Due to statements made by Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan (see “Deportation, Jail Threatened if Film Screened,” in today’s Cambodia Daily on page 16), those who planned to attend the screenings of Who Killed Chea Vichea? scheduled for this afternoon and evening should check the following web pages for updated information and please forward this to those you know who may be interested.


We will also post updates on the film’s Facebook page.

As of this writing and to my knowledge, the screenings are planned to go forward as scheduled, at 5pm (Khmer) and 7pm (English) at the new location:


Update: 
The screenings have been canceled. Loud Mouth Films respects the right of the host involved to make this decision in light of recent developments.

Regarding the above article "Deportation, Jail Threatened if Film Screened" in the Daily:

Government spokesperson Phay Siphan is cited saying that the government is concerned that the film would influence public opinion. That is exactly the issue here. In a country that respects freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, the people are free to assemble, discuss as they please, and expose themselves to any kind of information and form their opinions freely based on that and on their own conscience.

Cambodian officials have never to our knowledge provided any legal basis for a ban on Who Killed Chea Vichea? or any specific film. In stating that they ban a film without providing any legal basis, these officials demonstrate that Cambodians do not live under the rule of law, but under the rule of power. Two decades after the Paris Peace Accords, and a decade after the assassination of Chea Vichea, the rule of law exists only as a smokescreen. It vanishes whenever those in power find it convenient to blow it away.

Meanwhile the killers of Chea Vichea and those who ordered the killing are still "at large." It is our intent to honor Chea Vichea and many others who struggle, and continue to struggle for basic human rights and a better and freer Cambodia. 

However the government is making the screening of this film into a test of its respect for freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the rule of law. So far today it has failed that test, as it consistently fails, because its fundamental nature is to feel threatened by these freedoms.

Rich Garella, Producer, Who Killed Chea Vichea?
for Loud Mouth Films

Note: The statements above are made by Rich Garella and Loud Mouth Films. No part of them should be attributed to any other individuals or organizations.

Labels: news, press, screenings

Almost ten years after the murder of Chea Vichea, the two men featured in Who Killed Chea Vichea? went to Cambodia's Supreme Court on Wednesday for their final appeal.

The presiding judge acknowledged that the two had no connection to the crime, saying, “We have no evidence to say that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun were guilty ... Furthermore, the two people could not have been present at the scene, as they were both in the provinces.” (Phnom Penh Post) This is exactly what we proved in Who Killed Chea Vichea?.

The result? The court has dropped all charges and ordered their immediate release from prison.


This ruling is very welcome news. But there is still no reason to conclude that the court’s decision demonstrates judicial independence.

In the wake of the July elections, the government’s legitimacy is on the brink of collapse. Despite tilting the playing field steeply to its advantage, the ruling party was able to claim only a narrow victory, and that claim is hotly contested. Suddenly both the people of Cambodia and the international donor community see that Hun Sen will not rule forever, and perhaps not even for long. Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party are now engaged in a desperate effort to improve their image. Meanwhile as far as we can tell the Supreme Court hearing was scheduled only after the election. So the release of Samnang and Sok Oeun may signal desperation, but it is not evidence of actual judicial reform.


• If Cambodia's judicial system were independent, the prison doors would open too for land-rights activist Yorm Bopha and others now imprisoned for challenging official abuses.

• If Cambodia's judicial system were independent, we would see a serious investigation into who killed Chea Vichea, instead of the decade-long charade during which the courts did practically nothing more than investigate and imprison two innocent men who knew nothing about it.

• If Cambodia's judicial system were independent, we would see investigations and prosecutions of all of those who worked together to frame Samnang and Sam Oeun — those who manufactured evidence, those who lied in sworn testimony, those who extracted Samnang’s confession by threats and torture, who cost two innocent men five years of their lives.

Just one example: If you’ve seen Who Killed Chea Vichea? you know that the police took Samnang to the place where the gun was hidden. The court has now implicitly acknowledged that he could not have known where that was. The police knew, because they were working with those who killed Vichea. Today’s ruling was an admission of all this.

But most important today — even if the court’s ruling is part of a public relations effort — is to join Samnang and Sam Oeun and their families and celebrate their freedom!

Labels: news, press

Originally convicted soon after the assassination of labor leader Chea Vichea in 2004, the two men served nearly five years of their sentences before their provisional release was ordered by the Supreme Court on 31 January 2008.

