PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen has told foreigners not to get involved in the shutdown of the media outlet, Voice of Democracy (VOD), as he has decided not to allow VOD to ever reopen.

On Monday morning, 20 February 2023, while speaking at the graduation ceremony for 1,946 students of the University of Human Resources, the Prime Minister said, "Foreigners, I urge you not to get involved. This country, Cambodia, is not your country.”

"[VOD should] not hope to be revived by relying on foreign support, because if [that worked], then dissolved parties [that rely on foreign support] could have also been revived, not just a small [media outlet]," he further added.

The Prime Minister asserted that shutting down VOD does not undermine press freedom in the country, but rather strengthens the professionalism and ethics of the press.

He added that the decision to shut down VOD was made quickly due to two individuals whose Facebook comments motived him to cut down the amount of time he gave VOD to apologize, then shutdown the media outlet altogether.

However, the Prime Minister also decided to provide civil state jobs to any former VOD staff who wished to serve government ministries. Former VOD staff can apply for these jobs until the end of February 2023.

^{PHOTO: ហ៊ុន យុទ្ធគុណ}