Interview: Cambodia ready for world heritage meeting -- senior official

English.news.cn   2013-06-11 23:23:15

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister, Chairman of the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee Sok An (R) speaks during an exclusive interview with Xinhua at the Office of the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 11, 2013. About 1,300 foreign delegates from more than 120 countries would participate in the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee, to be held from June 16-27 in capital Phnom Penh and Siem Reap province, Cambodian senior official said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

PHNOM PENH, June 11 (Xinhua) -- About 1,300 foreign delegates from more than 120 countries would participate in the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee, to be held on June 16-27 in capital Phnom Penh and Siem Reap province, Cambodian senior official said Tuesday.
The milestone event will be held at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh on June 16 by Prime Minister Hun Sen and closed on June 27 in Siem Reap province by Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Sok An.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Tuesday, Sok An, who is the Chairman of the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee, said that the country was ready to host such important event. "As the host, I am pleased to say that preparation is well under way and I feel truly ready for the Session," he said.
He said a special committee for organizing this session was created and afterwards its secretariat and five sub-committees were also established, being responsible for coordination with the World Heritage Center of UNESCO, logistics and finance, documentation, information and telecommunication, and security.
It is the first time that this impoverished nation hosts such a big meeting. He said that through this meeting, the World Heritage community would have the opportunity to know and understand the richness of Cambodian heritage and its efforts for its protection and safeguarding in the context of sustainable development.
"Cambodia is very proud to have inherited cultural and natural wonders from our ancestors, and it is our responsibility to preserve this legacy for future generations," he said.
During the forthcoming session, he said that about 36 nominated properties around the globe would be examined, and it remained unknown how many of them would succeed in being inscribed on the World Heritage List.
He added that during the upcoming session, Cambodia would not submit a nomination dossier for any of its heritage sites for consideration. "Although Cambodia has already completed documents for nominating Sambor Prei Kuk temple in Kampong Thom province for inscription on the World Heritage List, as Cambodia is the host of this 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee and I am myself its Chairperson, we decided to hold back our nomination as a gesture toward improving the culture of impartiality within this international organization."
Sok An said that there would be no discussion on the conservation and protection of the World Heritage Site of Cambodia 's Preah Vihear Temple in the upcoming session as its inscription was completed several years ago at the 34th and 35th sessions. " Like all other properties on the List, this one is now subject to routine and regular monitoring and reporting every six years as to its state of conservation," he said.
Answering the question about the urgent and difficult tasks in protecting the world heritage, Sok An said that to protect and preserve the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the properties as at the time of inscription on the World Heritage List was the urgent and difficult tasks.
He added that to communicate the beauty and significance of the world's natural and cultural heritage, to recognize and value cultural diversity, and particularly to win over the youth to take up the mantle of protecting and preserving this legacy are also the most pressing tasks.

Editor: Hou Qiang

Int'l youth conference on world heritage opens in Cambodian cultural city

English.news.cn   2013-06-09 16:50:29

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The World Heritage Youth Forum opened here Sunday, aiming to raise awareness of heritage protection among youth and to underscore youth's role in conservation and protection of national and world heritage, according to the organizer.
The one-week event, under the theme "Living Heritage: Temple, Environment and People", brought together youths from 16 countries, said a joint statement from the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, Cambodian National Commission for UNESCO, and the Apsara Authority.
"The participants will have an opportunity to present their own national heritage to the forum and discuss with experts as well as visit various sites at Angkor Archeological Park, a world heritage site in Cambodia," it said.
The forum would highlight the symbiosis relationship between temple, environment and the surrounding community, it said, adding that it would also be a platform for experience sharing, recognition and appreciation of cultural diversity whereby universal value of the world heritage is observed.
The event was held in the framework of the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee to be hosted and chaired by Cambodian government in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap province from June 16-27.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the forum, Secretary General of Cambodian National Commission for UNESCO Tan Theany said the forum would be of great interest to make participants aware of their responsibilities in the preparation of conservation and protection of national and world heritage in the future.
Bun Narith, director general of Apsara Authority, which protects and manages Angkor Archeological Park, said participants would learn about the management of the Angkor site, a representative site where Temple, Environment and People coexist harmoniously.
At the end of the forum, the youth delegates would issue a Youth Declaration and present it to all delegates of the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee at the opening ceremony on June 16 in Phnom Penh.

