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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Thet Sambath of the Phnom Penh Post reports;
AN INVESTIGATION by Heritage Police at Preah Vihear temple suggests that the damage sustained during Friday's fighting was more serious but less widespread, than that resulting from an outbreak of violence last October.
"We have found 66 stones at the temple that were damaged by the Thai soldiers' shooting," said Colonel Om Phirum, the chief of the Heritage Police, in an interview with the Post Monday. "They were damaged by the bullets of machine guns."
During fighting last October, debris from M79 grenades damaged the temple in 120 places, Om Phirum said, though he noted that the bullets from machine guns during the most recent clashes inflicted damage that was more severe, creating holes that were between 1 and 10 centimetres wide and 1 or 2 centimetres deep.
Om Phirum criticised Thai soldiers for shooting the temple, saying, "They do not respect world heritage, and they disdain the world."
The investigation was conducted on Sunday and Monday. Om Phirum said the Heritage Police submitted a report on damage to the temple to the Council of Ministers and a complaint to the UN cultural agency, which listed the temple as a World Heritage site last July. He said the Heritage Police sent a similar complaint to UNESCO following the outbreak of violence last October, which he said prompted the body to launch its own investigation into the damage.
Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said Deputy Prime Minister Sok An sent a letter Friday to UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura asking him to intervene. Calls and emails to UNESCO officials in Phnom Penh and Bangkok went unanswered Tuesday.
Original story: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009040825268/National-news/Preah-Vihear-damage-significant.html
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SEVEN Angkorian artefacts smuggled into Thailand almost a decade ago will be returned to Cambodia, a Ministry of Culture official said Sunday, adding that negotiations are under way with Bangkok for the repatriation of dozens of other pieces.The artefacts - seven severed stone heads - are expected to be handed over during Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's visit to Cambodia, which is to begin Saturday.
They were among 43 pieces seized in 2000 as they were being smuggled into Thailand, said Srey Thamrong, an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen.
"The Thai culture minister will return seven pieces ... to Cambodia, and we will welcome [the artefacts] with a traditional ceremony before taking them into the National Museum," said Chuch Phoeun, a secretary of state at the Culture Ministry.
He added that Thailand had asked for detailed evidence that the pieces belonged to Cambodia, and the talks were ongoing for the return of the remaining artefacts.
"We are in a difficult situation because we have more than 2,600 temples, and at the time of the civil war there was no registration," Chuch Phoeun said.
"We did not know at the time what we were losing or where they were stolen from." Chuch Phoeun added that the return of the artefacts would help to improve ties between the two countries.
By Vong Sokheng (Phnom Penh Post) April 13, 2009
Original Story:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009041325360/National-news/Stolen-artefacts-to-be-returned.html
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April 2009
Dave Perkes for the Phnom Penh Post
After 1,000 years of abandonment to the jungle and looters, the temple city of Koh Ker is now getting the attention of restorers. The Angkor Foundation, based in Budapest, has just commenced a three-year program involving a small team of Hungarian archaeologists and environmental experts. A small survey team is working on a mapping project and work had already started stabilising hazardous structures.
Outside the entrance gopura of the pyramid of Prasat Thom lies an unstable laterite building which was in danger of falling down. This has now been temporarily stabilised by wood and brick. The moated area of the central sanctuary was cleared of vegetation in 2007, leaving unattractive piles of brick rubble. The brick sanctuaries have small areas of original stucco, but were in a very poor state. Some of the most unstable structures are now being shored up. The outlying Prasat Damrei, or Elephant Temple, had gaping cracks in the brickwork. Timber supports have enclosed the tower and the stone elephants within it. Nearby, at Ang Khna reservoir, a number of large ancient carvings including lizards, fish, snakes and crocodiles have recently been unearthed.
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