Editorial by
School of Vice:
In the wake
of the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978-9, one elderly Khmer gentleman
was rumoured to have known the secret location of a vast buried ancient
treasure somewhere in and around one of these famed Angkor temples. The old man
did not give out any specific clues as to the exact details of the treasure or
the location itself, simply urging his younger compatriots to fight to regain
their country's independence from foreign control as the first and most crucial
step. Nearly a decade of armed resistance to Vietnamese military occupation
later in September 1989, the Vietnamese formally withdrew their troops, partly,
because Hanoi's main financial sponsor, the former Soviet Union was in acute
financial crisis following the breaking up of the Soviet empire.
After the
conclusion of the Cambodian armed conflict via the PPA and the UN sponsored
election in the early 1990s tourists began to pour into the country in
increasingly larger numbers, primarily drawn there by the novelty of visiting
an ancient country that had been sealed off from the rest of the world since
the early 1960s owing to the war that engulfed Indochina. Subsequently and
outwardly 'independent', the country's alleged treasure site has yet to be discovered,
but what had been telling and curious for many years was the widespread
knowledge that the nation's most famous attraction and largest source of
foreign revenue - Angkor Wat and other numerous ancient archaeological sites - had
been under the control and management of a Vietnamese conglomerate headed by a
man named Sok Kong [himself an ethnic Vietnamese and a close ally of Hun Sen].
After much
social media uproar as well as Opposition complaint lodged over the humiliation
of seeing the nation's most potent symbol and heritage being squeezed
financially by, and placed under the control of, a ‘foreigner’, the formal management
of the archaeological park had then been transferred into the care of a national
state authority [Apsara] recently which has substantially, since the start of
this year, raised the entrance fees to the park for foreign visitors.
Apparently,
the tourists and their visiting numbers show no sign of being phased by the
price hike. Yet with most government's public ministries typically being
shielded from scrutiny [and thus accountability] from opposition parties and
public bodies alike, Cambodia and Cambodians continue to be denied the fruits
of their ancestors' labour - and so is the old man's wish...
<<<>>>
By: Will Feuer - POSTED ON: July 10, 2017
Globe
‘The temple in the richness of the forest’ received the recognition from Unesco four years after the request was initially made, priming Kampong Thom province for a boom in tourism
Tourists visit Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province, Cambodia, 17 February 2017. Over two million tourists visited Angkor Wat in 2016. Photo: EPA/Mak Remissa
The Sambor Prei Kuk temple complex in Kompong Thom province was officially added to Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites on Saturday, a development that will likely be another boon for the country’s flourishing tourism industry.
The site, which contains 50 temples and spans roughly 2,000 hectares of forest, will become the third in Cambodia to receive the recognition. Unesco listed Preah Vihear temple in 2008 and the Angkor Wat temple complex in 1992.
Sambor Prei Kuk, which translates as ‘the temple in the richness of the forest’, is celebrated for its unique archeological traits inherited from the 7th century Chenla era.
A statement from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts said the decision brought “great national pride”. In a Facebook post, Prime Minister Hun Sen referred to the decision as a “historic event”, urging Cambodians to celebrate the news by banging pots in public spaces at 10 am today.
Yet while recognition as a Unesco World Heritage site may bring prestige, a tourism boom and immediate economic benefits, it may also have some unintended consequences, a point touched upon by Phoeurng Sackona, Cambodia’s minister of culture and fine arts, in an interview with Southeast Asia Globe last month.
Asked whether she was concerned that growing numbers of tourists to Angkor Wat might damage the country’s most iconic site, Sackona replied: “Not only Angkor – the concern is everywhere. When you know that tourism will increase, you know there may be some negative impact on the site.”
In the wake of Unesco’s latest announcement, however, the government has been eager to downplay such concerns.
“We, all the Kampong Thom people, are very proud and happy with this news,” said Kampong Thom provincial governor Sok Lou. “We are not concerned that tourists will have a bad impact on our temples because the Unesco will know how to take care of it.”
4 comments:
Dear School of Vice,
First, thank you very much School of Vice for your dedication to serve Khmer people and Cambodia.
You have sacrificed a big chunk of your life for Cambodia. I deeply respect your devotion to serve Khmer people.
I am saying this today because I don't see many Khmer make anymore comments in ALL the internet blogs.
How can we save Cambodia if we don't have perseverance? Cambodia needs help from every Khmer.
In the past, we kept attacking DR. Gunzet's comments. But I have to respect his hard work. I said something for his race and for his nation.
To save Cambodia, Khmer people need to match DR. Gunzet's hard work.
And, I might hear the word Ah Bun Thoeun is Yuon soon.
Bun Thoeun
Correction
In the past, we kept attacking DR. Gunzet's comments. But I have to respect his hard work. HE said something for his race and for his nation. (HE said something, not I said...)
Dear Bun Thoeun,
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words. I totally agree with your sentiment. You are probably not alone, the first or even the last person to face the charge of being a 'yuon'. Most of us have faced the same smear[s]!
Turning the enemy's main strengths or passions into their weapon of self-destruction has been a constant theme in Vietnamese thinking - undoubtedly something they have learned from the Chinese through their mutual hostilities in history. Spreading rumours, false reports, indoctrinating grassroots population - all aimed at agitating and unsettling the masses against ruling authorities - are all indispensable and integral methods in their primary task of waging psychological warfare on enemy territory. The physical military or armed intervention is only secondary step and final resort in this strategy. Thus, Cambodia's historical national humiliation and resulting nationalist fervour [vis a vis Vietnam in particular] had been directed against the Cambodian people and their professed leaderships in this way, most tragically during Pol Pot's DK rule.
Due partly to paranoia, partly to totalitarian nature of that regime, and of course, to agitations and sedition that formed part of the aforementioned psychological warfare already waged by the Vietminhs and or their trained Cambodian allies, the invisible and imagined enemies were seen to be everywhere within the ranks of the civil population as well as the armed forces. Most chilling among the charges that had often led to mass executions and killings was precisely this wholesale and ill-defined accusation levelled at somebody or groups that they were of Vietnamese [yuon] heads with Cambodian [Khmer] bodies!
The Khmer people are only as strong or weak as the extent of their collective consciousness or discriminating cognitive awareness and, by how well or poorly they grasp the true colour and character of those who labour so diligently to enslave them and deny their liberty as a nation.
Dear Bun Thoeun
Dr gunzet's hard work and diligent as good as his next line that resonates the spirit of reasonableness and culture fairness. To compare and label of dr gunzet's work any other than repulsive , indignant of khmer race and treats us like dirt is beyond me and the pale. Bun theuon , you as a khmer you should be more creative and proactive than that.
To admire a racist like dr gunzet is to give him credit.
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