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UNESCO builds the capacities and awareness of Koh Ker villagers against the looting and illicit trafficking of cultural properties
Approximately 140 people attended the workshop including villagers of Sambor, Rom Chek, Kor Ker, and North Srayang located in the Koh Ker cultural heritage site, students and teachers from Srayang High School, and local security guards. The local authorities including the Kulen District Governor, the Preah Vihear Province Deputy Governor, and members of the APSARA National Authority joined the event.
The objective of the workshop was to empower Koh Ker villagers, in particular students, to become the guardians of their heritage and to prevent the looting and destruction of cultural properties in Koh Ker, which is currently under evaluation for its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The morning session provided participants with a brief history of the Koh Ker site, the capital of the Khmer Empire between 928-941 C.E. under its founder King Jayavarman IV. It also presented the preparation work for the nomination of Koh Ker on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the tragic history of the looting and illicit trafficking of antiquities, and its impact on Cambodian society and economy. Examples of successful restitutions of Khmer antiquities from foreign countries and legal provisions to protect cultural heritage including national laws were also introduced.
In the afternoon session, participants were divided into four groups to discuss the causes of looting, stealing of antiquities, and illegal excavation to find out preventive measures and to stop these illegal activities. The workshop was very interactive, and the local communities provided some significant inputs on how to better manage looting of cultural properties.
I joined the Heritage Police almost 20 years ago鈥 I work in close collaboration with local communities, we succeeded in completely stopping the looting of antiquities and illegal excavation in the Koh Ker Site since 2000. When I heard about a possible inscription of the Koh Ker Site on the World Heritage List in September this year 2023, I felt very motivated to continue to protect this site for the younger generations of my country as well as for humanity.
Today, I learned a lot about our national heritage, and I am so happy with the return of our antiquities from abroad. I wish our remaining cultural objects outside of Cambodia come back to our country very soon. As a Cambodian citizen, I am committed to continuing my study until higher education to better protect our heritage by working with one of those competent agencies at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts
Given the strong interest from the villagers, the National Authority for Preah Vihear, in close partnership with UNESCO, will continue to provide further workshops and invite more villagers to enhance their knowledge on prevention of looting and illicit trafficking of cultural properties in Koh Ker, and its history and values..
This activity was organized in the framework of the project 鈥淒e-mining and Preventing Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property in Koh Ker, Cambodia鈥 funded by the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund. We wish to thank its donors: the Qatar Fund for Development, the Government of Canada, the Kingdom of Norway, the French republic, the Principality of Monaco, ANA Holdings INC, the Republic of Estonia, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Principality of Andorra, and the Republic of Serbia.
