Cambodia accuses U.S.- funded broadcasters of opposition bias

Not news worthy enough for the Hun Sen regime? A young girl plays by an open stagnant sewer at one of the many growing slums in and outside of the capital Phnom Penh. The existence of and extreme social neglect endured by so many of the country's urban slum dwellers have been one of the unspoken motivations behind the on-going waves of violently forced mass evictions initiated by the Phnom Penh authorities in recent years, prominent among the targeted sites are Boeung Kak Lake which situates within full view of the Government's 'prestigious' Chinese funded and built Council of Ministers palace and Borei Keila settlement, which also locates in the heart of the capital, both of which are an eye sore and living sources of shame and embarrassment for a regime actively promoting itself - through its near monopoly of the mass media - as the party of "development"? The latest summons issued by the Phnom Penh regime to the two US funded radio stations demanding a change in focus from one of 'negative' to 'positive' on news coverage is perfectly in line and character with an orthodox, unreformed police-state mentality and Communist style governing without representation. But, at least the summons indicates that formal warning of some kind is necessary, that is, until that formality becomes redundant and the  issue of assassins becomes imperative. And when that happens it is not through any fault of the reporters themselves who risk their own precious lives and limbs to keep the public audience informed of the truth - whatever that truth entails - but it will be the hitherto self-evident reluctance [and de facto complicity even] on the part of their employers to grab the bull by the horns that will stand out like the filthy odour from those untreated sewers. The regime itself is in no doubt of this dubious stance taken by the US government [her public condemnations are never backed by any concrete or hurting punitive measures despite the fact that she has the power to do so if she would have possessed the political will and moral courage to that end] and hence the audacious summons against the ultimately expendable reporters. So the US Government hasn't changed much since 1975 then? Well, not a great deal in substance in my view - School of Vice.

PHNOM PENH | Thu Oct 11, 2012 6:14am EDT

(Reuters) - Cambodia has threatened legal action against two U.S.-funded radio stations, accusing them of favoring opposition parties and promoting U.S. foreign policy, sources said on Thursday.

Representatives of Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA) were called to a closed-door meeting on Wednesday.

The government complained about their coverage of border demarcation issues with Vietnam and the October 1 jailing of a broadcaster and land rights campaigner for "secessionism", two sources who attended the meeting told Reuters.

The dressing-down comes amid criticism by rights groups of the government for leaning on the judiciary to silence the small number of critics in the country who dare to speak out.

RFA and VOA broadcast locally in the Khmer language and are among the few radio stations in Cambodia considered free of government influence.

One source said an official present at the meeting labeled the two broadcasters "rebel and opposition radios".

"They wanted the radio stations to report more about the activities of the government and they don't want RFA to be used as a campaign for opposition parties," the source told Reuters under the condition of anonymity.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan, who chaired the meeting, declined to give details of what took place but said the stations were urged to report responsibly.

"Free press means accuracy, no bias and with professionalism," Phay Siphan said.

Both sources said the two stations were told to change their reporting or face unspecified legal action, adding they were accused of propagating policies of the U.S. State Department.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy in Phnom Penh declined to comment on the meeting but appeared to back the two stations.

"In general, the United States supports freedom of expression and press, and through their reporting, VOA and RFA seek to epitomize that," the spokeswoman said in an email.

RFA described the meeting as "a blatant attempt to discourage objective reporting on the government".

"The Cambodian government clearly does not understand the principles of a free press or the important role of independent media if it thinks it can intimidate RFA and dictate what we can or cannot report on," U.S.-based spokesman John Estrella said in a statement.

(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Martin Petty)