Meas Sara, the editor of CCN Online TV, whose license was recently revoked, was detained by authorities on Tuesday while gathering information in a private capacity at a protest site in Banteay Meanchey province, where Cambodian villagers opposed barbed wire fencing by Thai troops.
On August 26, a Facebook account under the name Meas Sara stated that he was arrested that morning in Chouk Cheay village, O’Bei Choarn commune, O Chrov district, Banteay Meanchey province.
According to his final live broadcast at around 8 a.m. on August 26, Meas Sara was reporting as a private citizen without the backing of a media institution from the area where Thai soldiers had installed barbed wire inside Chouk Cheay village.
On August 21, the Ministry of Information cancelled the operating license of CCN Online TV after Meas Sara reported on August 20 about border tensions in Banteay Meanchey, including the loss of Cambodian homes and a military post, which he said were damaged by Thai military activity.
Following the revocation of the license, Meas Sara declared that he would no longer report as a journalist but would instead share information as a citizen and a young Cambodian concerned for the nation.
On the same day, Banteay Meanchey provincial governor Um Ratha also ordered a ban on broadcasts by SBT News, operated by San Bunthoeun. The order was issued over coverage of protests by Cambodian villagers in Chouk Cheay village against Thai military activity in the disputed area.
In response, opposition lawmaker Suon Rida of the Cambodia National Rescue Party wrote on his Facebook page that the truth was being concealed. He warned that such actions only deepen public mistrust of the government.
Separately, several social media users expressed frustration over the bans, accusing the authorities of hiding information about what they described as Thai military encroachment on Cambodian territory.