Editor: Chen Zhi

Khmer Rouge survivors stage mass protest to demand apology from opposition leader

English.news.cn   2013-06-09 14:27:48

PHNOM PENH, June 9 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 10,000 survivors from the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979) held a peaceful protest on Sunday at the capital's Freedom Park to demand Kem Sokha, vice- president of opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), apologize for his alleged denial of Khmer Rouge crimes.
Meanwhile, the protests were held simultaneously throughout the country, urging Kem Sokha to apologize for his alleged insulting remarks, according to local Bayon television, owned by Hun Mana, daughter of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The television showed protesters marched and burnt Kem Sokha's portraits in some provinces.
The demonstration was held after Kem Sokha allegedly claimed that the Khmer Rouge regime's notorious Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh was an artificial place.
The prison was the main torture center during the regime, and around 14,000 people were killed there.
In February last year, a special tribunal sentenced ex-chief of Tuol Sleng prison Kaing Guek Eav to life in prison for overseeing the deaths.
"If this place (Tuol Sleng prison) was truly Khmer Rouge, they would have demolished it before they left," Kem Sokha said in an audio recording recently circulated by the government.
"If the Khmer Rouge killed a lot of people (there), they would not be stupid to keep it to show to everyone, they would destroy it to eliminate evidence. I believe that it was just staged," he said at his party's public forum.
Protest organizer Chhum Mey, president of the Victims Association of Democratic Kampuchea and one of the survivors from the Tuol Sleng prison, said the gathering was held to protest against Kem Sokha's statement that Tuol Sleng prison was just a make-up.
"We ask Kem Sokha to apologize to the victims at Tuol Sleng prison because his remarks bring back the suffering of Cambodian people once again and insult the souls of millions of Cambodian people who were cruelly and unfairly killed during the regime," he said.
However, CNRP's spokesman Yim Sovann reiterated Sunday that the Kem Sokha's recording was fabricated against the opposition leader ahead of July's general election.
"Kem Sokha has not made any mistake, so he will not apologize," he told Xinhua. "He has never denied the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime or at Tuol Sleng prison. His parents had also been killed during the regime."
On Friday, the National Assembly of Cambodia unanimously adopted a law to make it illegal to deny crimes committed during the period of the Democratic Kampuchea after Prime Minister Hun Sen's appeal.
Under the law, individuals who refuse to acknowledge, diminish, deny or challenge the existence of crimes or glorify crimes committed during the regime will be jailed from six months to two years and fined between 250 U.S. dollars and 1,000 U.S. dollars.

Editor: An

U.S., Cambodian Air Forces jointly host regional military airlift exercise

English.news.cn   2013-06-06 13:43:39

KAMPONG SPEU, Cambodia, June 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. and Cambodian Air Forces on Thursday highlighted Pacific Airlift Rally 2013 at Pochentong Air Base with a humanitarian assistance and air drop simulation, said a media statement from the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia.
Pacific Airlift Rally, a biennial, military airlift symposium involving over 100 personnel from 20 nations in the Indo-Pacific region, started on Monday and would conclude on Friday, the statement said, adding that it focused on enhancing airlift coordination among regional air forces and providing multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
During the exercise on Thursday at the Pochentong Air Base situated about 35 kilometers west of capital Phnom Penh, four C- 130 aircraft belonging to the United States, Thailand and Malaysia simulated air drops in order to provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief in the event of an emergency or disaster such as flooding, tsunami, or earthquake.
Lieutenant General Suon Samnang, chief of the Royal Cambodian Air Force, and Major General Russell Handy, director of operations, plans, and policy for the U.S. Pacific Air Force, led the exercise by flying together in one of the C-130s.
U.S. ambassador to Cambodia William E. Todd said at the air drop event that the exercise showcased the strengthening of the U. S.-Cambodia military relationship and demonstrated U.S. assistance to the Cambodian people in times of need.
"The exercise is yet another example of America's commitment to developing the capacity of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces as a means to promote peace, prosperity, and security in Cambodia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region," he said.
"Military exercises like Pacific Airlift Rally are concrete examples of the U.S. rebalance towards Asia to deepen relations with our network of Asian allies and broaden cooperation with our partners."
He said building capacity for Air Forces was critical in helping all participating countries to respond to regional crises-- regardless of the disaster or location.
Pacific Airlift Rally provides a venue to exchange humanitarian airlift, air-land, and air delivery techniques, the U.S. Embassy' s statement said. During the five-day exercise, in addition to the air drops, there was also a "command post exercise", a tabletop simulation for staff officers to assemble, design a plan, and execute based on a given scenario that tests the group's skills in coordinating logistics with other organizations.
Pacific Airlift Rally's participants represented Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Laos, Maldives, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, the United States and Vietnam.
Last month, the U.S. and Cambodian forces also jointly conducted a military exercise dubbed "Angkor Sentinel" in order to build up capacity for Cambodian forces in peacekeeping and stability operations.

