Chhum Kanal, adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen on information and land issues, was officially removed from his job Monday in what some officials say is further fall out from the suspension of a Khmer-language newspaper following a complaint from the permanent committee of the CPP’s Phnom Penh branch.
Spokesman for the government, Khieu Kanharith, said there have been allegations the adviser was behind the recently-suspended newspaper that contained several articles accusing Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara of corruption.
Former League of Cambodian Journalists President Chhum Kanal was removed from his position by Royal Decree following a request from Hun Sen to Acting Head of State and Senate President Chea Sim, cabinet chief Chea Sorn said on Thursday.
Hun Sen’s request for removal was due to “irregularities” in Chhum Kanal’s duties, Chea Sorn said without elaborating. Sum Mean, adviser to the prime minister on international affairs, also said Thursday that Chhum Kanal was removed for unspecified “irregularities in implementing his job.”
However, one government official who didn’t want to be named said Thursday that Chhum Kanal was removed for being involved in the recent controversy over the local newspaper “Phnom Penh,” which was suspended last week following a complaint by the municipality that it was using their official logo on its front page. Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara had also said that a staff member from the newspaper demanded money from him in return for not publishing allegations of corruption at city hall.
Chhum Kanal downplayed his removal Thursday, claiming it was normal government procedure to periodically move advisers. He said he was bewildered at the premier’s comment that he was guilty of any “irregularities” in his work.
“I don’t understand what that means. But this is the government’s duty to transfer staff,” Chhum Kanal said.
Chhum Kanal said the suspended newspaper was under his control while he was president of the pro-CPP League of Cambodian Journalists from 1994 to 1999. But he said he has had no affiliation with the newspaper since he was appointed as Hun Sen’s adviser.
Khieu Kanharith, secretary of state at the Information Ministry and also an adviser to Hun Sen, said Thursday he did not know the reason for the removal but had talked with Chhum Kanal about the “Phnom Penh” newspaper controversy.
Khieu Kanharith said Chum Kanal was seeking a meeting with Chea Sophara to explain claims that he was behind the newspaper and the articles accusing the governor of corruption.
The meeting may not have occurred, Khieu Kanharith said.
Om Chandara, current president of the League of Cambodian Journalists, blasted the Information Ministry’s closure of the “Phnom Penh” newspaper, noting that the court should have decided on the logo ownership issue before suspending the paper.
(Additional reporting by Ham Samnang)