Phnom Penh Post article
Licadho statement
Human Rights Watch statement

The Peabody Award-winning documentary Who Killed Chea Vichea? was released in 2011 and broadcast on US public television that year. Based on over five years of research, investigation and filming, it demonstrates conclusively that neither man was guilty of the crime. Furthermore it implicates members of the security forces and exposes a coordinated plot by the police and courts to frame Samnang and Sam Oeun. The film is banned in Cambodia.

"It's an absolute disgrace," said Bradley Cox, the director of Who Killed Chea Vichea?. "The incarceration of activist Mom Sonando, the killing of environmentalist Chut Wutty, the re-imprisonment of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun… When will our diplomats pull their thumbs out and do their jobs? They call themselves champions of human rights, freedom of speech and the rule of law and yet they consistently look the other way when they're needed most.

"Shame on the Cambodian government for this travesty of justice and shame on us for allowing it to happen over and over and over again."

"No one can seriously believe they're guilty," said Rich Garella, producer of Who Killed Chea Vichea?. "There hasn't been a shred of evidence presented against them. This re-conviction is heartbreaking, despicable, disgusting.

"In ordering the re-imprisonment of these two men, Hun Sen is being very purposeful. He is showing that he can do anything in Cambodia. He is showing diplomats, opposition politicians and the public in general that he can and will imprison even unimportant regular people. It's not just the influential who must fear him. It's everybody. Hun Sen is being quite open about his position as dictator. He is a dictator by any reasonable definition."

Loud Mouth Films is the production company for Who Killed Chea Vichea?, co-produced by the Independent Television Service with funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The film is available in English, French, Spanish and Khmer at www.whokilledcheavichea.com/order.html and by download at www.whokilledcheavichea.com/seeit.html. The Khmer-only version can be seen online at www.vicheamovie.com and is free for distribution within Cambodia.

Labels: news

Several news articles have drawn parallels between the assassination of Chea Vichea and the murder of Chut Wutty just a few days ago, and rightly so.

Wutty, director of the Natural Resources Protection Group, was shot dead by military police who were apparently guarding a facility of the Timbergreen Company, a mysterious entity involved in clearing land in Koh Kong. The murder took place in the presence of two reporters from The Cambodia Daily. Their gripping account is here.

If you've seen Who Killed Chea Vichea? you'll see a chilling similarity in the short video above, in which Wutty explains why he spent twenty years fighting deforestation — twenty years that ended on Thursday, April 26, deep in the forests of Mondul Seima district.

"The killing is having explosive ramifications, and the parallels with the killing of Chea Vichea are enormous," writes Luke Hunt in The Diplomat. "Chut Vuthy had been prominent in uncovering the secret sell-off of state forests, illegal rosewood harvesting and land grabs in the area where a Chinese dam is being built."
Hunt interviews Bradley Cox, the director of Who Killed Chea Vichea?, who adds:

"He reminds me quite a bit of labor leader Chea Vichea. Both were outspoken, both were willing to stand up for what they believe despite threats and harassment, and both paid the price for their convictions.

"I think there’s a message in this for Cambodians, and that’s to keep your head down and your mouth shut. Most people take this message to heart. There are very few that don’t and that’s what makes guys like Chut Vuthy and Chea Vichea special.

"They gain the admiration of the Cambodian people, but also the ire of the powers that be. And as much as I hate to say it, I doubt this tragedy will be the last."

In AFP coverage, opposition politician Mu Sochua also related the two cases.

Not since the 2004 daylight murder of union leader Chea Vichea has Cambodia lost an activist as influential as Chhut Vuthy, she added, accusing donor countries of "making no noise" in support of ordinary Cambodians' rights. 

"I want to be optimistic, I want to see hope but I'm afraid there is no more Chea Vichea, and there is no more Chhut Vuthy," she said. "They cannot be replaced. That is the aim of those who ordered the killings."

Mu Sochua is right. Just as Cambodia's exploiters are stripping the country bare of the resources the people need in order to survive, they are stripping the country bare of the heroes who fight for a better future. Vichea, Wutty and so many others cannot be replaced, but their work can be carried on.

Labels: news, press

The Cambodian government reacts to Who Killed Chea Vichea?'s Peabody Award. From The Cambodia Daily:

Phay Siphan, spokesman at the [Cambodian government] Council of Ministers, who saw the documentary last year, said the Peabody Awards were likely a “politically motivated” institution” ... “It’s a campaign against the government....It’s more like propaganda,” said Mr. Siphan, adding that anyone can submit a complaint to the Ministry of Interior about the killing of Chea Vichea if they want to.

