The Ministry of Information, which shut down 29 local newspapers last month, has allowed 10 to resume publication, Thieng Vandarong, deputy director of general administration at the ministry, said on Monday.
The newspapers’ editors struck a deal with the ministry, signing contracts that require them to publish regularly, he said.
The contracts give the papers a two-year license to publish and require the editors to provide a copy of every issue to the ministry. The newspapers must publish at least once a week; if they don’t print for three months, their licenses can be canceled, Thieng Vandarong said.
Minister of Information Lu Laysreng ordered the closure of 29 newspapers, 17 magazines and seven newsletters last month, saying the publications existed in name only and hadn’t printed any issues for some time.
Since that order, several editors have come forward to protest the minister’s action. On Monday, Prum Pheak, editor of Neakreach News, said the ministry order was arbitrary, targeting some newspapers and not others.
Neakreach News was one of the 10 allowed to resume publishing. Its Monday issue included criticism of the Ministry of Information. “I don’t have enough money to print every week,” he said, but he said other similarly infrequent publications were not included in the shutdown. “I want equality before the law,” he said.
Another of the 10 reprieved papers, Chhaya Angkor, also published an issue Monday.
Khuon Plaiwee, the editor, said the ministry had no right to tell newspapers how often they must publish.
“This requirement puts more pressure on us and goes against the democratic process,” he said, adding that there is no law allowing the ministry to shut down newspapers that don’t publish.
The press law, one of the most liberal in the region, states that newspapers can only be legally closed if they insult the King.
