Center Posts Reminder of Slain Journalists on Website
The reporters killed include those who supported the opposition parties, as well as the pro-government newspaper Koh Santepheap.
The Cambodian Center for Human Rights has posted the names of 10 journalists who were killed over the last 16 years, “to remind the public and ministries concerned not to forget them.” The inability for police to solve the murders shows “the government has no will or is in capable,” said Ou Virak, head of the center. The center has posted the names and the circumstances surrounding the murders on its website. Reporters killed include those who supported the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, as well as royalist Funcinpec and the pro-government newspaper Koh Santepheap, between 1994 and 2008. Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said the files were “not closed” on those cases, and he called on help from the public to find the killers. However, Ham Sunrith, deputy director of the rights group Licadho, said he had not seen any progress on the investigations. “If we continue this culture, we cannot build a democratic society,” said Yim Sovann, an SRP lawmaker. The unsolved murders of journalists remains a black spot for the government, which in recent months has tried to show an anti-corruption stance, with the passage of a new law and the recent arrest of a Pursat province court prosecutor. But critics warn the courts too have been used to intimidate journalists. Licadho recorded 16 reporters were arrested and charged with crimes in 2010 after they investigated forest crimes. All of which adds up to less information, Ou Virak said. “The impunity scares professional reporters, and impact access to information,” he said.