Statement of Concern and Appeal for International Cooperation
To Save Ancient Kashgar
THROUGH COORDINATED ACTION AND MEASURED DIALOG, THE UNDERSIGNED BELIEVE
THAT WE CAN SAVE ONE THE JEWELS OF THE SILK ROAD BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
Mr. Francesco Bandarin
Director
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
7, place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris, France
Dear Mr. Bandarin:
We write to convey our profound concern for the ancient city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Northwest China and urge you to exert your influence to have the city included in the Chinese portion of the Silk Road being considered for the World Heritage List.
Reportedly, 85% of the ancient portion of the city is under demolition. The stated reason is that the old buildings are susceptible to earthquakes and pose a danger to residents. Though we support taking measures to ensure the safety of citizens, we are concerned that the demolition of Old Kashgar will deal a serious blow to the cultural heritage and archaeological patrimony of the Uyghur people, China, and all mankind.
Since Old Kashgar was a key transit point on the Northern Steppe Route of the Silk Road, it is startling to discover that this fabled oasis city has not been included in the World Heritage List proposal. Besides having been an important Silk Road trading post, Old Kashgar is an historic center of Islamic and Uyghur culture, being the home of China’s largest mosque as well as the holiest Muslim site in Xinjiang, the tomb of Abakh Khoja. According to historian George Mitchell, author of the 2008 book Kashgar: Oasis City on China’s Old Silk Road, Old Kashgar is “the best preserved example of a traditional Islamic city to be found anywhere in Central Asia.”
Given the city’s vast tangible and intangible cultural heritage, we believe that considering the Silk Road for the World Heritage List without including Old Kashgar would be an incomplete designation. According to the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, “To be deemed of outstanding universal value, a property must also meet the conditions of integrity and/or authenticity and must have adequate protection and management system to ensure its safeguarding.” We believe Old Kashgar meets the criteria for cultural heritage under the Assessment of Outstanding Universal Value.
China’s present treatment of Kashgar is all the more perplexing when one considers that as recently as 2007, the country appeared to be committed to preserving the old city in a way that respected its heritage and complied with international expectations. In that year, according to published reports, the Xinjiang Construction Department organized a group of experts to begin assessing an urban preservation plan for Kashgar. Among the topics discussed were how to preserve the old town, how to further study the relationship between Kashgar’s modern condition and its rich cultural past, and how to protect Kashgar’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
The fact that this seminar was held with official sanction proves that China is capable of protecting historical sites within its borders if it so chooses. In fact, Chinese law supports our view. Articles 16-18 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China for the Protection of Cultural Relics, as amended and adopted in 2002, stipulate that protective measures for immovable cultural relics must be taken before beginning any and all construction activities, including drilling, digging, or blasting. These articles also require that devices for the preservation of cultural relics must be included in the design plan of any new construction project undertaken.
So China has a demonstrable commitment to protecting her past. What the country needs now is international support. Thus we ask the World Heritage Convention to confer with its colleagues in China to clarify the plans for Kashgar's fate, and also to reconsider including this important historical site as part of the Chinese portion of the Silk Road nominated for World Heritage Site status.
In addition, we respectfully urge the World Heritage Convention to try to persuade the Chinese authorities to heed the Xinjiang Construction Department’s suggestions to either preserve Kashgar or conduct salvage archaeology to mitigate the destruction. For example: has a detailed photographic survey or documentation of Old Kashgar been conducted so that it would be possible to reconstruct the ancient quarter?
Finally, we urge the Chinese government to consider conducting a serious evaluation of the cultural and historical importance of what is left of Old Kashgar, utilizing professional archaeologists in the area and volunteer experts who, we are convinced, will consult if given the opportunity. Not doing so would violate the spirit and letter of the World Heritage Convention.
In so many other contexts, the Chinese government has shown it knows the country’s past belongs to all the Chinese people and indeed all the people of the world. It is important that the material remains of China’s long and illustrious past be protected, conserved, and studied so that the world might know of her great contributions to human society. Destroying the ancient portions of Kashgar without first undertaking a comprehensive photographic survey and salvage archaeology will damage China’s reputation for scholarship and result in the loss of an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of China’s role in the history of Central Asia. It is for these reasons what we voice our very grave concerns about the destruction of Old Kashgar.
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The Phnom Penh Post reported June 18th that "Thailand will ask UNESCO to review its decision to list Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site when the world body meets in Spain next week, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Wednesday, according to Thai state media.
