Lighting Scheme Has ‘No Affect’ on Temples: Council

(Photo: Dap-news)

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
19 June 2009

Council Minister Sok An told the National Assembly Friday that a system of outdoor lighting at the Angkor Wat temples will not hurt the ancient structures and could be a boon to tourism.

“The heat from the lamps is 50,000-times weaker than the sun and less than the moon,” Sok An said, citing lengthy studies prior to the beginning of the scheme.

Critics of the plan worry the lighting, undertaken under the Apsara Authority, the government body that oversees the temples, could be damaging.

Moeung Son, chairman of the Khmer Civilization Foundation, is facing a lawsuit for his public criticism of the lighting.

The International Coordinating Committee for Angkor, which advises Apsara, recommended the lighting, on the entryway to Angkor Wat and along the famous temple’s northern bas-relief gallery.

Sok An said broadcasters Radio Free Asia and Voice of America were distorting news about the lighting and were “the cause of the confusion of public opinion.”

The lighting will enable tourists to visit the temple at night and is among several initiatives being developed by the Ministry of Tourism to attract more visitors at time when the economic crisis has stunted arrivals, Sok An said.

Tourism is the second-leading economic driver in Cambodia, behind garment exports. Both sectors have been hard-hit by the global economic crisis.

Nobody is allowed to criticize Hun Sen's govt action, not even on Angkor lights

Lawyer calls on KCF head to pay for criticism of Angkor Wat lights

Thursday, 11 June 2009
Written by Chrann Chamroeun
The Phnom Penh Post

"The government shouldn't have sued Moeung Sonn for his concern over the lights at Angkor Wat - which surely damaged the temple, but the government rejected the truth and sued him ... Government officials are now using the court system to discourage all critics" - Rong Chunn.

KCF President Moeung Sonn, who has fled to France, maintains that the government is to blame for public outcry over installation work.

Government lawyer Pal Chan Dara answered questions in Phnom Penh Municipal Court Tuesday regarding his June 2 complaint accusing the president of the Khmer Civilisation Foundation (KCF) of inciting the public and spreading false information.

Moeung Sonn, the KCF president, held a press conference in Siem Reap last month during which he claimed that the installation of new light fixtures had damaged Angkor Wat.

Pal Chan Dara said Tuesday that he asked the court to make Moeung Sonn pay 10 million riels (US$2,400) for severely damaging the government's reputation.

The lawyer criticised Moeung Sonn's "rubbish press conference in Siem Reap", which he said "was absolutely wrong ... and made tourists fearful and unwilling to visit the temple".

Moeung Sonn, who fled to France to avoid arrest, defended his actions in an interview with the Post, saying much of the blame for the outcry over Angkor Wat's new lights lies with the government.

"Government officials [should have] informed the public in advance that the installation of the lights designed to attract more visitors at night ... will not cause damage," he said from France, adding that he had asked Prime Minister Hun Sen, King Sihamoni and King Father Norodom Sihanouk to intervene on his behalf.

The Cambodia Watchdog Council (CWC) condemned the government's use of the judiciary to silence critics in a June 9 press release, and the CWC representative singled out Moeung Sonn's case as typical of the government's attacks on free speech.

"The government shouldn't have sued Moeung Sonn for his concern over the lights at Angkor Wat - which surely damaged the temple, but the government rejected the truth and sued him," Rong Chunn, the CWC representative said. "Government officials are now using the court system to discourage all critics."

Meoung Sonn fled to France after being sued for speaking out on Angkor Wat lighting controversial

President of KCF flees to France

Monday, 08 June 2009
Written by Chrann Chamroeun
The Phnom Penh Post

THE Khmer Civilisation Foundation president, Moeung Sonn, has fled to France to avoid arrest, he said, after the Cambodian government sued him for incitement and disinformation over his public accusations that the installation of new lights at Angkor Wat had damaged the temple.

"If I had not left Cambodia shortly after Thursday night, I would have been arrested and detained with a court warrant because the government was terribly angry with me," Moeung Sonn told the Post Saturday from France.

"I want to return to my country because I love my country forever," he added.

Last week, Moeung Sonn blamed local media for spreading the information before he made his accusations.

Lawyer Pal Chan Dara confirmed that on behalf of the Cambodian government, he had sued Moeung Sonn on June 2, and that he had been summoned by the Municipal Court for questioning.

"I will go to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on June 9 as scheduled to be questioned about my complaint against the president of KCF, Moeung Sonn," Pal Chan Dara told the Post.

Moeung Sonn accused the government of drilling holes into the temple walls to install light fixtures, a charge the government and the Apsara Authority deny, saying the recesses were already there.