Cambodia Orders US-Funded Group to Halt Operations, Remove Staff

Cambodia shuts down US-funded NGO, expels staff
US criticises Cambodia's crackdown on press and NGOs
Author

24 August, 2017

"The Cambodian competent authorities ... have reached the decision to stop the operation of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Cambodia and to expel its foreign staff from the Kingdom within seven days after the official notification of this decision", the statement reads.

Leaked documents posted on the government-aligned Fresh News media website claimed to show that the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which are also funded by the United States, had planned to help the opposition party topple Mr Hun Sen's government.

A Cambodian government spokesman said in February, citing Trump's decision to bar news outlets from White House press briefings as justification, that certain news outlets should be gagged because they do not report the truth. The paper was founded by an American.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades, on Tuesday ordered the English-language The Cambodia Daily newspaper to pay taxes accrued over the past decade or face closure. Hun Sen, who has been in power for over three decades, also came out as a strong Trump supporter past year during the USA presidential campaign. Hun Sen's critics say his party is cracking down on political opposition.

On Wednesday, US State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the US was very concerned about "the deterioration in Cambodia's democratic climate" in the past two weeks.

The documents claimed to show two US-funded organizations, the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), planning to help the opposition party take down PM Hun Sen's government. It outlines how the parties are working together to create what is known as a colour revolution in the country, the Khmer Times reported.

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights said the NDI had not been given adequate opportunity to respond to the accusations against it and the order to close was worrying in the context of increasing repression of freedom of expression.

"We encourage the government to allow NDI, the Cambodia Daily and other independent media and civil society organisations to continue their important activities so Cambodia's 2018 national elections can take place in a free and open environment", she said.


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