Last Monday Cambodian radio journalist
Mam Sonando was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison for his
alleged involvement in an east village's secessionist plot. Sonando
was the 71-year-old senior voice and founder of one of Cambodia's few
remaining independent media outlets, Beehive Radio, and was outspoken
about the activities of logging companies' continuous illegal
evictions and land grabbing in the Kratie eastern province. Foreign
diplomats, independent groups, and human rights organizations are
unanimously declaring the supposed secessionist plot a scapegoat for
quieting dissent in the region. Shortly before Sonando's arrest,
Cambodian premier unjustly linked the journalists criticisms over
logging with an uprising in the Kratie province that had yet to
occur. Those in attendance during trial and sentencing claim that no
evidence was presented to suggest an insurrection, but that didn't
stop the government from calling in hundreds of police officers to
the nearby village of Broma, killing a 14-year-old girl during the
raid.
The Cambodian government has publicly
stated its intent to uphold more transparency and weed out
corruption, but the recent arrests and harsh sentencing of land
activists and human rights organizers have raised a lot of eyebrows. These logging companies are given unfair legal authority over the villagers who have a long ancestral history of residence in the area. The government approved 37,000 acres of forest land to be cleared for logging companies use, and have bulldozed over all opposition thus far using any means necessary. Last month, environmental journalist Serei Oudom
was found murdered in his own car after receiving numerous threats by government officials. Oudom had also
been working to expose the illegal logging activity by the
agricultural company Casotim. In another incident, reporter Chut
Wutty was also confronted by numerous soldiers and security officials
while taking pictures and conducting interviews in a nearby village.
He was verbally badgered and prohibited from getting in his car until
he was then shot and left for dead. You can read the entire witness
transcription here.
http://kimedia.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/ki-media2-ki-media-just-kill-them-both-eyewitness-account-of-the-murder-of-chut-wutty/
Key human rights officials like the
Director-General of UNESCO have publicly condemned the killing of
Oudom and others, but responsibility is ultimately left in the hands
of Cambodian authorities to bring about justice. Sonando's arrest
and grossly unjust sentencing have garnished a lot of international
attention, and the fabricated narrative of the Broma secession plot
is looking less and less viable as a coverup. Up until recent years
these sorts of arrests and killings of dissenters in Southeast Asia
would have gone largely unnoticed, but thanks to the work of
international organizations like Amnesty International, the access to
advancements in social networking, and the increased transparency in
the area there is an outcry by the international community. The US
State Department issued their public condemnation via twitter, and
the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights
(LICADHO) has called for a serious investigation into matters during
their press release. This is a very serious issue, as the freedom to
voice opposition is the cornerstone to any free press in a society.
Hopefully the journalists detained will be released and organizations both within and out of Cambodia will clamp
down on the investigation and demand justice and reform before
another Sonando is wrongfully arrested or killed.
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