government corruption and the erosion of a rule of law in Cambodia by prohibiting this information. On 3 June 2007, Information Minister Mr. Khieu Kanharith called on the Ministry of Interior to ban and confiscate the report. The Minister did not specifically deny the Report’s allegations but claimed that the Report was written with the aim to provoke political animosity in the country against PM Hun Sen. Ty Sokhun has called Global Witness staffers “insane, unprofessional people” with no knowledge of forestry, and said their report was deceptive.

It would be preferable for the Government to battle these allegations with plans for improved government transparency and accountability than to infringe upon the Cambodian peoples’ right to seek information relating to public interest issues.

Not only has the information provided in the Report been suppressed in Cambodia by the Cambodian government, the Global Witness staff have also been subjected to open threats and intimidation. On 5 June 2007, Hun Neng, the governor of Kompong Cham province and the brother of PM Hun Sen, was quoted in a Cambodian newspaper: “If (Global Witness staff) come to Cambodia, I will hit them until their heads are broken.”

This is not the first time that the Government has attempted to censor the work of Global Witness in reporting on the illegal logging issue. Global Witness has monitored Cambodia’s forests for the past 12 years and was expelled from the country in 2005 after the government became annoyed by its constant criticisms.

“This is senseless censorship,” said Global Witness Director, Simon Taylor. “Attempts to suppress this report will not make the facts that it presents disappear. We would very much like to know the legal basis for this decision… The threat against our staff is entirely unacceptable. Such crude intimidation by a senior public official says little for the government’s commitment to upholding human rights and freedom of expression.”

On 8 June 2007, Global Witness issued a press release stating that the Cambodian government had commissioned an investigation into the allegations of the Report. However, the credibility of the organisation charged with the task, Swiss auditing firm SGS, has been called into question.

Cambodia’s donors should put increased efforts into keeping track of the application of their funds, and also put pressure on the Cambodian government to confront corruption and create reforms for greater transparency and accountability of government. They have a responsibility to the Cambodian people to guarantee that the country’s resources are being applied to their genuine benefit.

SUGGESTED ACTION: 
Please write to the authorities listed below to express your concern about this case and urge them to uphold Sralanh Khmer’s and other media sources’ right to freedom of expression, press freedom and freedom of information. Also, ask them to remove the intimidation and threats of legal action against the Newspaper. You could also ask them to further investigate the illegal logging situation and reform government corruption.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER