By Den Ayuthyea
Radio Free Asia, 8 July 2011
Translated from Khmer by Soy
Click here to read the information in Khmer
On 06 July 2011, the Cambodian Ministry of Information issued an announcement forbidding all administrators of radio, TV stations, websites, newspapers, magazines or bulletins from using the word “coup d’état” to designate the [Hun Sen] coup d’état which took place on 05-06 July 1997.
The content of the announcement which RFA received on 08 July showed that, recently, a number of news media have published information on the 5-6 July 1997 event by calling it a coup d’état. The Ministry of Information indicated that the use of this word can lead to misperception from the public.“I have no reaction against this, whether it is a coup d’état or not, we should leave it to the public and the national and international communities to reflect on it and to value it.”
Similar to Hang Chakra, Moeun Chheanrith, the director of the Cambodian Institute for Information Study, indicated that, for the 5-6 July event, reporters should publish comments made by political party VIPs on this event, but that they should not evaluate this event on their own.
He added that, regarding the event which took place on 05-06 July or similar other events, reporters must be careful in what they write in order to avoid any legal lawsuit against them: “News organizations should pull ourselves far from or be above this event and we should only quote the source of information or politicians. If a politician call this a coup d’état, it is fine for reporters to quote this word, there is nothing wrong with that.”
Regarding this issue, a high-ranking Funcinpec official refused to comment on what to call the event which took place on 05-06 July 1997.
An official of the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) declared that the government should not comment on this event.
Pen Sangha, spokesman for the NRP, said that Cambodians inside the country and overseas, as well as the international community, already knew about the cause of the 05-06 July event.
Pen Sangha added: “Regarding 05-06 July, I believe that the label for it already existed since the day of the event. Therefore, I believe that there should not be all these set terms, and the people already know a part of this problem also.”
Nevertheless, the letter from the Ministry of Information signed by Khieu Kanhchharith, did not indicate any legal pursuit or penalty on publishing media which continue to call the 05-06 July 1997 a coup d’état, it only call for an end to the publications that label the event a coup d’état.
Translated from Khmer by Soy
Click here to read the information in Khmer
On 06 July 2011, the Cambodian Ministry of Information issued an announcement forbidding all administrators of radio, TV stations, websites, newspapers, magazines or bulletins from using the word “coup d’état” to designate the [Hun Sen] coup d’état which took place on 05-06 July 1997.
The content of the announcement which RFA received on 08 July showed that, recently, a number of news media have published information on the 5-6 July 1997 event by calling it a coup d’état. The Ministry of Information indicated that the use of this word can lead to misperception from the public.“I have no reaction against this, whether it is a coup d’état or not, we should leave it to the public and the national and international communities to reflect on it and to value it.”
Similar to Hang Chakra, Moeun Chheanrith, the director of the Cambodian Institute for Information Study, indicated that, for the 5-6 July event, reporters should publish comments made by political party VIPs on this event, but that they should not evaluate this event on their own.
He added that, regarding the event which took place on 05-06 July or similar other events, reporters must be careful in what they write in order to avoid any legal lawsuit against them: “News organizations should pull ourselves far from or be above this event and we should only quote the source of information or politicians. If a politician call this a coup d’état, it is fine for reporters to quote this word, there is nothing wrong with that.”
Regarding this issue, a high-ranking Funcinpec official refused to comment on what to call the event which took place on 05-06 July 1997.
An official of the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) declared that the government should not comment on this event.
Pen Sangha, spokesman for the NRP, said that Cambodians inside the country and overseas, as well as the international community, already knew about the cause of the 05-06 July event.
Pen Sangha added: “Regarding 05-06 July, I believe that the label for it already existed since the day of the event. Therefore, I believe that there should not be all these set terms, and the people already know a part of this problem also.”
Nevertheless, the letter from the Ministry of Information signed by Khieu Kanhchharith, did not indicate any legal pursuit or penalty on publishing media which continue to call the 05-06 July 1997 a coup d’état, it only call for an end to the publications that label the event a coup d’état.
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