One month ago, Lon Nok was standing alongside a road in Banteay Meanchey province, facing four angry men and an imposing 1.5-meter-long metal pipe.
Earlier this month, the 32-year-old Khmer Intellectual reporter traveled to Phnom Penh and stood before his fellow journalists and told about the beating he took from the men on Dec 3—the day his small newspaper published his investigative article about an alleged land grab by a commune official in O’Chrou district.
“We just reported the truth, that the powerful are abusing the poor in the countryside,” he said. “But they don’t want us to make this known to Phnom Penh. This was against press freedom.”
Lon Nok and other journalists who have experienced physical and verbal harassment and intimidation spoke Jan 10 at a conference sponsored by the US Embassy and the Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists.
The publisher of Khmer Intellectual, Huch Dean Huor, said the newspaper’s series of articles about land disputes have angered officials throughout the country.
“We have been intimidated from powerful people for our articles. They have mistreated us everywhere, from Banteay Meanchey down to Prey Veng,” he said.
Association Vice President Samreth Duonghak found at least two cases of intimidation of journalists in 2002 and several other cases of reporters and newspapers that faced legal action for published stories.
Besides the attack on Lon Nok, four journalists were detained illegally by authorities, Samreth Duonghak said.
The government also ordered Beehive Radio in October to stop carrying broadcasts of Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, the association noted.
Three publications were suspended by the Ministry of Information and 54 newspapers—most of which rarely published—were closed in June, the group said.
The association called for further government investigation into the killings of five Cambodian journalists in 1995 and 1996. The unsolved cases were noted in a worldwide report issued last year by Reporters Without Borders.
Last year’s incidents occurred even though Cambodia continues to enjoy one of the most liberal media laws in Southeast Asia, the group said.
Nonetheless, the situation for journalists improved somewhat in 2002 over 2001, Samreth Duonghak said.
“We regret that attacks and intimidation still continues in order to harass journalists,” he said. “These things happen mostly in the remote regions where the laws are deficiently enforced.”
Ministry of Information Secretary of State Khieu Kanharith said journalism groups like the CAPJ should seek to hire lawyers to defend reporters, editors and publishers who face legal action.
Lon Nok said he has filed a complaint at the provincial court against the commune official and at least one bodyguard whom he says are responsible for the attack against him.
So far, the court has taken no action, he said.
Conference participants acknowledged that a lack of training among Cambodian journalists and a lack of awareness of the country’s press law has invited lawsuits from the government and news sources alleging inaccuracies or libel.
