Press freedom threat in Cambodia
— Firman Firdaus • August 26th, 2007
Classic but still. Cambodian reporter’s home set on fire as he wrotes about illegal logging in the country.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists (CAPJ), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) have all called for independent investigations and have condemned the attacks against Phon Phat, reporter for the Khmer language Chbas Ka (”Accurate”) newspaper. Media groups say that on Aug. 9, Phat received an anonymous phone from someone who said he should expect a “gift.” Unknown attackers lit Phat’s house on fire at approximately 4 a.m. the next morning. The blaze was quickly extinguished and Phat and his family escaped unharmed. Arsonists struck again a week later on Aug. 17. According to CPJ, Commune Police Chief Sann Ly told Cambodian media that the attacks were most likely revenge for Phat’s recent reports of illegal logging activities in the Bakan district. District Police Chief Youk Yoen also told reporters that because the assailants used a small amount of gasoline, it is likely they did not intend to kill Phat or his family. Yoen said that authorities will deal with the incidents as “an attack on the free press.”
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