PRESS RELEASE
SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL CONFISCATES VOICE RECORDINGS AFTER PRESS CONFERENCE
23 January 2011
PHNOM PENH – The Overseas Press Club of Cambodia (OPCC) is seriously concerned at the actions of Mr Om Yentieng, the head of the government’s anti-corruption unit, who on Friday ordered an assistant to delete digital recordings and confiscate the tapes of a number of journalists following a press conference he had called.
Mr Om Yentieng also heads the government’s Cambodian Human Rights Committee, and – among a number of other positions he holds – is an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Mr Om Yentieng objected to questions asked by a reporter, who asked questions relating to the 1997 grenade attack on opposition leader Sam Rainsy in which 16 Cambodians died and more than 100 were injured. To date nobody has been held accountable for the crime, and journalists clearly have a right to raise questions on a matter of such key public importance.
However Mr Phay Siphan, a government spokesman, later told the media that officials had the right to confiscate recordings made by journalists, since questions “sometimes create trouble”, and those officials have “privacy rights … and a right to protect [their] dignity”.
The OPCC is obligated to point out that Mr Om Yentieng’s action is incompatible with Cambodia’s own laws, as laid out below:
1. Confiscation of tapes and/or recorders constitutes a form of pre-publication censorship, which is a violation of Article 3 of the 1995 Press Law.
2. Article 7 of the 1995 Press Law states that journalists have a responsibility to obtain news “by fair methods”. Asking public officials questions of public interest at or after a press conference clearly does not breach that Article.
3.Article 10 of the 1995 Press Law deals with recourse, and states that any person who believes an article or text “is false and harms his or her honor or dignity … has the right to demand a retraction … or the right to reply … or to sue.” In other words, there is recourse for officials to take action after publication, but not preemptively.
Finally, Articles 31 and 41 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia – the highest law of the land – guarantee the freedom of the press.
“A healthy, democratic society needs a free press, and Cambodia’s laws explicitly guarantee a free press,” said OPCC president Robert Carmichael.
“In the interests of protecting a free press, the OPCC expects government officials to adhere to the country’s laws relating to the media and press freedoms, which are hard-won,” he said.
The OPCC calls on the authorities to ensure that members of the press are not obstructed while doing their jobs, and that they are not unjustly accused, harassed or arrested for going about their professional duties.
The OPCC also calls on Mr Om Yentieng to ensure that all recordings and any non-returned recording equipment are returned to the journalists concerned.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Robert Carmichael, President OPCC: +855-12-941250
robert@robertcarmichael.net
Brian Calvert, Vice-President OPCC: +855-92-352530
brcalvert@gmail.com
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