The Ministry of Foreign Affairs this week sent a strongly worded letter to Bangkok-based The Nation newspaper in response to an editorial which concluded that Cambodia’s opposition CNRP stands a good chance of further weakening Prime Minister Hun Sen’s grip on power.
In its Tuesday edition, The Nation wrote in an editorial that there was still a possibility of violence over the disputed July 28 national election results, and that a violent reaction from Mr. Hun Sen “could spell the end of his political career.”
In a letter to the editor, Koy Kuong, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote that speculation about the government’s use of force was made without any evidence.
“Once again, The Nation has shot itself right in the foot by publishing a politically biased article…which is full of lies and manipulations. The Nation has been doing it without shame, ethical values, and media professionalism,” the letter, dated September 10 and available online, states.
“First, it is completely slanderous and very cheap for The Nation to try and discredit Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia, by lying to the public,” the letter states.
“To state that Samdech Techo Hun Sen has ‘…a record of using force to crack down on opposing voices,’ The Nation has simply made a sweeping statement without facts and evidences to support its completely fallacious argument,” Mr. Kuong wrote.
He also said that it was not up to The Nation to decide whether a crackdown on protests would mean the end of Mr. Hun Sen’s career, which “is entirely dependent on the people of Cambodia, who democratically choose the leader of their own free will.”
The government deployed thousands of extra police, military police and troops around Phnom Penh, mobilized armored personnel carriers and conducted days of anti-riot training for security forces ahead of a demonstration last week by the opposition to demand an independent investigation of the election.
Prior to the vote, Mr. Hun Sen had continuously warned of a likely return to civil war should his ruling party lose the election.
In 1997, forces loyal to Mr. Hun Sen vanquished forces loyal to then-First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh in tank battles in Phnom Penh.
Mr. Kuong is a regular contributor to The Nation’s opinion pages, where he replies to editorials and stories related to Cambodia and published in the English-language newspaper, usually calling them “defamation” and “full of lies and calumnies.”
In his most recent letter addressed to The Nation’s group editor-in-chief, Tepchai Yong, Mr. Kuong also alleges that the newspaper received payments to criticize Mr. Hun Sen.
“Therefore, I would strongly urge The Nation to stop once and for all engaging in the dirty politics of demonization of Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Cambodia for its personal greedy and selfish interest. I wonder if you have been fully paid to be a strong critic of…Hun Sen and Cambodia,” Mr. Kuong wrote.
He could not be contacted for comment.
Pa Nguon Teang, director of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, said Thursday that Mr. Kuong seemed to have misunderstood the purpose of an editorial.
“What The Nation says is their opinion, not an article, it is one person’s opinion according to an observation,” Mr. Nguon Teang said.
“He [Koy Kuong] also has the right to express his opinion but he needs to understand that there is no problem in [others] expressing an opinion,” he said.
Noting that both Cambodia and Thailand had freedom of opinion and speech, Mr. Nguon Teang said that he had never noticed such a strongly worded letter in the Khmer-language media.
“I have never seen any critical editorial in Khmer because normally the newspapers are pro-government and their editorials always attack the opposition, so there is no need to write letters,” he said.
