The fight for freedom begins with freedom of speech

By Aung San Suu Kyi, The Observer, Sunday 11 March 2012

Supporters listen to a speech delivered by Aung San Suu Kyi during her election campaign. Photograph: Khin Maung Win/AP

The gift of speech is the most effective instrument for human communication. The ability to communicate enables us to establish links across time and space, to learn to understand different civilisations and cultures, to extend knowledge both vertically and horizontally, to promote the arts and sciences. It also helps to bridge gaps in understanding between peoples and nations, to put an end to old enmities, to achieve detente, to cultivate new fellowships.

Speech allows human beings to articulate their thoughts and emotions. Words allow us to express our feelings, to record our experiences, to realise our ideas, to push outwards the frontiers of intellectual exploration. Words can move hearts, words can change perceptions, words can set nations and peoples in powerful motion. Words are an essential part of the expression of our humanness. To shackle freedom of speech and expression is to cripple the basic right to realise our full potential. (more…)

Kingdom relieved after US internet law fails to pass

by Brennan Stark, The Phnom Penh Post, Tuesday, 24 January 2012

 
The postponement of two US internet piracy bills last week was met with relief by human rights and media experts in Cambodia, who say the overreaching grasp of the proposed legislation would hinder the internet’s progress and growth in the Kingdom.

The US House of Representative’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate’s PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) had aimed to require that internet providers block access to websites accused of piracy and would criminalise the unlawful streaming of copyrighted material by domestic or foreign websites.

Mike Gaertner, chief operating officer of Phnom Penh-based CIDC Information Technology, said the proposed measures would hurt only the US market in the long run. (more…)

All Parties Stand to Gain From Freedom of Information Law

Letter to The Cambodia Daily, Thursday, September 29, 2011

           I read with great interest the move to legalize freedom of information in Cambodia in the article “Group Backs Freedom of Information Draft Law,” Sept 27, Page 1.

          Regardless of which parties or politicians sponsor the Freedom of Information Law (FoI), the passing of the access to information legislation will be of a great benefit for all sectors of the society, including the government itself.

         With a FoI law in place, the government can promote transparency, good governance and social accountability, which are deemed the best weapons to fight corruption in Cambodia.

          Most importantly, the public will reap a significant profit from full information disclosure that can help them better engage in Cambodia’s democratic process and to make more informed decision about their daily life. (more…)

Freedom of expression groups urge ASEAN to promote access to information

SOURCE: Southeast Asian Press Alliance, 28 September 2011

(SEAPA/IFEX) – Jakarta, 28 September 2011 – On International Right to Know Day, ARTICLE 19, Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), Media Defence-Southeast Asia and SAPA Task Force on ASEAN Freedom of Information, urge the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to demonstrate its commitment to public participation by promoting access to information within ASEAN and among its member states.

Across the world, the right to information has been widely recognised by regional bodies and more than 90 countries alike as a fundamental right essential for the achievement of every person’s civil, political and socio-economic rights and as a mechanism to promote democratic accountability and good governance. These include the ASEAN member states of Indonesia, Thailand, and the federal state of Selangor in Malaysia.

ASEAN has been gradually moving towards greater incorporation of public participation. At the 18th ASEAN Summit in May this year, the Chair’s statement emphasised that ASEAN member states will continue to “encourage the participation of the peoples and other stakeholders of ASEAN” and intensify its work towards a “people-oriented, people-centred and rules-based ASEAN”. (more…)

Journalists Fear Media Environment of Self-Censorship

by Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC, Friday, 09 September 2011

Moeun Chhean Nariddh, director of the Cambodia Institute for Media Studies, on “Hello VOA” Thursday. Photo: by Heng Reaksmey

 Journalists in Cambodia are currently facing problems of self-censorship, lawsuits and a competitive market, media experts said Thursday, but they said news organizations must continue to hold to principles of professional and a duty to the public.

The trend in oppression of Cambodian journalists have shifted from street attacks, threats of violence and murder to one of punitive legal measures by powerful interests, Moeun Chhean Nariddh, director of the Cambodia Institute for Media Studies, told “Hello VOA.”

In recent years, journalists have had to face a number of lawsuits or jail terms, especially under a criminalized defamation law.

