PHNOM PENH: The Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, General Hun Manet, has asked Cambodia Daily Khmer to present evidence for their accusation that he is the mastermind behind a massive illegal logging operation in Cambodia. The General said that this US-based newspaper published fake news and provided a misleading source.

Speaking at a Sunday, 19 March 2023, ceremony at Sovankiri Pagoda, also known as Cheas Pagoda, in Thmor Pich commune, Tbong Khmum district of Tbong Khmum province, General Hun Manet said that the accusations made against him by Cambodia Daily Khmer go beyond what he can accept, especially as the newspaper misrepresented information from an investigative report on the illegal timber trade in Cambodia.

"In the [original] article that was published by Mongabay, nowhere does it say that Hun Manet is the mastermind behind the illegal timber trade network!” said General Hun Manet. “There is no accusation like this at all.”

The General asked the Cambodia Daily to show clear evidence of where the original Mongabay article states that he is behind an illegal logging operation in the country.

The Cambodia Daily Khmer published an article on 16 March with the headline "International Press Reveals Hun Manet's Illegal Timber Trading Network". In the article, the news site wrote that a UK-based news web portal called Mongabay published an investigative report revealing the chain of command behind major illegal logging activities in Cambodia, which included Hun Manet and a three-star military general and senior official at the Ministry of Interior, Meuk Saphannareth, also known as Oknha Chey.

The original article, however, does not make this direct allegation against the RCAF Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Published on 8 March, Mongabay’s article, "Logged and loaded: Cambodian prison official suspected in massive legalized logging operation" only explicitly names senior Interior Ministry official, Meuk Saphannareth (Oknha Chey), as being directly involved in illegal logging operations in the country. The article also goes into the official’s background, identifying him as a member of the CPP Youth Working Group in the United States, further noting that Hun Manet is the CPP Youth Organization leader.

"First, [the article] states that this person is a member of an overseas group of the Cambodian People's Party Youth Organization, of which I am the head,” explained General Hun Manet. “Second, they used three photos that I had with this person, all three of which were taken at public events, not private meetings at my home, and the Mongabay news site detailed this, nowhere did they accuse me of being an illegal logger."

The Cambodia Daily Khmer has not yet responded to any queries or made an official statement.

The President of the Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ), Puy Kea, has said that he believes this mistake could have been made due to a translation error, however, the Cambodia Daily should still be held responsible for carefully reviewing the details of their articles.

"What [Cambodia Daily] wrote is different from what was originally written in English," he said.

Recently, foreign-based media outlets have been carrying out what has been perceived as a “series of attacks” against Hun Manet, particularly after the General was officially declared the CPP’s future prime ministerial candidate. General Hun Manet has stated in response that all attacks made against him will only make him stronger.