The Royal Government of Cambodia has decided to declare 22 members of the Oversight Board to Meta Platforms Inc. as PERSONA NON GRATA and they are barred from entering or remaining in the Kingdom.
The declaration was made in a statement released on July 4 by the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
According to the source, the 22 members include Kenji Yoshino, Julie Owono, Pamela San Martin, Ronaldo Lemos, Michael McConnell, Nighat Dad, Katherine Chen, Andras Sajo, Emi Palmor, John Samples, Khaled Mansour, Suzanne Nossel, Tawakkol Karman, Catalina Botero-Marino, Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei, Nicolas Suzor, Paolo Carozza, Evelyn Aswad, Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Alan Rusbridger, and Endy Bayuni.
The above-mentioned persons are required to leave the Cambodian territory within 48 hours from the issuing time of this statement, precisely on July 4, 2023 at 16:00, it underlined.
The move was taken in the spirit of unwavering adherence to upholding the principle of sovereignty and to prevent the interference into the internal affairs of Cambodia, it explained.
“The recommendation of the Oversight Board to Meta Platforms Inc. to temporary suspend the official Facebook page belonging to Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia is political in nature. It intends to obstruct the freedom of the press for the citizens of Cambodia and the right to receive credible news from a leader whom they support and admire,” the statement said.
Last week, Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen confirmed that Facebook will not be shut down in Cambodia even though he had his Facebook account deleted and its representative was expelled from the Kingdom due to the irregularities in its services for users in Cambodia, such as creation of fraudulent accounts, risk for private data, use and collection of private data, dissemination of fake news, lack of accountability and transparency, and interference in the country’s political affairs.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse