The Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC) is deeply concerned about forceful removal of the General Manager Noranarith Anandayath and other staff of the radio station Ta Prohm FM 90.5 on October 19, 2006. The license for radio Ta Prohm is owned by Ear Limsuor, a Member of Parliament from Funcinpec Party. Noranarith Anandayath was formerly the Cabinet chief of Prince Norodom Ranariddh who had been ousted as Funcinpec President at an extraordinary party congress on Wednesday, October 18, which was staged by Funcinpec’s Secretary-General Nhiek Bun Chay in a coup-like manner. Already on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., four armed body guards of Nhiek Bun Chay had taken control of the office of the radio station in Phnom Penh. They forced the journalists to change the program instead of commenting negatively on the actions of the Secretary-General and his supporters. On Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., two bodyguards ordered Noranarith Anandayath to broadcast positively about the results of the party congress. He refused to comply. Then the bodyguards aimed their charged pistols at him and said that they will kill him if he does not follow their instructions. But Noranarith still did not agree. He left the office for fear of his life and was replaced by his former deputy Touch Vannak. Noranarith Anandayath and most of the 20 staff of the radio did not resume their work because they continue to be loyal to Prince Norodom Ranariddh or fear for their security.

According to the newspaper The Cambodia Daily of Friday October 20, the newly appointed spokesperson of Funcinpec, Nouv Sovathero, declared that Noranarith Anandayath was removed because “There were previously broadcasts that affected Samdech Prime Minister. (...) Radio is for broadcasting information. Not for insulting others.
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Threats against radio Ta Prohm for its critical reporting about statements and actions of Prime Minister Hun Sen are not new. Noranarith Anandayath told a representative of the AFEC Secretariat that in the evening of Friday 22nd of September 2006 (during the
Buddhist holiday Pchum Ben) he got a phone call from Khan Savoeun, a member of the faction around the Funcinpec Secretary-General Nhiek Bun Chay. Khan Savoeun had called on him to stop criticizing Prime Minister Hun Sen and threatened him with serious consequences.

In October 2003, an editor and journalist of radio Ta Prohm, Chuor Chetharith, was shot dead very close to the station’s location. A few days before, Prime Minister Hun Sen had warned the radio of broadcasting insults against him. The case was never resolved.

The AFEC holds that the human rights of Noranarith Anandayath and the other staff of radio Ta Prohm were violated in a very serious way. All of them were threatened by the armed bodyguards of the Funcinpec General-Secretary. Journalists working for media that are controlled by a political party have a right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Cambodian Constitution and international human rights law. By no means they should be forced to publish any statements that are untrue or opposed to their convictions. If they may be replaced for reasons of political ideology or loyalty they have a right to a lawful procedure including timely announcements and fair compensations. In the case of radio Ta Prohm no such procedure happened. In fact, the license and the equipment of the radio are not under the legal control of the so-called New Funcinpec Party of Nhiek Bun Chay.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Ou Virak, General Secretary of AFEC, Tel: 012 404051 or virak_ou@yahoo.com
▪ Contact address: Secretariat of the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia, c/o Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), # 19, Street 287, Sangkat Boeung Kak I, Khan Toul Kork, Phnom Penh ,Cambodia. Phone: 855-23) 883 832, Fax: (855-23) 883 481, E-mail: afec@cchr-cambodia.org

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