Interior Ministry mulling investigations into NGOs’ “neutrality”
Human rights NGOs Licadho and Adhoc were among a group of organisations who were warned by the Ministry of Interior today that they are being scrutinised for allegedly violating their neutrality by supporting the opposition CNRP. News of the inquiry was first disclosed by government-aligned media outlet Fresh News, which reported that a “senior security official” informed the outlet that the government was investigating multiple NGOs. “We are already investigating a group of civil society organisations … we will carry out the law seriously, in accordance with the NGO law and the electoral law,” the anonymous source is quoted in the article. Ministry of Interior (MOI) spokesman Khieu Sopheak stopped short of labelling the probe an “investigation”, but confirmed that several NGOs were currently being monitored while the ministry considers opening formal investigations, singling out Licadho, Adhoc and the election watchdog Comfrel.
