The National Police’s own newspaper—a 12-page daily that will focus on crime and security—was officially launched on Saturday during a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of a Cambodian national police force.
During the event at the National Police headquarters in Phnom Penh to celebrate both the anniversary and the launch of the color newspaper, National Police Chief Neth Savoeun said the police had proven themselves central to Cambodia’s security throughout its history.
“The National Police force forms a strong core along with the National Military Police, Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and the local authorities, striving with a national consciousness and with patience to defeat the tricks of the opposition party and its groups,” Mr. Savoeun said.
Police actions over the past two years, particularly during the political upheaval surrounding the July 2013 national election, had helped reduce “the severe violence and the risks in society, and has kept public order and security to make society return to normal,” Mr. Savoeun said.
Videos of police, military police and military repressing protests during the six months that followed the election—including the repression of a protest on Veng Sreng Street in January 2014 that left at least five garment workers dead—played on a large screen behind the stage at the headquarters as copies of the National Police newspaper were handed out.
Set to be published Monday to Friday, the publication’s first editorial page lauds the creation of the police newspaper—published only online for the past year—as a shining achievement for the force.
“This news will inform about the good that has been done for the motherland and the people, especially reflecting in a timely manner on the leaders of the government and Interior Ministry activists in maintaining security, social safety, as well as the National Police’s work,” the editorial reads.
It adds that the newspaper, as a publication made by the police, will eliminate the problems associated with having journalists report on police activities and allow police to speak directly to the people.
“The National Police newspaper will act to prevent the poisoning of the security atmosphere by some people who take the opportunity to speak or disseminate untruths to provide fake news…to cause social turmoil,” it says.
