A new foreign investor has arrived in Phnom Penh with dreams of attracting others in his wake and with a plan he says will lead Cambodia fully into the Internet age.
But the product he’s selling isn’t exactly what government officials had in mind when they put into place liberal investment laws and worked to promote Cambodia’s image abroad.
Not only is American Dan Sandler Cambodia’s first known Internet pornographer, his ‘‘niche market’’ is an anonymous group of foreign Internet users who harbor violent sexual fantasies that involve beatings, handcuffs and leather.
‘‘Welcome to the Rape Camp,” screams the headline by way of introduction to his new Internet site. Among the pictures that follow: a tied up ethnic Vietnamese women with clamps on her breasts, a naked woman whose head is being pulled back by the hair as she is fondled, and a gagged, semi-nude model tied to a pole.
The appearance of the site this month—which many say would push the limits of decency in even the most liberal of countries—has created a worst case scenario for some in the NGO community. And government officials have said they likely will shut it down.
On the one hand, many fear if Sandler is allowed to continue operating, other pornographers will follow, and Cambodia will soon become home to scores of sleazy businessmen peddling pictures of local women with few other options. Those fighting to reduce a domestic violence rate that exceeds 16 percent say such a scenario would hurt their efforts to combat the problem.
At the same time, however, Cambodia has so far enjoyed relatively unfettered Internet use, and that hands off policy has never been put the test. Some fear if the government rushes to shut the site down, officials might construct hastily written laws that could be used in the future to restrict less offensive forms of free speech.
Sandler for his part is unapologetic, and claims he is helping Cambodia get a slice of what is already a multimillion-dollar industry in the US, and other Asian countries.
‘‘There is a big market in the US for Asian women,’’ he said. ‘‘And when I start making money, I’ll pay 10 percent in taxes. If I’m successful, I could get a lot of other guys doing it and get a lot of tax revenue.
‘‘It will train people in the Internet industry, and then they will be able to expand to other businesses. Besides, they’re selling these women anyway in prostitute houses, where they have to have sex with 10 men a day and get AIDS,’’ he said, adding later that he paid $60 to three models for about 45 minutes of work.
Sandler said he uses only Vietnamese—not Cambodian—women for his Internet site, to avoid angering the government. He has intentionally left out any mention that the pictures are coming from Cambodia. And the pictures are posted on a server somewhere in the US. He is hoping to begin transmitting live bondage sex shows over the Internet next month—in which he said he would likely serve as the male model to save money—and allow customers to e-mail requests for sexual acts that would be carried out seconds later.
He said he plans to pay the models who participate in the sex shows about $20 a day.
Sandler said he has not yet purchased some of the necessary equipment he will need to get the live site up and running.
‘‘I analyzed Cambodia, women are the biggest asset to export to the US,’’ he said. ‘‘The fact is they are doing a lot of this stuff already in Hong Kong, where the costs are a lot higher.’’
Those who are working to combat domestic violence are appalled at the idea.
‘‘It is not good for Cambodian society,’’ said Sar Samen, director of the Project Against Domestic Violence. ‘‘This cannot fit into our culture and it can make us crazy. It will make men excited when they watch it and after that they will want to try it. I think it could cause rape too.’’
‘‘This is a move in the wrong direction,’’ said Bill Herod, who in his position at the NGO Forum as coordinator of an information project played a key role getting the Internet into Cambodia, and is also part of a working group that aims to decrease violence against women.
‘‘Here we are at a time when there is a growing civil society, a serious problem with domestic violence and we’re at the point of discussing legalization of prostitution as a way of controlling and protecting the rights of women, and now we’ve got somebody from outside Cambodia trying to introduce a new method of exploitation,’’ Herod said. ‘‘I hope the community will say this is something we are not going to tolerate.’’
Government officials seem to agree.
Koy Kim Sea, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, said he was aware of the site, and had not yet informed Ministry of Information officials of its existence. But he said when he did, ‘‘I’m sure it will not be acceptable.’’
When asked about the site, two Ministry of Information officials said they had not yet heard of it, but said a pornography business for the Internet operating out of Cambodia would be illegal.
All three government officials independently cited a provision in the Constitution that outlaws actions which are corrosive to Khmer culture, and said that would be enough to shut the site down.
