March 15, 2013
THE RELEASE OF MAM SONANDO SHOWS THAT
HUN SEN IS RESPONSIVE TO FOREIGN PRESSURE
The decision by a Cambodian appeals court to drop a 20-year prison sentence against Mam Sonando, the owner of one of Cambodia's few independent radio stations, says more about the country's electoral cycle than the state of press freedom.
Sonando had been bizarrely convicted of leading a secessionist movement in Kratie province, where he supported the claims of villagers who had been protesting against evictions to make way for a rubber plantation. A 14-year old girl was shot dead as the land was cleared. Sonando's imprisonment has served its purpose in distracting attention from her death.
The appeals judge said he could find no evidence of a secession plot. There is no reason he should have been able to: there was no evidence in the first place. The imprisonment and the release were both political events. As general elections set for July 28 approach, the government calculates that it can't let a high-profile media owner remain in prison.
However, there is no reason to think that Cambodia under Hun Sen would get through the next electoral cycle without the arbitrary imprisonment of journalists. According to Reporters Without Borders, Cambodia ranks 143rd in the world in terms of press freedom, behind Zimbabwe, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.* All of the country’s television stations are linked with the ruling Cambodia People's Party, as are almost all the radio stations. The English language press exists for foreign consumption: no Khmer language journalist would be able to get away with the same critical tone. Anything that the government disagrees with can be termed falsification of information and dealt with as a criminal offense.
The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Surya Subedi said in December 2012 that Cambodia had made insufficient progress on freedom of expression. The Mam Sonando case at least shows that Hun Sen is responsive to foreign pressure. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault raised the case with him when he came to Cambodia for the funeral of King Sihanouk. Much more international pressure on press freedom is needed before any Cambodian election can be considered fair.
Sam Rainsy
*Reporters Without Borders 2013 World Press Freedom Index Can Be Found Here:
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