Global Witness, the independent monitor within Cambodia's Forest Crime Monitoring Unit, said last week it received a January 22 letter from the government announcing that it would be terminated as monitor in three months.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith, reacting to criticism from the United States Friday over its decision to throw out the monitor, told AFP that the group's three-year term had been due to expire on April 22 anyway.

"Even without the letter, their mandate expired in April. We haven't renewed their contract because they did not fulfill their promises to the government," he said.

"Before releasing any report to the press they were supposed to discuss with Cambodian officials its accuracy, but they did not do that," he said, referring to a 2000-1 report over illegal logging which the government disputed.

Kanharith reiterated the government's rejection of the group's charge that Cambodian police armed with electric shock batons used excessive force to break up a December protest in the capital by 150 representatives of forest-dependent communities.

One villager died from a heart attack, the group said.

"That story turned out to be untrue, but they did not apologise, although they made press releases to everybody about it," Kanharith said.

"Because of their broken promises, our government needs to have a new partner."

He said the government awaited the appointment of a new monitor by donor countries.

"It is not our duty to recruit a new forestry monitor. We leave the international community and donor countries to choose a new forestry monitor group to work with us with transparency, balance and independence," he said.

The United States on Friday deplored Cambodia's decision to eject the group.

"We consider independent monitoring of forests a significant factor in future donor decisions and important for multilateral development bank support," State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker said in a statement.

"The Cambodian Government should reverse its position and move promptly to uphold its commitments to work with an independent, international forest monitor."

Kanharith pledged reform would go on.

"We will not stop forestry reform. (Forests are) the life and the dignity of our nation and needs to be protected by us," he said.

Cambodia's impoverished economy is heavily dependent on foreign aid. Donors have specifically complained about a lack of forestry reform.

SPACE.WIRE