VZCZCXRO7966
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #0682/01 1370321
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 170321Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8433
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 000682 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S, D, P, R, DRL, EAP, R FOR U/S KAREN HUGHES 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KPAO CB
SUBJECT: BUCKING A DISTURBING TREND IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: 
PRESS FREEDOM IN CAMBODIA 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Joseph A. Mussomeli for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( 
d). 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  According to a 2006 study by Freedom 
House, Cambodia stands alone among mainland Southeast Asian 
countries as having improved its commitment to freedom of the 
press.  At Embassy urging, Cambodia removed all prison terms 
for criminal defamation -- a weapon of choice in this part of 
the world to quash dissent.  The print media has become more 
open over the last year, and the government has also begun to 
relax its stranglehold on electronic media, allowing 
unprecendented criticism of its policies.  One of the 
government's primary motivations for relaxing its grip on the 
media is a desire to markedly improve its relationship with 
the United States.  We are using our assistance programs to 
better train journalists, fund a cutting edge TV show that 
discusses real and often sensitive political issues, and 
improve the coverage area of independent radio stations. 
These positive trends, however, are tenuous and much more 
needs to be done to ensure true press freedom.  The 
Ambassador recommends Cambodia as a possible stop for 
high-level visits to preserve these successes and underscore 
USG commitment for promoting further liberalization of the 
media.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Cambodia's Progress Noted by Freedom House 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U) On May 3, Cambodia observed UN World Press Freedom 
Day by noting a recent victory -- Freedom House, an 
international NGO supporting the expansion of freedom in the 
world -- moved Cambodia from the "Not Free" category to 
"Partly Free" in its annual survey "Freedom of the Press 
2007" and hailed Cambodia as one of the only countries in 
Southeast Asia to make significant inroads in media 
liberalization.  According to Freedom House, the region as a 
whole experienced a decline of press freedom due to coups and 
military intervention in Thailand and Fiji; political and 
civil conflicts in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and East 
Timor; and continued suppression of media in Malaysia.  Laos, 
Vietnam, and, in particular, Burma, continue to be known for 
their restrictive media environments.  Worldwide, Freedom 
House viewed 2006 as a bad year for media independence. 
Cambodia, the youngest member of ASEAN and one of the poorest 
countries in Asia, shows some of the few, positive 
developments in press freedom. 
 
¶3.  (U) Cambodia today is generally seen as a friendlier 
place for the media and for reporting on dissenting opinions. 
 According to official figures, Cambodia now boasts 296 
national newpapers, 90 magazines, 30 bulletins, 15 journalist 
associations, 41 foreign media institutions, 9 foreign 
newspapers imported for local sale, 22 radio stations, and 7 
television stations.  As the explosion in the number of print 
media indicates, the government regularly issues licenses for 
new newspapers and other publications regardless of political 
affiliation or slant.  While reporter intimidation exists, 
over the past year journalists have been allowed to 
criticize, sometimes harshly, the government and its 
policies.  For example, a prominent human rights NGO and an 
opposition MP recently called for the abolition of the 
Ministry of Information, which is widely seen as merely 
serving the propaganda interests of the ruling CPP and as 
stifling dissent through the habitual denial of broadcast 
licenses to opposition groups.  Despite the intensity of the 
criticism, the story received extensive coverage in the Khmer 
press. 
 
¶4.  (U) While Reporters Without Borders indicated that in 
2006, 81 journalists were killed worldwide, at least 871 were 
arrested, 1,472 physically attacked or threatened, and 56 
kidnapped; Cambodia saw no politically-motivated killings, 
attacks, arrests or kidnappings of journalists and only one 
reported threat of physical violence during that same period. 
 There have been no known politically-motivated killings of 
journalists since the October 2003 death of Chour Chetharith, 
a radio announcer for the FUNCINPEC station, Taprohm. 
 