Editor: Lu Hui

 

 

Cambodia ratifies protocol to protect heritage from armed conflict

English.news.cn   2013-06-07 17:50:44

PHNOM PENH, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The National Assembly of Cambodia on Friday unanimously ratified the 2nd Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict.
Eighty-three lawmakers attending the session unanimously approved the 2nd Protocol of the Convention, which was introduced in 1999.
The 2nd Protocol emphasized the necessity to supplement provisions through measures to reinforce the implementation of the 1st Protocol of the Convention, which was adopted in 1954 at the Hague in the Netherlands, lawmaker of the ruling Cambodian People' s Party Hem Khorn said during the assembly's session.
So far, some 126 countries have become the state parties of the 1st Protocol of the Convention, and about 65 countries have ratified the 2nd Protocol of the Convention, he said.
"As a state party of the Convention, Cambodia has a full role to take necessary measures in international frameworks to ensure the protection of our cultural heritage such as temples and artifacts in the event of armed conflict," Hem Khorn said.
He said Cambodia was rich in cultural heritage and could be seen as the kingdom of culture. According to the figures of the ministry of culture and fine arts, the country has 769 ancient temples, 105 ancient bridges, 1,769 ancient pagodas, 15 museums and tens of thousands of ancient objects.
Deputy prime minister and cabinet minister Sok An said that cultural heritage was playing an important role in enhancing national identification and social development via attracting revenues from tourism and employment creation, however, some cultural heritage had been suffering from old age and damage caused by armed conflict.
"The Convention is very important for Cambodia to help protect cultural heritage in a time of armed conflict," he said, giving an example of sporadic armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand over border dispute between 2008 and 2011 that had caused damage to Preah Vihear Temple, a world heritage site.
Cambodia became a UNESCO member in 1951, and several tangible and intangible cultural heritages had been enlisted as world heritages such as Angkor Archeological Park in 1992, Royal Ballet in 2003, Sbek Thom or Khmer Shadow Theater in 2005, and Preah Vihear temple in 2008.

Editor: Fu Peng

Cambodian parliament unanimously passes law to criminalize denial of Khmer Rouge crimes

