Cambodia’s Media Clampdown

New Naratif's Southeast Asia Dispatches

In February 2023, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the closure of one of the country's last independent local news outlets, Voice of Democracy (VOD), saying it had attacked him and his son and caused damage to the country. VOD is one of the few independent and vital media outlets left in Cambodia since the media crackdown circa 2017-2018.

Silence of the press is one of the Cambodian government's strategies to stay in power. Freedom House observed that the 2018 Cambodian elections took place "in an extremely repressive environment".

In this episode, we will talk about media shutdowns and shrinking democratic space in Cambodia, how media workers and the public alike are dealing with the situation, and how regional solidarity is really important to create change.

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