AKP : News media is considered the “fourth power”, but this power has to be respected, not to be feared, in order to ensure its sustainability.
The remarks were made by H.E. Lt. Gen. Hun Manet, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, and Commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, who represented Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen at the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day 2022 on May 3, organised by the Ministry of Information, in collaboration with UNESCO under the theme “Journalism Under Digital Siege”.
To be respected, the code of ethics and laws must be obeyed, he underlined, adding that only the journalists themselves can enhance and maintain the value of the “fourth power”.
H.E. Lt. Gen. Hun Manet laid stress on the key roles played by the media in contribution to the country’s socio-economic development and reaffirmed the Royal Government’s attention to the promotion of press freedom and enhancement of the journalists’ welfare, such as the administration of COVID-19 vaccines to them so that they are safe from the pandemic in fulfilling their mission.
For his part, H.E. Khieu Kanharith, Minister of Information, expressed once again the ministry’s disappointment that some countries have not applied the Single Standard for the press freedom while the world is discussing ways to foster the freedom of expression, press freedom and freedom of information.
H.E. Minister recalled that recently, in the Russia-Ukraine war, there have been tendencies to close down Russia-related media outlets, which is against the principles of freedom of expression and press freedom.
H.E. Khieu Kanharith also was disappointed that some journalist associations had accused the authorities of press freedom violation because journalists were banned from entering prohibited areas (during the COVID-19 lockdown), but they did not mention that the journalists were granted the priority by the Royal Government to access the COVID-19 vaccines.