Article 41 of the Constitution guarantees the rights of freedom of expression, press, publication and assembly, but adds that ‘‘no one shall exercise this right to infringe upon the rights of others, to effect the good traditions of the society, to violate public law and order and national security.’’
But legal experts point out the wording in the Constitution does not specify criminal penalties or sanctions, and new legislation spelling them out would have to be put into place.
‘‘We don’t have a law,’’ said Sok Sam Oeun, executive director of the Cambodian Defender’s Project, noting that work on revising Cambodia’s penal code is ongoing. ‘‘Maybe we could stop it, but we cannot punish people.’’
Mike Fowler, a journalism professor and attorney who helped draft Cambodia’s post-Untac press laws, noted that Cambodia’s press law outlaws obscenity, but that it would not apply to the Internet. Fowler said he has not seen the site, but he noted ‘‘from what I have heard, it would push the envelope’’ of obscenity laws in most countries.
Fowler added, however, words of concern that have been uttered by several others: Government efforts to shut the site down could have implications for Internet use in general.
‘‘Cambodia at this point has welcomed the Internet, or at least hasn’t attempted to block or regulate it as some other countries have,’’ he said. ‘‘The danger of this pornographic website is the possibility that it could bring a harsh reaction in the form of a hastily drafted, overly restrictive Internet law.’’
Ministry of Information officials sent conflicting signals Tuesday, underscoring the uncertainty of the future for Internet users here.
Khieu Kanharith, secretary of state for the Ministry of Information, said the government currently has no plans to regulate the Internet ‘‘yet’’ and that ‘‘maybe we need time to decide.’’ But he cited the Khmer culture provision in the Constitution and noted that the site could be shut down if it is a business.
Minister of Information Lu Laysreng said his ministry will likely soon begin to ‘‘monitor and control’’ the Internet, and that all Internet transmissions ‘‘must pass through here.’’
He said the government was considering a proposal that would ban the transmission by Internet of any news out of Cambodia that is ‘‘exaggerated.” Khieu Kanharith said the policy of monitoring and controlling Internet transmissions is unlikely, because of time and human resource issues.
‘‘Right now we don’t have the staff,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s why it is important that Internet providers help us, by notifying us when something like this is going on.’’
Sandler seemed unconcerned by criticism of his initiative. He argued that the government has no reason to shut him down, and NGOs have no reason to fear his effect on Cambodian culture, since very few Cambodians use the Internet.
‘‘I have nothing against women here, I like Cambodian and Vietnamese women and it is not being marketed to this community,’’ he said. ‘‘It might promote violence against women in the United States. But I say good. I hate those bitches, they’re out of line, and that’s one of the reasons I want to do this….I’m going through a divorce right now. I hate American women.’’
The inspiration for Sandler’s Internet site name came from a US State Department official speaking to the media. The official referred to camps set up by Serbian soldiers to sexually assault women in Kosovo as ‘‘rape camps,’’ he explained.
Sandler added that if he is shut down by the government he will complain to the US Embassy and send letters to the US Congress accusing Cambodia of violating trade agreements.
US Ambassador Kent Wiedemann said Sandler is unlikely to receive much support. He said Sander came to the embassy and asked for help setting up a business that ‘‘seemed to us to border on the improper.’’ And he has since been banned from entering the embassy compound ‘‘until he behaves rationally and promises not to hurl physical threats at my officers.’’
‘‘It certainly will get no help from the United States government,’’ Wiedemann said. Sandler’s contention that a Cambodian decision to ban his site would violate a free trade agreement, Wiedemann said, is ‘‘nonsense.’’
‘‘Our trade agreement does not permit illegal trade. This clearly is a highly controversial area of trade and would have to be looked at very closely,’’ Wiedemann said. ‘‘But my personal view is that this is very corrosive to the rights of women and issues of trafficking, pandering to it…. My personal view is it is reprehensible. Could you think of a congressman who would support him?’’
Sok Chenda, secretary general of the Council for the Development of Cambodia, said Sandler may consider himself a businessman but that doesn’t mean he should be allowed to operate here.
‘‘Sex tourism is also a business, but Cambodia does not need it,’’ Sok Chenda said. ‘‘Not all business is welcome in Cambodia. Sorry to say this, but not all businesses are moral. And as a Cambodian, speaking for myself, I think he should be put in jail.’’
(additional reporting by Van Roeun)
