In accordance with the wishes of Prime Minister Hun Sen, National Assembly sessions will continue to be televised in full, said Information Minister Khieu Kanharith, who qualified his statement with continued assertions that the public would prefer edited versions.
In response to an inquiry from Un Ning, deputy chairman of the Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Propaganda and Information Commission, Khieu Kanharith explained that he wanted to edit the broadcasts so that state-run TVK would look more professional.
“If you watch the [edited] program…you will see its efficiency and I will also receive admiration,” he wrote in a letter dated Wednesday.
When TVK resumes broadcasting the full parliamentary sessions, “audiences will be quick to turn off the television or change the channel,” the minister added.
He also denied accusations that the Ministry of Information had decided to edit the program in order to withhold information from the public.
“I would like to inform you that this decision [to offer edited broadcasts] does not mean [I am] politically biased or that I
favor any person, but was only based on concerns of professionalism and efficiency,” he wrote.
The decision last week to offer condensed versions of Assembly sessions was quickly met with anger from Assembly President Prince Norodom Ranariddh and opposition lawmakers, who declared that anything but full-length coverage was unconstitutional.
Hun Sen promptly reversed the decision and informed Khieu Kanharith to resume full broadcasts.
Reached for comment on Thursday, the information minister insisted that he was happy to comply with the prime minister’s order.
“I am not angry with Prince Norodom Ranariddh,” he said.
