The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 561
“A small sized newspaper with four pages with the name The Burma Daily, published and inserted in the The Cambodia Daily, was seized by the Ministry of Interior, which had been asked by the Ministry of Information, claiming that this newspaper is published without having asking for legal permission from the ministry; furthermore its articles showed a critical tendency towards the government of the Burmese military junta.
“On Monday morning of 19 May 2008, there were police at many newspaper stalls in Phnom Penh, seizing The Burma Daily, which had been distributed for sale together with The Cambodia Daily. The police claimed that they acted based on higher orders when they confiscated the newspapers from newspaper stalls and from children selling newspapers along the roads.
“Regarding the confiscation of The Burma Daily, the head of the Information Department of the Ministry of Information, Mr. Yem Noy, stated that the Ministry of Information had asked the authorities to seize the newspapers, because they had been published without legal permission; moreover, it was deceptive to publish them inside The Cambodia Daily, which has a legal permission from the ministry. However, the Minister of Information, Mr. Khieu Kanharith, could not be reached for comment.
“The newspapers of The Burma Daily, which were seized by the authorities on the morning of 19 May 2008, were published in English, with four pages, on white paper, and they had the same size as The Cambodia Daily; most of the articles talked about Burma. Generally speaking, the articles showed a tendency critical of the government of the Burmese military junta, especially focusing on the events after the tropical cyclone in Burma.
“By 19 May 2008, The Burma Daily published a second issue, and according to its context, it was clear that Mr. Bernard Krisher is the publisher and Mr. Kevin Doyle is the editor-in-chief; and they are also the publisher and the editor-in-chief of The Cambodia Daily.
“So far, no reaction has been seen yet from the publisher of The Cambodia Daily regarding the actions of the authorities.
“It should be stressed that The Burma Daily was not published and sold separately, but it was inserted into the The Cambodia Daily. But the volume and issue numbers were different.
“The Press Law, Chapter 1, Article 5, talks about press freedom; it states that in general, the press has the right to share information, under the control of the Royal Government, except for any information that undermines national security or relations with other countries. Therefore, using Cambodia as a basis to publish information which has an anti-Burma tendency in the The Burma Daily, contradicts the Press Law, so the government did not allow it.” Chakraval, Vol.16, #2778, 20.5.2008
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Chakraval, Vol.16, #2778, 20.5.2008
- The Ministry of Information Seized Newspapers Published without Legal Permission that Have an anti-Burma Tendency
- Daun Penh and Chamkar Mon District Rank First in Selling Drugs in Phnom Penh [according to a police who checked drug trafficking sites in the seven districts in Phnom Penh]
Chuoy Khmer, Vol.2, #103, 20.5.2008
- Authorities Have Closed Clubs Belonging to Chea Ratha, after an Arrest Warrant Had Been Issued over the Acid Attack on In Soklida’s Aunt; the Culture of Impunity Is Spreading in Khmer Society
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.7, #1645, 20.5.2008
- Ratanakiri Authorities Rejected People’s Application to March in a Demonstration [on 20 May 2008], but Allow Meeting at Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association [ADHOC] Headquarters
- Police [under the command of Director General of National Police Hok Lundy] Checked General Chea Ratha’s House [on 17 May 2008, with a court warrant] over the Acid Attack
- Four Khmer Construction Workers Died Because an Elevator Fell from the Eleventh Floor of a Constructing Building [Bangkok, Thailand – 18 May 2008]
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.15, #3464, 20.5.2008
- More Than 150,000 Citizens Are Facing Evictions from Their Land and Houses [in Cambodia, according to The Guardian, UK]
- Thai Foreign Affairs Officials Said that the Preah Vihear Area Includes Many Square Kilometers of Land without a Clear Demarcation [this was said two days after the Thai Senior Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Noppadon Pattama met with Deputy Prime Minister and Senior Minister in Charge of the Council of Ministers Sok An on 15 May 2008]
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.16, #4593, 20.5.2008
- ASEAN Foreign Affairs Senior Officials Met, Considering Aid for Myanmar [19 May 2008 – Singapore]
- China Declared Three Days of Mourning, while the Number of Deaths Increases
Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.15, #33, 20.5.2008
- Samdech Krom Preah [Norodom Ranariddh] Has Condemned the Murder of [the Norodom Ranariddh Party] Activist Sok Run [murdered on 16 May 2008, but local authorities claim he died from fainting]
- Soldiers in Kratie Pointed Guns at Members of Fourteen Families [when citizens tried to protest the clearing of their land] to Grab Their Land
Sralanh Khmer, Vol.3, #6, 20.5.2008
- Former Khmer King [Norodom Sihanouk] Still Worries about the Monarchy [because there were many bad moments among the members of the royalist camp – according to a senior official of Funcinpec]
- Cambodia Plans to Put New Border Markers along the Thai Border [according to senior officials of the Royal Government of Cambodia]
Have a look at last week’s editorial: How NOT to avoid critical reflection and discussion
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