Voice of Democracy (; abbreviated VOD) was an independent

news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and All-news radio, radio and News broadcasting, television Broadcasting, broadcasters. A news agency ma ...

based in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

. VOD has provided significant

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...

within Cambodia, providing coverage on domestic issues including corruption, government wrongdoing, human rights violations, and environmental destruction, which have drawn the ire of Cambodian officials. Following the Cambodian government's media crackdown in 2017, VOD, alongside

Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a news service that publishes online news, information, commentary and broadcasts radio programs for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editorially independent reporting, has the stated mission of pro ...

and

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

, became an increasingly important news source for Cambodians. It was shuttered by the Cambodian government on 13 February 2023.

History

VOD began as a non-profit

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

which first aired in January 2003 under the supervision of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights. In 2007, it was moved under the Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM). VOD launched online news portals in 2013. VOD became an increasingly important media outlet after the Cambodian government shuttered the independent '' The Cambodia Daily'' and forced the sale of '' The Phnom Penh Post'' to a pro-government owner in 2017. VOD launched its English language version in 2019 to fill a void in independent English language media. In February 2023, Cambodia's prime minister

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

revoked VOD's operating license, in retaliation for a VOD news article that alleged Sen's son,

Hun Manet Hun Manet (, ; born 20 October 1977) is a Cambodian politician and general who has served as Prime Minister of Cambodia since 2023, succeeding his father, Hun Sen. He is also the vice president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP). Pri ...

, had violated existing policy by approving a foreign aid package for the

2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

. VOD's closure was condemned by organisations including

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

, the United Nations, and the American and German governments. HRW described the shutdown as a "devastating blow to media freedom in ambodia" The

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

called the Cambodian government's response "particularly troubling" on its detrimental impact to

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

and access to 2023 Cambodian general election coverage.

Awards

In 2004, Oudam Tat, a VOD radio reporter, was awarded

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

' Information Hero award.

References

External links

* (in English) * (in Khmer) * {{authority control Cambodian news websites News agencies based in Cambodia 2003 establishments in Cambodia Mass media in Phnom Penh Radio in Cambodia

History

Awards

See also

References

External links