Bloggers, Media Students Push for Free Speech in Cambodia

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's Facebook page is filled with military images.

by Simon Roughneen, April 5, 2011

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA -- A blog criticizing Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has been at the center of a recent controversy in Cambodia, shedding light on a deteriorating environment for freedom of expression in the Southeast Asian country. World Food Programme (WFP) employee Seng Kunnaka received a six month sentence for handing out copies of material from the KI Media blog, which came soon after Hun Sen berated the WFP for suggesting that Cambodia is vulnerable to food shortages.

KI Media has been blocked by some ISPs since the dispute, though the government has not formally banned the site. In Phnom Penh last week, the site was available in some places, depending on the ISP, but in others a message appeared saying the web page was unreachable.

'Breaking the Silence,' a dramatization of life under the Khmer Rouge, performed near Phnom Penh

Whatever his feelings about KI Media, Hun Sen has long had a tetchy relationship with UN agencies, principally due to tensions over the hybrid Cambodian-international court set up to try the four main surviving Khmer Rouge leaders. The Cambodian government has not shied from confronting the UN, or from seeking the ouster of UN representatives whom are regarded with distaste. The WFP apologized to Hun Sen, an act of contrition which was in turn ridiculed as weak by civil society groups in Cambodia.

Prime Minister on Facebook

Prime Minister Hun Sen has his own Facebook page, with more than 4,000 friends at last look, as well as a website and blog. Twitter and Facebook were described as playing a key role in the Tunisia and Egypt uprisings earlier this year, but Hun Sen is adamant that there is no parallel between North Africa and his country, despite recent lags in political freedom and freedom of expression in Cambodia. Read the full story and view more pictures here.