Abhisit has ordered the Thai World Heritage Committee representative Suwit Khunkitti to object to the 2008 listing of the Angkorian temple when the committee meets for its 33rd session in Seville, Spain, from Monday.
According to the report from the Thai News Agency, Thailand will protest on the grounds that the listing has brought about conflict and losses between the two countries - something that runs counter to UNESCO's aim in having international heritage sites.
"I personally want to see peace in the area and peoples of both countries receive benefit from the historical heritage site," Abhisit said.
Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said that with the11th-century temple already inscribed on UNESCO's list, the international community was unlikely to fall for Thailand's "uncivilised" ruse.
He added that he was unsurprised by Abhisit's announcement, saying the Thais had tried various means - including a troop buildup and public demonstrations - to block the listing of the temple prior to its official inscription as a World Heritage site in July 2008.
"They have been making challenges since the first-round inscription," Phay Siphan said.
"Since that time, the Thais have challenged [the listing] in the same way, using their own unilateral maps."
Original story; http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009061826553/National-news/Thailand-to-lodge-PV-heritage-complaint.html
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Christopher Shay of the Phnom Penh Post reported on June 15th that Five foreign donors handed over five Khmer artefacts at a ceremony Friday to celebrate a new electrical and lighting system at the National Museum.
"Cambodia has lost a lot in the last 20 to 30 years. Anything that is given back to them of any value is of great importance," Douglas Latchford, a collector of Khmer antiquities, told the Post shortly before giving his speech in Khmer.
Son Soubert, a former lecturer at the faculty of archaeology at Royal University of Fine Arts, pointed to a pendant donated by Latchford as a particularly important antiquity.
An inscription on the pendant dates the piece from 1218 as part the royal collection of a princess under the reign of Jayavarman VII at the height of the Angkorian empire.
The piece, or ones very similar to it, can be seen in Angkorian carvings, but the actual amulet is a unique addition to the National Museum.
"It's exactly what we've seen in the carvings," Son Soubert said. "It's a reality."
In a speech at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An thanked the donors for their "kind and generous contribution", saying that now "the National Museum will be able to continue to improve its storytelling".
Decades of looting and antiquities smuggling have led to many stolen pre-Angkorian and Angkorian-era artefacts ending up on the international market.
One torso of a female divinity, donated by New York antiques dealer Doris Wiener, is on a UNESCO-sponsored list of 100 objects stolen from Angkor.
Sok An also hailed the new electric wiring and lighting as an important step to protect the 89-year-old museum and create a "more fruitful experience" for the visitor.
"The renewal of the electrical system will significantly enhance ... the beauty of the artefacts," he told the audience.
The old lighting, according to Him Chhem, minister of culture and fine arts, was a serious fire hazard.
"Old wiring lay loose in the roof space on top of the timber ceiling. It was largely unprotected by conduit," Him Chhem said.
The new electrical lighting system cost US$192,500 and the money came from 22 foreign donors, many of whom were in attendance at the ceremony.
Original story: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009061526476/National-news/Foreign-dealers-collectors-return-Angkorian-antiquities.html
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Vong Sokheng of the Phnom Penh Post reports that the Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is to visit Cambodia on June 12, during which he will formally hand over seven Angkorian artifacts that were smuggled into Thailand nearly a decade ago, Thai press reports said Wednesday. The artefacts are among 43 pieces seized in 2000 when they were illegally brought across the border. Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said Wednesday he had seen press reports of the proposed visit but has not yet received any official confirmation.
Original story in the Phnom Penh Post;
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009052125959/National-news/In-Brief-Artefacts-to-be-returned.html
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May Titthara of the Phnom Penh Post reports:
THE Phnom Penh Municipal Court ruled Thursday that the French colonial-era Hotel Renakse should not be demolished, siding with the hotel's former manager, who has been ensnared in a legal tussle with government officials over the fate of the building for more than two months.
Kem Chantha, who managed the hotel for nearly two decades, was barred from its premises on January 6 by police and officials wielding a court order stating that the hotel had fallen into an unacceptable state of disrepair. She filed a case to save the hotel from demolition, and the Cambodian People's Party filed a case arguing that her lease on the building should be revoked because she had failed to adequately maintain it.
Ignoring court summonses, Kem Chantha decided not to show up for hearings in both cases last month. She said Thursday that she planned to ask the Court of Appeal to reinstate her as manager.
But Ke Sakhorn, deputy director of the Municipal Court, said it had not made any ruling regarding Kem Chantha's lease. He confirmed that the court had ruled to prevent the building's demolition.
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