This has created an environment where journalists self censor by avoiding issues like corruption and human rights abuses, he said. The best counter measure, he said, is accurate reporting in the public’s interest. (more…)

More setbacks for freedom of expression

As the Cambodian government increases its crackdown on freedom of speech in the country, ARTICLE 19 and the Cambodia Center for Human Rights (CCHR) are releasing a joint statement highlighting the latest freedom of expression setbacks affecting the country.

On the occasion of the official country visit by Surya Prasad Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, both organisations are calling for an investigation into the independence of the courts and the systematic use of criminal legislation to silence voices critical of the government and the ruling party. (more…)

New penal code undercuts free speech, says Human Rights Watch

(Human Rights Watch/IFEX) – New York, December 22, 2010 – The Cambodian government’s use of its new penal code against a man who shared web articles with his co-workers is a huge step backward for free expression in Cambodia, Human Rights Watch said today. The man was quickly convicted on incitement charges and sentenced to prison.

Human Rights Watch called on the Cambodian government to amend the penal code, which went into effect on December 10, 2010, to remove provisions that limit the peaceful expression of political views so that the law fully complies with international standards.

“Charging someone with incitement for sharing web articles is a profound setback for free expression in Cambodia,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Cambodia’s new penal code should have put an end to abusive practices, not encouraged new ones.”

On December 18, Seng Kunnaka, a Cambodian employee with the United Nations World Food Program in Phnom Penh, was arrested on charges of incitement under article 495 of the new penal code after he shared an article with two co-workers. While the contents of the article are unclear, it was printed from KI-Media, a website that publishes news, commentaries, poetry, and cartoons that are sharply critical of the government, including a recent series of opinion pieces lambasting senior officials regarding a border dispute with Vietnam.

On December 20, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court hastily tried and convicted Kunnaka, sentencing him to six months in prison and fining him 1 million riels (US$250). December 20 was a Sunday, when the courts are normally closed.

During the last two years, more than 10 critics of the government, including journalists and opposition party activists, have been prosecuted for criminal defamation and disinformation based on complaints by government and military officials under the former penal code.

The new penal code places greater restrictions on free expression, Human Rights Watch said. Responding to media inquiries about the case, Cambodia’s information minister, Khieu Kanharith, said: “Before, using the argument of ‘freedom of expression’ and opposition party status, some people could insult anybody or any institution. This is not the case now.”

“A dubious arrest so soon after the new penal code came into effect shows that the Cambodian government is ready to use its new legal powers to criminalize peaceful expression and political dissent,” Robertson said. “And Cambodia’s pliant courts seem all too willing to throw any perceived government critic in prison after a rushed trial.”

Under the new penal code, incitement is vaguely defined in article 495 as directly provoking the commission of a crime or an act that creates “serious turmoil in society” through public speech, writings or drawings, or audio-visual telecommunication that are shared with, exposed to, or intended for the public. It does not require the alleged incitement to be effective for penalties to be imposed, which include prison terms of six months to five years and fines.

The new penal code also allows criminal prosecutions for defamation and contempt for peaceful expression of views “affecting the dignity” of individuals and public officials, as well as of government institutions. It makes it a crime to “disturb public order” by questioning court decisions.

“The new penal code makes it more risky for civil society activists to criticize corrupt officials, police, and military officers who commit abuses or question court decisions,” Robertson said. “This is particularly troubling in Cambodia, where the judicial system is weak and far from independent, with court decisions often influenced by corruption or political pressure.”

KI-Media is a controversial website that describes itself as “dedicated to publishing sensitive information about Cambodia.” The website’s editors, who have never publicly identified themselves, compile information from a variety of sources, including leaked and public government documents, Cambodian-language newspaper articles, and Chinese, Cambodian, and Western wire service reports. It also posts hard-hitting commentaries, blog articles, cartoons, and poetry from its readers – most of whom are sharply critical of the government.

Commentary

 Let’s Text in Khmer to Express Love, Grief and Solidarity

by Moeun Chhean Nariddh

The Cambodia Daily, January 19, 2010

n the wake of a recent devastating earthquake in Haiti, relief agencies have used all means to help the victims. One of the agencies, the Red Cross, has used text messages through mobile phones to raise up to $190,000 worth of donations for its relief efforts.

 Now, the Cambodian people can also use text messages to help themselves and others. It’s good that a new mobile phone company has introduced a new technology and mobile phones that people can text each other in Khmer scripts. (more…)