¶5.  (S) The USG deserves some credit for helping to foster 
this improved media climate by vigorously promoting press 
freedom as a core component of its diplomacy and assistance 
programs in Cambodia.  On World Press Freedom Day, the 
Ambassador, speaking to a gathering of more than 100 
journalists in Phnom Penh, commended the RGC for removing 
jail time as a penalty for defamation -- an action that the 
RGC took after the public and private urging of the 
Ambassador, and despite resistance to the idea from the 
Japanese and the French.  USG programs supporting press 
 
PHNOM PENH 00000682  002 OF 002 
 
 
freedom in Cambodia include a series of USAID-funded 
workshops, supplemented by an IIP Strategic Speaker (Pulitzer 
Prize winning journalist Jerry Kammer), to train a cadre of 
Khmer journalists in investigative reporting techniques.  The 
respected NGO Internews, through a USD 200,000 grant from the 
Department, will soon start training 100 Cambodia journalists 
on covering the proceedings of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal and 
the Cambodian judiciary in general.  The Public Affairs 
Section regularly provides resource materials for journalists 
such as the Khmer-language version of the publication "The 
Elements of Journalism," and the Mission sends Cambodian 
journalists to the United States to meet with their 
counterparts and observe journalistic practices through 
Department exchange programs.  Recently, the Mission also 
awarded a USD 10,000 grant to the Cambodian Club of 
Journalists to conduct a competition to recognize outstanding 
achievement in Cambodian investigative journalism. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Media Environment Still Changing 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Despite impressive gains, Cambodia's press freedoms 
are still fragile.  While defamation is no longer punishable 
with jail time, it is still considered a criminal offense 
worthy of fines of up to 10 million riels (approximately USD 
2,500).  Additionally, many RGC officials have taken to 
threatening journalists with legal action under Cambodia's 
"disinformation" law, which punishes the publication of 
information that is "false, fabricated, falsified or 
untruthfully attributed to a third person" with up to 3 years 
in jail and fines of up to 3 million riels (approximately USD 
750).  While no one has yet been convicted of disinformation, 
the Mission is aware of two cases currently under 
consideration by the courts.   Despite the large numbers of 
media outlets, most are closely aligned with the CPP, 
particularly the broadcast media, and were used with great 
effect by the CPP to promote its candidates during the recent 
commune council elections.  Non-CPP candidates had to buy 
airtime on the state-owned television network with Australian 
funding.  And while journalists feel increasingly comfortable 
criticizing the government, most privately admit to Mission 
personnel they practice some form of self-censorship due to 
residual fear from past crackdowns on going too far down the 
path of free expression. 
 
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Using USG Clout to Advance Media Freedom 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (S) Past USG success in advancing press freedom in 
Cambodia makes a forceful argument for futher USG engagement 
on this issue.  As noted above, the change in Cambodia's 
defamation law was a direct result of pressure brought to 
bear by this Embassy.  And some high-level officials, 
including the former Minister of Labor, have been removed 
from office in the wake of corruption scandals exposed by 
participants in the USAID-funded investigative journalism 
training program.  Clearly media liberalization is an area in 
which the USG can have a positive influence in Cambodia, and 
we should be seen to press for greater gains in media freedom. 
 
¶8.  (C) One way to focus the government's attention in this 
regard would be high-level visits from Washington.  The MFA 
regularly raises the prospect of such visits, and the 
Cambodian government would welcome the opportunity to 
showcase the progress Cambodia has achieved on many fronts, 
from peaceful and orderly local elections in April, to its 
excellent counter-terrorism cooperation, to its decision to 
be more supportive of our policies toward Burma.  We have 
continued to press the RGC to liberalize their near-monopoly 
on electronic media licenses, decriminalize other remaining 
UNTAC-era laws that have been used against government critics 
and political opponents, and permit peaceful demonstrations 
under Cambodia's constitution.  A high-level visit in 2007 -- 
particularly coming just before the 2008 national elections 
-- would send a strong message of tolerance and respect for 
freedom of speech and be viewed positively by all Cambodians. 
MUSSOMELI