Not a bad year for Cambodia? Depends by which criteria you’re judging it. Recent events have revealed a slide backward after years of improvement in the area of human rights and justice.

The details of th border treaty the King signed are being kept secret. The opposition and interest groups were never given an opportunity to assess the treaty, because it was never on the table. People are understandably worried about what the treaty contains.

The likelihood that any protests over the treaty will be tolerated by the government is diminishing rapidly. As anyone interested in the politics of Cambodia knows, Sam Rainsy is not the sole target of the government’s recent crackdown on free speech.

Kem Sokha, director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, was arrested on new year’s eve, joining Yeng Virak, of the Cambodia Center for Education of Law, and Pa Nguon Teang (the acting head of Mr. Kem Sokha's human-rights watchdog group) in jail. Kem has been released, but is still facing charges. Their crime? Displaying a banner critical of the government on International Human Rights Day in Phnom Penh.

At least five other NGO leaders and human rights activists are in self-imposed exile because they fear prosecution for statements and actions that in other countries would be considered valuable contributions to public debate.

Defamation law is being used to suffocate dissent in Cambodia, and those working in the field here are holding their breath, wondering who is next. Self-censorship is more and more widespread. It beggars belief that anyone with even a passing interest in Cambodian politics and society would fail to mention the events of recent weeks in a piece about the current political situation here.

Let me clarify, I mixed up the dates:

Pa Nguon Teang was arrested on the 4th of January. KEm Sokha and Yeng Virak were detained on the 31st of December.