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Ith Sothoeuth, head of the Center for Independent Media, gives an interview after the closure of »Voice of Democracy« in Phnom Penh
Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP
There are videos of the moment when one of the last free media outlets in Cambodia had to close.
In it you can see how employees hug each other, they cry, rub their shoulders.
The independent and government-critical radio station "Voice of Democracy" (VoD) has not been allowed to broadcast since 10 a.m. on Monday.
The day before, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen had announced this step on his Facebook page.
He will revoke the license for the medium.
The reporting by VoD attacked him and his son personally in one post - and "damaged the dignity and reputation" of the government.
Hun Sen refers to the coverage of his son Hun Manet, whom he sees as a possible successor in office.
Hun Manet is said to have exceeded his authority by signing an agreement to send $100,000 in aid funds to earthquake-hit Turkey.
Amnesty International calls the closure of the publication "arbitrariness" - and an attempt to "slam the door on" Cambodia's last remnant of free press.
According to Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, the Cambodian government's coverage has always been a thorn in its side - he describes the closure as a "outrageous and ridiculous order".
"This flimsy and absurd decision does little to disguise the government's true intention: to further suppress media freedom."
"Voice of Democracy", a medium operated by the Cambodian Center of Independent Media CCIM, reported as a radio station and website both in the national language Khmer and in English.
In the past, it has repeatedly uncovered corruption and human rights violations in Cambodia through investigative research.
Most recently, about forced labor and human trafficking in so-called scam factories in the country.
"We read about the possible closure on social media over the weekend," Ananth Baliga, co-editor of "Voice of Democracy," told SPIEGEL.
When it happened there was a lot of confusion, everything happened so quickly.
"People were shocked."
Baliga says that journalistic work in Cambodia has become increasingly difficult to implement in recent years.
“We continued to publish in-depth investigative research, but the job just got tougher.
There is now zero tolerance for criticism of the people in power and the Cambodian elite.«
Observers see the closure of the editorial office as a further escalation step in a long series of restrictions on press and civil rights that Prime Minister Hun Sen has pushed ahead with in recent years.
Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia autocratically for more than 35 years.
During this time, members of the opposition were and are being forced into exile or imprisoned, and numerous media outlets and websites have been closed.
The organization Reporters Without Borders ranks Cambodia's press freedom 142nd out of 180 in a global comparison.
According to a UN report from 2022, journalists in the country are being harassed and put under pressure.
The situation for the media is "dangerous".
It is no coincidence that the closure of »Voice of Democracy« happened a few months before the elections in Cambodia in July.
Even before the last elections in 2018, Hun Sen had revoked the licenses of some media outlets: Cambodia Daily and Radio Free Asia.
At the same time, the Phnom Penh Post was sold to a Malaysian investor believed to be close to the Cambodian government.
In 2017, the largest opposition party was banned.
Steinmeier met those responsible for »VoD« during his visit
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who traveled to Cambodia as part of an official trip to Southeast Asia shortly after the closure of "VoD" at the beginning of the week, only commented cautiously on the current case in the Tagesschau: He discussed the situation with Prime Minister Hun Sen about the situation in Cambodia freedom of the press and the state of democracy in Cambodia.
Steinmeier later sent a clearer signal when he met with those responsible for the now banned "Voice of Democracy" and the politically neutralized opposition leader Kem Sokha.
Even if the government initially said that "Voice of Democracy" could possibly continue after a corresponding letter of apology - journalist Ananth Baliga assumes that the closure is unlikely to be reversed.
Because the editors sent the required letter of apology on time – Hun Sen did not accept the apology.
According to Baliga, the consequences of the shutdown of »Voice of Democracy« should not be underestimated.
There is now one less option - once for the editorial staff: Finding another job in journalism is likely to be difficult in a country that has already closed almost all publications.
But above all for the people of Cambodia: the Facebook page of »VoD« in the Khmer language alone was one of the accounts with the widest reach in the country with more than 1.8 million followers, says Baliga.
For many, it will be even more difficult in the future than it has been to obtain independent information.
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