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The Ministry of Culture Says It Is Not Able to Bring Back Khmer Artifacts Put Up for Sale in the United State of America – Tuesday 10.3.2009

Norbert Klein Leave a comment

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 603

Apologies for the delays in publishing – due to my international travel. I try to catch up as soon as possible.

Norbert Klein

“Phnom Penh: A high-ranking official of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts stated that the Cambodian government is not able to bring back artifacts which are not listed here and lost, but are reported now in the United State of America and in some other countries.

“A secretary of state of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Mr. Chuch Phoeun, told Deum Ampil on Monday evening 9 March 2009, ‘The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is not able to collect Khmer artifacts that are lost and not yet listed as Cambodian cultural heritage, even though those artifacts are claimed to be property of Cambodia.’

“The statement was made after the Internet website TwinCities.com reported that many types of artifacts are offered for sale at the eBay company, based in the United States of America, which were brought from Cambodia, China, Egypt, Italy, and many other countries. Mr. Chuch Phoeun added, ‘Though we have national and international laws, we lack money for the listing of such artifacts as objects of cultural heritage of Cambodia, in order to provide proper identification of those artifacts.’

“The Secretary of State went on to say, ‘We can only list artifacts at the National Museum as objects of cultural heritage, but artifacts at other museums in the provinces are not yet well listed. We lack money.’

“According to the Secretary of State, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts receives Riel 500 million [approx. US$124,000] per year from the Ministry of Economy and Finance for conserving and maintaining temples around Cambodia. He continued to say that Cambodia needs hundreds of millions of dollars for the conservation and maintenance and the development of thousands of cultural sites countrywide, and to comply with this task, it is necessary to receive and to requests more aid from partner countries, while Cambodia cannot yet provide these resources.

“However, the above report did not state the number of artifacts put up for sale at the eBay Internet auctions company. The report said that the government of China, an Asian country with an old civilization, is trying to demand those artifacts back to its country in whatever condition.

“Regarding what was mentioned by the Secretary of State, Khmer citizens regret that the government does not make as much efforts as possible to return those artifacts to the country as other countries do, to return the rich and invaluable cultural property of the nation. In late 2008, Thailand announced to return to Cambodia artifacts illegally trafficked to Thailand.

“It should be noted that until now, some partner countries assist so that some temples and artifacts are repaired and preserved, like temples of Angkor Wat, Banteay Srey, and Ta Prum.” Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #135, 10.3.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Tuesday, 10 March 2009

Cheat Khmer, Vol.1, #3410, 10.3.2009

  • Mr. Hun Sen Strongly Hopes that the US and European Economies Will Grow Again [so that Cambodian workers will not be unemployed because of factory closures, exporting products to markets in the United State of America and in Europe]
  • [Sam Rainsy Party] Parliamentarian Mu Sochua Was Prevented by Body Guards to Attend the Inter Parliamentary Union Meeting [claiming that she did not have identification letter for the meeting – held in Phnom Penh from 9 to 11 March 2009: Regional Seminar on the Role of Parliaments in Promoting Peaceful and Sustainable Societies in South-East Asia]

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #135, 10.3.2009

  • The Ministry of Culture Says It Is Not Able to Bring Back Khmer Artifacts Put Up for Sale in the United State of America
  • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dismisses Information about a [Sri Lanka] Tamil Insurgents’ Base in Cambodia
  • Hungary Eliminates 50% of Cambodia’s Debt and Provides 50% Grant Finance
  • Electricité du Cambodge Encourages a Plan to Connect Electricity from Vietnam as Soon as Possible to Overcome the Need for Electrical Cuts-off in the City
  • [Thai ousted prime minister] Thaksin: “I am like a dog in the country that could be caught any time”

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #1893, 10.3.2009

  • Siamese [Thai] and Khmer Troops Confront Each Other Again at the Cham Sragam Border Crossing Point [after Khmer troops removed a Thai troops post at the border, claiming that it was in Khmer territory]
  • Man Hit His Wife with a Long Handle Knife Twice to Behead Her because of Jealousy [police are seeking him – Siem Reap]
  • 12,000 US Troops Will Be Withdrawn from Iraq in September 2009

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6595, 6.3.2009

  • The President of the Senate Guarantees that the Khmer Rouge Tribunal Will Seek Justices for Victims; Samdech Thama Pothisal Chea Sim: Problems Left from the Past Must Be Solved

Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.14, #3707, 10.3.2008

  • [Minister of Interior from the Cambodian People’s Party] Encourages the Cambodian People’s Party to Cooperate to Share Power with Three Other Political Parties [after the district and provincial/city elections on 17 May 2009]
  • The Government Should Publishes the Results of Setting Land Border Markers at the Khmer-Yuon [Vietnamese] Border

Neak Cheat Niyum, Vol.4, #51, 11.3.2008

  • The Phnom Penh Municipality Plans to Order Big and Small Workshops [in Phnom Penh] to Relocate to Suburbs

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4841, 10.3.2009

  • Four Suspects Are Arrested for Kidnapping Siem Reap Military Police Commander’s Daughter [the hostage is released and police are seeking two other kidnappers who escaped with US$80,000]

Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.

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