Cambodia’s autocratic leader is trying to shut down his country’s most celebrated journalistic training ground. For almost 25 years, the Cambodia Daily has been shining a light on Cambodia’s social, political, and economic development. Founded in 1993, the independent national paper has trained generations of Khmer and foreign journalists — including myself. And it has tirelessly informed a nation, “without fear or favor,” on thorny topics like illegal logging, corruption, and land evictions. But now Cambodia’s authoritarian prime minister, Hun Sen, wants to silence it....
READ HERE: The 'Cambodia Daily' Is Dying in Darkness
(Cambodian people cover their heads with local newspapers as they wait to pray for the late former King Norodom Sihanouk at the cremation site near the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh on February 2, 2013. A sea of mourners filled the streets of the Cambodian capital on February 1, for a lavish funeral for revered former king Norodom Sihanouk, who towered over six tumultuous decades in his nation's history. Image Credit: should read TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/Getty Images)