Chea Vichea Documentary Receives Prestigious Award (April 6, 2012)

In the Phnom Penh Post, the director of the Peabody Board, Horace Newcomb, and the director of Who Killed Chea Vichea?, Bradley Cox, respond to Siphan's accusation:

“This is simply not the case,” said Newcomb. “A review of all the award recipients over the years shows a concern for social issues, but also for entertainment, education, public service and so on. Such a review would show no political motivation other than our interest in excellent media production.”

“The Cambodian government has been trying to block our movie from the beginning, so it’s no surprise that they would disparage it again now, but their comments, as usual, are completely without merit,” Cox said.  

Peabody Puts Banned Film Back in Spotlight (April 12, 2012)

Speaking to Voice of America, Newcomb added “The Peabody Award is not politically motivated ... It looks for excellence in media production, excellence of many different sorts, excellence on its own terms, and that’s what we found in this documentary.” (VoA, April 18, 2012)

Labels: news, press

Loud Mouth Films is very proud to announce that Who Killed Chea Vichea? has received a George Foster Peabody Award. The Peabody is the most prestigious electronic media award in the world, recognizing "excellence, distinguished achievement, and meritorious public service." There are no categories and no fixed number of awards.

This year, 38 winners were chosen by the Peabody board as "the best in electronic media for the year 2011." Other winners this year include CNN, the BBC, Al Jazeera and Stephen Colbert.


From the Peabody site:

This investigative documentary, produced on a shoestring budget, covers the 2004 assassination of a Cambodian trade union leader and exposes corruption in one of the world’s top exporters of low-cost clothing.

And from their press release:

Who Killed Chea Vichea? "didn’t let a limited budget or official resistance derail its investigation of the murder of a top labor leader in Cambodia, a major producer of low-cost clothing."

We are frankly overwhelmed by this recognition of the years of hard work that we put into this, and by the recognition of the invaluable help from so many others and the risks taken by by so many people in Cambodia, where the film is still officially banned.

More:

• Ticket information for the May 21 award ceremony
• Announcements from ITVS (our co-producer) and MercuryMedia (our foreign broadcast distributor)
• Reaction from KBDI in Denver Post
• WHYY news story and follow-up
• Cambodia Daily article including Cambodian government reaction
• Phnom Penh Post article including response from Peabody director
• Voice of America coverage (also in Khmer, here)
• Radio Free Asia coverage (in Khmer)

Labels: news, reviews

Today marks the the passage of eight years since the murder of Chea Vichea, as well as eight years of failure by the Cambodian government to investigate the crime. Two men featured in the film Who Killed Chea Vichea? served nearly five of those years in prison, and are now on provisional release, in theory waiting for a re-trial that could clear the way for an investigation.

This year the Free Trade Union (now led by Vichea's brother, Mony) decided to cancel their annual march to the site of the assassination, saying it would conflict with laws related to the ongoing Senate election. Instead, according to the Phnom Penh Post, about 100 people attended a memorial ceremony at nearby Langka temple.

Opposition member of parliament Mu Sochua held out copies of Who Killed Chea Vichea? as evidence to justify an investigation into the case and said that she "handed a copy to an agent of the Ministry of Interior who was in the crowd asking him to take it to his bosses."

However, according to the Post, an Interior Ministry spokesman said the ministry cannot re-open the investigation into the murder since the two men are still officially guilty.

“The suspects in this case have been temporarily released, so they cannot be officially acquitted at this time,” spokeman Khieu Sopheak was quoted as saying. “If the court decides to acquit because these suspects are not the right people, we will re-open an investigation.”

Khieu Sopheak also condemned Mu Sochua’s distribution of Who Killed Chea Vichea? and called people who accused high-ranking officials of any wrongdoing “cowards.”

“If you are brave, tell us who the high-ranking officials are,” he said. “You have defamed these officials, you must say who they are if you have the documents to prove it.”

The spokesman did not explain, at least in the article, why a person would have to be brave to make such an accusation.

Labels: news, press

Cambodia's prime minister, Hun Sen, has signed off on a request from the Free Trade Workers to permit the placement of a statue in Phnom Penh to honor Chea Vichea.

Chea Vichea’s brother, Chea Mony, who has now assumed his elder sibling’s mantle as president of Cambodia’s Free Trade Union, said the FTU sent an annual letter on the anniversary of Chea Vichea’s assassination to the King requesting a statue be built, but their plea had been ignored every time. ... Hun Sen’s approval of the monument came with the caveat that the FTU would be responsible for funding and construction and that they must first have discussions with Phnom Penh Governor Kep Chuktema. (more in Phnom Penh Post, Jan 4, 2012)

It seems previous requests had not been directed to the appropriate recipient. The governor of Phnom Penh was cited in the Post saying that had Chea Mony petitioned Hun Sen directly, the request "would have been granted a long time ago."

