Dear President Obama: We are pleased that you will begin your second term as U.S. president with a trip to Southeast Asia. As you visit Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand from November 17 through 20 while attending the 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and related meetings in Phnom Penh, we hope that your commitment to human rights and the fundamental right to free expression remains an important aspect of your agenda.
New York, October 1, 2012–Cambodian authorities took a significant step backward on press freedom with today’s harsh verdict against independent journalist Mam Sonando in connection with his coverage of land seizures, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Bangkok, September 12, 2012–Cambodian authorities must immediately investigate the murder of a journalist who was found with ax wounds in the trunk of his car on Tuesday, less than a week after he had exposed an alleged military connection to the illicit timber trade, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Here’s a quick pointer to a piece in the Daily Beast by freelance reporter Olesia Plokhii, who worked at The Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh until May this year. Plokhii’s moving story, “Death of a Forester,” describes the death of Chut Wutty, a Cambodian activist who was shot a few feet away from Plokhii and…
How far has democracy advanced in Cambodia? Not very far. Activists from three different political parties died during the 15-day campaign period leading up to the elections, in which the ruling Cambodian People’s Party won a large majority of seats, according to a report issued by the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia…
New York, April 26, 2012–Cambodian authorities should thoroughly investigate a violent confrontation that led to the deaths of a police officer and an activist who was taking two journalists to a logging site said to be illegal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.