PHNOM PENH: Mongabay reporter, Gerald Flynn, has affirmed that he is not responsible for a news report published by the Cambodia Daily Khmer, which alleges that Hun Manet is the ‘mastermind’ behind an illegal logging operation in Cambodia. Readers are asked to view Flynn’s original investigative report published on Mongabay.

Responding to a question from EAC News on Thursday, 23 March, regarding the Cambodia Daily Khmer’s misrepresentation of his original report for Mongabay, Flynn stated, "I’m sorry, you’d have to ask the Cambodia Daily what they’ve done, I’m not in charge of what they write. I’ve written my story for Mongabay, and I suggest anyone who’s confused about the situation should read that.”

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 Daily alleged 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 implicated the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), Hun Manet, along with a three-star military general and senior official of the Ministry of Interior, Meuk Saphannareth (also known as Oknha Chey).

Hun Manet has rejected the accusations made against him by the Cambodia Daily Khmer and stated that the news site misrepresented information from the original report. He has asked the US-based Cambodia Daily to provide clear evidence of where the original Mongabay report explicitly states that he is behind an illegal logging operation in the country.

On Wednesday, 22 March, the Cambodia Daily Khmer published another article detailing the structure of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), listing Hun Manet as the leader of the CPP Youth Organization, and Meuk Saphannareth as a member of the CPP Youth Working Group in the United States; this information is put forth as ‘evidence’ for their accusation.

The original Mongabay report, however, does not make any direct allegation against the RCAF Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Published on 8 March, Mongabay’s report, "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 report goes into Saphannareth’s background, identifying him as a member of the CPP Youth Working Group in the United States, and further noting Hun Manet as the CPP Youth Organization leader, however, there is no point in which Hun Manet is explicitly accused of being the ‘mastermind’ behind illegal logging operations in Cambodia.

Speaking at a Sunday, 19 March, ceremony at Sovankiri Pagoda (also known as Cheas Pagoda) in Tbong Khmum province, Hun Manet said that the accusations made against him by the Cambodia Daily Khmer go beyond what he can accept, as he believes the news site misrepresented information from Mongabay’s investigative report with malicious intent.

"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! There is no accusation like this at all,” he said.