Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has shut down one of the country’s few remaining independent media outlets, with human rights organisations condemning the decision as a politically-motivated attack on the free press.
Following orders from Hun Sen, the government revoked the licence for Voice of Democracy (VOD) on Monday with access to VOD’s Khmer and English language websites blocked by some internet service providers within the country.
The loss of VOD “will leave a gaping hole in Cambodia’s media landscape”, Naly Pilorge, executive director of Cambodian human rights group Licadho, told Al Jazeera.
The outlet’s sudden closure followed an order from Hun Sen over the weekend for VOD to apologise for and retract a February 9 Khmer language report that his son, Lieutenant General Hun Manet, had authorised $100,000 aid to Turkey in place of his father.
Hun Manet is set to take over the leadership of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) once Hun Sen, who has been in power for nearly 40 years, steps down. But Hun Sen remains the CPP’s candidate for prime minister in elections that are scheduled to take place in July.
The VOD article was based on a quote from government spokesperson Phay Siphan, who told the outlet that “it is not wrong for Hun Manet to play his father’s role in providing aid to Turkey”.
