Police systematically torn the kites from the hands of supporters as the stunned public and media looked on

On Monday, November 27, 2006 at 9:30am, more than 100 members of the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC) gathered in the park in front of Wat Botum, nearby the National Assembly. The AFEC members were attempting to fly 100 kites as part of a campaign to demand freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia, and the abolition of disinformation as a criminal offence. The motto of the event was "Without wind a kite cannot fly. Without Freedom of Expression society cannot progress."

In an open letter to all members of parliament AFEC called upon the government to decriminalize disinformation and to finalize the draft "Law on Assembly" in a way that demonstrations that do not violate other fundamental rights of citizens can be organized and conducted without fear of repression or retaliation. The letter also invited law makers to join AFEC in flying the kites during a break in the National Assembly session. Only two opposition Sam Rainsy Party MPs joined the gathering in the park.

However when AFEC's members and supporters unveiled and displayed the 100 kites, police in riot gear, brandishing shields and batons, and some armed with tear gas and guns, immediately seized the kites from the participants. It was a brazen display of force as the police systematically torn the kites from the hands of supporters as the stunned public and media looked on. The police then piled the kites into a heap on the ground then loaded the kites onto two trucks and sat on them. The authorities later cited concerns for security and public order for stopping the kite flying event.

AFEC members addressed the crowd and said that the authorities' action showed the continuing respression of the right to freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia, in violation of the Constitution and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by Cambodia. They added that they had requested permission for the kite flying event from both the municipality and the Ministry of Interior, but did not receive responses from either.

Although defamation was decriminalized earlier this year, this has not guaranteed the protection of the essential right to freedom of expression. The charge of disinformation has now become the new method for silencing critics of the government. Cambodia has already seen a wave of journalists and critics from civil society charged with disinformation and some have been sent to pre-trial detention. AFEC calls for the decriminalization of Article 62 (disinformation) of UNTAC law and stresses that while freedom of expression should come with boundaries, it should not be dealt with as a criminal offense.

AFEC is a network of 28 Cambodian non-governmental organizations, independent labor unions and independent individuals who advocate for the realization of the human right to Freedom of Expression.