The city is responsible for helping to pay for the statue, says Chea Mony, based on the note that Hun Sen wrote on the FTU's request. As translated by the Post, the note reads “Agree as requested. Please Excellency Kep Chuktema help prepare construction by discussing with Mr Chea Mony.” (more in Phnom Penh Post, Jan 5, 2012)

A few days later, Vichea's widow Chea Kimny wrote this appeal to the Cambodian government:

I am very happy that the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) succeeded in its demand to the royal government to provide a location for the building of a statue for Chea Vichea, my husband. 

However, I and my two children, as well as the public – in particular all the workers – believe that Chea’s Vichea’s soul has not found peace yet, and he cannot leave this world yet because justice was not provided to him since the government could not find the killers.

Therefore, I and my two children are asking the government to find justice for our beloved husband and father.

Done in Finland, 09 January 2012

Labels: news

Ron Abney, a kindly fighter for freedom, passed away as this new year began.

Ron spent many years side by side with the Cambodian democracy movement as an adviser and ally. He was wounded in the 1997 grenade attack against peaceful demonstrators in Phnom Penh, and never stopped demanding justice for those who died there. He founded Voices for Global Change and became a pillar of the Takeo Orphanage in Cambodia. And in the last three years, he served on the advisory board for Who Killed Chea Vichea?.

Ron was a man who would chip away at the wall of injustice even if it were a thousand miles high. If all of us did the same, it would fall in an instant.

Thank you, Ron.

More:
Memorial on Ron's Facebook page
Obituary in the Atlanta Journal Constitution
Article from Voice of America
Statement from International Republican Institute

Labels: news

The Phnom Penh Post reports today that the Khmer-language version of Who Killed Chea Vichea? has received more than 9,000 views on YouTube and Vimeo since it was posted five days ago (see vicheamovie.com).

Over the past year and a half, Cambodian officials have offered a variety of justifications for banning the film's import and screening in Cambodia.

Labels: news, press

Abby Seiff of The Cambodia Daily reports on the release of the Khmer-language version of Who Killed Chea Vichea?, quoting director Bradley Cox saying that he was hopeful the online release would provide an opportunity for wide distribution.

"[T]he producers and I have always felt that any Cambodian who wants to see the movie should be able to see it, regardless of what the authorities say ... the movie now starts off with excerpts from the Cambodian Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that clearly state their right to see it."

The movie is fully dubbed in Khmer. It can be seen at vicheamovie.com as well as on the video services Vimeo and YouTube.

See also Phnom Penh Post article and Voice of America posting

Labels: news, press

Who Killed Chea Vichea? wins the 2011 Maverick Movie Award for Best Chronicle (short category).

Maverick's goal is to "is to help talented moviemakers achieve the recognition they deserve by awarding movies with unique style, exceptional craft, and the power to communicate."

We'll take it!

Labels: news

More than two and half years after Cambodia's Supreme Court ordered the provisional release of the two men convicted in the killing of Chea Vichea and instructed the Appeals Court to re-try them, the wheels of Cambodian justice started to turn, haltingly, this week.

The hearing was announced for Wednesday, The Cambodia Daily reported:

"This is yet another test case for the independence of the Cambodian judiciary," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch. "If there is a shred of justice left in the country, they should be released unconditionally and compensation paid for their wrongful imprisonment."

Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun had served almost five years in prison when they were released on bail on January 1, 2009. The story of the police plot and judicial collusion that resulted in their conviction and imprisonment is told in the documentary Who Killed Chea Vichea?.

However the Phnom Penh Post reported today that on Wednesday the hearing was adjourned to an unspecified date so that Vichea's brother, Chea Mony, (curiously referred to as the plaintiff) could find a lawyer.

If the re-appeal ever does proceed, the court will be faced with a difficult choice: either re-convict two men who are obviously innocent, or openly admit that the government has never focused on finding the men who actually carried out the murder of Chea Vichea ... and those who ordered it.

Or will the courts find a third solution? That would require considerable creativity.

Labels: news

DVDs of Who Killed Chea Vichea? are now available — order yours here!

(To all who pre-ordered a DVD, thank you so much! We couldn't have done it without your help. You'll receive your copy soon, as fast as we can get them from the distributor and send them out!)

Labels: news

Who Killed Chea Vichea? will start its public television run in the United States on May 1 with broadcasts in Colorado and Texas.

That's International Labor Day, and it's also the anniversary of the first attempt by the trade unions to screen the film in Cambodia. Another attempt is scheduled for this May 1 (info).

So far the film will reach 56% of the US public television audience -- more than 65 million people! -- and more broadcasts are being added day by day.

Labels: broadcast, news

Can you stop it? I am a businessman and I need to run my business for a long time.

Labels: news, press

On November 17, police broke up the second attempt to screen Who Killed Chea Vichea? in Phnom Penh.

The attempted screening was organized by the Cambodian Confederation of Unions to take place in the Phnom Penh's new "Freedom Park." In order to hold a demonstration there, organizers must receive permission first. Attendance is limited to 200 people.

"Freedom Park is now the designated location where all demonstrations must be held," director Bradley Cox told London's Independent. "The Cambodian government would like the international community to believe this shows their growing commitment to freedom of expression."

The CCU, led by Rong Chhun, decided to go ahead with the screening even though permission was denied. Before the attempt, the Ministry of Interior's spokesperson, Khieu Sopheak, was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying, "It is still a forbidden film. There is no public spot for him to screen it. If he wants to screen it, he can go and try. He has tried that already."


“The banning of this film shows that the freedom of expression in Cambodia is less than zero,” said Chea Mony, Vichea's brother and successor as president of the Free Trade Union of Workers, quoted by VOA.

An initial attempt to show the film on May 1 near the location where Vichea was murdered was also prevented by police, who tore down screens erected by unionists for a screening after their Labor Day march.

Who Killed Chea Vichea? has screened at festivals all over the world, as well as at the prestigious National Press Club in Washington DC and the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. However the authorities in Cambodia appear to be determined that the public in that country never be permitted to see it.

Voice of America: Chea Vichea documentary banned at Freedom Park
Phnom Penh Post: Police break up film screening
The Independent (London): Cambodia represses truth about union leader's murder

Labels: news, press, screenings

We're happy to announce that after three nearly full screenings at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival this past weekend, Who Killed Chea Vichea? won BEST FILM - POLITICAL.

Labels: festivals, news

The Phnom Penh Post takes on a question we've been wondering about: On what basis did the Cambodian authorities stop the unions' May Day screening of Who Killed Chea Vichea? 

Reasons cited in the article include:

Phnom Penh officials ... demanded that organisers obtain approval from “relevant ministries” that was never granted. 

An Interior Ministry spokesman said the foreign-produced film had been “illegally imported.” 

The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts stated that it must approve all films screened in Cambodia. 

An undersecretary of state for Culture, Kong Kantara, added:

“If it is for public screening. It must have permission from the ministry.” He said that any foreign film must be imported by a Cambodian company holding the rights to bring in films from abroad.

And a previous article reported that an official said the government has the right to prevent screenings "wherever they are held" and confiscate the contraband information:

Tith Sothea, spokesman for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit at the Council of Ministers, said that the government had the right to block screenings of the film wherever they are held if organisers have not sought government permission. “Any media that is produced or imported illegally, the authorities have the right to confiscate it every time." 

Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, points out that other organizations regularly screen films in public without asking the Ministry of Culture for permission.
This could include the frequent screenings of foreign movies at the Foreign Correspondents Club and the Centre Culturel Français -- along with the countless thousands of bootleg DVDs that are openly on sale in Phnom Penh's public markets.

The answer to the question posed in the headline seems to be "anybody and everybody in the government, according to rules that they make up as they go along."

read the article

Labels: news, press

Justice delayed is justice denied. It's normally intended as a cautionary maxim. In Cambodia, it's more like tactical advice.

The unions intended their May Day screening of Who Killed Chea Vichea? to pressure the government to investigate the murder, which took place in 2004, and find justice. But the screening was stopped by the police.

Now we find this, from Voice of America:

Government officials have said they will not investigate the murder further until two suspects, Born Samnang and Sok Samoeun, are officially cleared by the courts.

In Cambodia, it's the duty of the court to carry out the investigation. But the court has only investigated Samnang and Sam Oeun, and none too well at that.

The result: By focusing on them, the court has effectively chosen to avoid the facts surrounding the crime itself. The evidence. The witnesses. The motives. For over six years it's been delay, and deny.

Samnang and Sam Oeun were provisionally released over a year ago by order of the Supreme Court, which told the Appeals  Court to reinvestigate the case. That's what they're doing now, they say. Still, it remains an investigation into who didn't kill Chea Vichea rather than who did.

Until the Appeals Court retries them,  Samnang and Sam Oeun can't possibly be cleared--and until they are cleared, there won't be an investigation of who killed Chea Vichea. Other than ours.

Labels: news