VZCZCXRO6227
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0531/01 0800823
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 210823Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6302
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM  PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY 0017
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1355

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000531 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS; GENEVA FOR RMA 
NSC FOR HOLLY MORROW 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL CB
SUBJECT: CAMBODIA READY TO DECRIMINALIZE DEFAMATION, BUT 
FRANCO-JAPANESE RESISTANCE 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  Prime Minister Hun Sen and Minister of 
Justice Ang Vong Vathana both expressed their willingness to 
decriminalize defamation, though actually moving defamation 
from the criminal code to the civil code is unexpectedly 
problematic.  Ang Vong Vathana has proposed an acceptable if 
somewhat awkward solution -- leaving defamation in the 
criminal code but without the possibility of a prison 
sentence and with a clear statement that it is a civil, not a 
criminal offense.  We will meet with the French technical 
advisors to the MOJ on March 29 to discuss the issue further. 
 END SUMMARY. 
 
We Eliminated Prison Terms, What More Do You Want? 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In a March 16 meeting, the Ambassador and PM Hun 
Sen spoke at length about the issue of criminal defamation, 
with the Ambassador encouraging the PM to make defamation 
part of the civil code rather than the criminal code.  The 
Ambassador noted that, in many countries around the world, 
criminal defamation is often the weapon of choice for leaders 
who seek to sideline their political opponents.  The 
Ambassador relayed USG interest in and praise for the PM's 
promising public statements about decriminalizing defamation. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Hun Sen initially responded by saying that people 
had to be free to criticize their opponents without fear of 
imprisonment, and that the Ministry of Justice had already 
ensured that defamation would be punishable only by fines, 
not by prison terms.  The Ambassador acknowledged the 
importance of eliminating prison terms, but also noted that 
the stigma of being labeled as a criminal could limit or end 
a politician's career, even without a prison term.  Moreover, 
the U.S. could not laud Cambodia's efforts to decriminalize 
defamation if it maintained such an ambiguous position.  Hun 
Sen then responded that there are two ways to resolve the 
situation -- eliminate prison terms or move the entire 
provision to the civil code.  He had heard that the latter 
option was technically more difficult, but it was the 
alternative he preferred.  He committed to personally 
speaking to the Minister of Justice to urge this approach. 
 
In the Criminal Code, but not a Criminal Act 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Minister of Justice Ang Vong Vathana also 
emphasized the difficulty of moving defamation from the 
criminal code to the civil code, but proposed an alternative. 
 Speaking with the Ambassador on March 17, Vathana said that 
such a move would be strongly opposed by the Japanese and 
French advisors assisting the Ministry with legal reform. 
The Ambassador gently challenged this objection, saying that 
as a sovereign nation, Cambodia could write its laws without 
the permission of other countries.  The Minister countered 
that while moving the defamation provision to the civil code 
would be difficult, it could remain as a provision in the 
criminal code without a prison term and with an explicit 
statement that defamation is not a criminal charge. 
Defamation charges would not appear as part of a criminal 
record, and a defamation conviction would not preclude anyone 
from running for office. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The Minister also referred to a circular outlining 
the RGC's interest in notifying judges that the government is 
no longer interested in imprisonment in defamation cases. 
The circular urges judges to apply fines in such cases.  What 
is not clear is how defamation with an intent to incite the 
public will be treated under the new criminal code -- a 
charge levied against a number of the border activists last 
October.  We plan to meet with the French technical advisors 
assisting the MOJ on March 29 to better understand the 
ramifications of the proposed changes to the law surrounding 
defamation. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Cambodia seems prepared to take a significant legal 
step in the right direction, but we would be premature to 
announce victory.  The solution proposed by the Minister of 
Justice -- making defamation a civil charge but leaving it 
within the criminal code -- may be an acceptable if somewhat 
cumbersome solution.  The importance of decriminalizing 
defamation will not be that it makes political repression 
through the courts impossible -- a future Cambodian 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000531  002 OF 002 
 
 
government could always find new loopholes -- but that it 
continues the recent positive trend towards 
institutionalizing democratic change.  Cambodia could also 
then serve as a good example to other developing democracies 
that are reticent to discard this "legal" mechanism to 
control freedom of expression. 
Mussomeli