English.news.cn   2013-06-07 11:27:06

PHNOM PENH, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The National Assembly of Cambodia on Friday unanimously adopted the Law on the Denial of Crimes Committed during the Period of the Democratic Kampuchea, or Khmer Rouge regime, from 1975-1979.
"Under the law, individuals who refuse to acknowledge, diminish, deny, or challenge the existence of crimes or glorify crimes committed during the regime will be jailed from six months to two years and fined between 250 U.S. dollars and 1,000 U.S. dollars," said Pen Panha, chairman of the National Assembly's commission on legislation and justice.
Cheam Yeap, the ruling Cambodian People's Party's senior lawmaker, said the denial of the crimes during the Khmer Rouge regime was a serious insult to the souls of people who lost lives during the regime and hurt the families of the victims.
"The law will not affect the freedom of expression because not Cambodia alone that has this law, but 17 countries around the world," he said.
All 86 participating lawmakers from the ruling Cambodian People' s Party and its coalition Funcinpec Party unanimously approved the law by raising hands.
Twenty-eight former opposition lawmakers -- 25 of the Sam Rainsy Party and three of the Human Right Party -- were not invited for the session because they quit their parties to join the newly formed Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) in order to run in the July's election.
Prime Minister Hun Sen called for the law on Monday last week after Kem Sokha, vice president of the main opposition CNRP, allegedly claimed that the Khmer Rouge regime's notorious Tuol Sleng prison was an artificial place.
"If this place (Tuol Sleng prison) was truly Khmer Rouge, they would have demolished it before they left, not kept it to show everyone," Kem Sokha said in a short audio recording recently circulated by the government.
"If the Khmer Rouge killed a lot of people, they would not be stupid to keep it to show to everyone, they would destroy it to eliminate evidence. I believe that it was just staged," he said at his party's public forum.
Phnom Penh's former Tuol Sleng prison was the main torture center during the regime, and around 14,000 people were killed at the center.
In February last year, the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia sentenced ex- chief of Tuol Sleng prison Kaing Guek Eav to life in prison for overseeing the deaths.
Representatives of survivors from the Democratic Kampuchea announced Tuesday to hold a mass protest on Sunday to demand Kem Sokha to apologize for his insulting remarks.
"Some 20,000 survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime will gather at Cambodian capital's Freedom Park on June 9 to protest against Kem Sokha for his denial of Khmer Rouge crimes," Chhum Mey, president of the Victims Association of Democratic Kampuchea and one of the survivors from the Tuol Sleng prison, said at a press briefing. "About 2,000 of them will march from the Freedom Park to the headquarters of the CNRP."
He said Kem Sokha's remarks have insulted people who lost lives at the prison and elsewhere in the country during the Khmer Rouge regime, in which an estimated 2 million people had died of starvation, exhaustion, lack of medical care or execution.
CNRP's spokesman Yim Sovann said Tuesday that it was their rights to stage a protest, but Kem Sokha would not apologize upon their demand because he had never denied the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime or at Tuol Sleng prison.
"Kem Sokha did not say those words; his remarks were fabricated in order to create turmoil targeting the opposition leader ahead of July's general election," he told Xinhua over telephone.

Editor: Mengjie

Khmer Rouge genocide survivors announce mass protest schedule against opposition leader

English.news.cn   2013-06-04 11:58:23

PHNOM PENH, June 4 (Xinhua) -- About 20,000 survivors of the Democratic Kampuchea, or Khmer Rouge regime during 1975-1979, will gather at Cambodian capital's Freedom Park on Sunday to protest against Kem Sokha, vice president of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), for his alleged Khmer Rouge genocide denial, an organizer said Tuesday.
"We have set a 10-day period for Kem Sokha to come to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum to apologize for his insulting remarks, but he has not appeared, so we decided to hold a mass protest against him on June 9," Chhum Mey, president of the Victims Association of Democratic Kampuchea and one of the survivors from the Tuol Sleng prison, said at a press briefing on Tuesday.
He said some 20,000 protestors will meet at the Freedom Park on that day and about 2,000 of them will march from the park to the headquarters of the CNRP.
"Kem Sokha's remarks have insulted people who lost lives at the prison and elsewhere in the country during the Khmer Rouge regime," he said.
The protest plan was made after Kem Sokha allegedly said that the Khmer Rouge regime's notorious Tuol Sleng prison was an artificial place.
"If this place (Tuol Sleng prison) was truly Khmer Rouge, they would have demolished it before they left, not kept it to show everyone," Kem Sokha said in a short audio recording recently circulated by the government.
"If the Khmer Rouge killed a lot of people, they would not be stupid to keep it to show to everyone, they would destroy it to eliminate evidence. I believe that it was just staged," he said at his party's public forum.
Phnom Penh's former Tuol Sleng prison was the main torture center during the regime, and around 14,000 people were killed at the center.
In February last year, the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) sentenced ex-chief of Tuol Sleng prison Kaing Guek Eav to life in prison for overseeing the deaths.
CNRP's spokesman Yim Sovann said Tuesday that it was their rights to stage a protest, but Kem Sokha would not apologize upon their demand because he had never denied genocide during the Khmer Rouge regime or at Tuol Sleng prison.
"Kem Sokha did not say those words; his remarks were fabricated in order to create turmoil targeting the opposition leader ahead of July's general election," he told Xinhua over telephone.
Kem Sokha's alleged remarks have prompted the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP)'s lawmakers to propose a draft law on punishing Khmer Rouge genocide denial to the National Assembly last week.
CPP's lawmaker Chheang Von, chairman of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Commission at the National Assembly, said that the National Assembly would discuss and pass the draft law on Friday.
"When the law is adopted, someone who says that Khmer Rouge regime had not killed people will be jailed from six months to two years and fined between 250 U.S. dollars and 1,000 U.S. dollars," he told Xinhua over telephone.

Editor: Yang Lina