PHNOM PENH (dpa) -- The Cambodian government said Wednesday the decision by a Hindu trust to build a full-scale replica in India of the Angkor Wat temple was a shameful act.
Government spokesman Phay Siphan said imitating Cambodia's best-known structure and key tourist draw was a deliberate attempt to undermine its universal value.
“Angkor Wat is Angkor Wat, it is unique,” he said of the 12th-century temple that was listed as a World Heritage site in 1992.
“They are raising this to be confrontational (and) it is provocative of the World Heritage principle,” he said. “We won't let anyone confuse the world that there are two Angkor Wats.”
The Bihar Mahavir Mandir Trust, a Hindu organization, reportedly started work Monday on a US$20 million stone replica in India's eastern state of Bihar.
Phay Siphan said Phnom Penh would raise its concerns with the Indian government.
“(The two nations) have good relations and good cooperation, so we are looking for that to solve this issue,” he said, adding that there was little chance the Indian copy would damage tourism.
“The tourists who come to visit Angkor Wat are not seeing it simply as a stone building,” Phay Siphan said. “They come here to see the culture and to learn.”
Angkor Wat attracted nearly 3 million foreign tourists last year. The temple, which appears on the flag, is a centerpiece of national identity and pride.
Although Cambodia is today a predominantly Buddhist nation, Angkor Wat, near the northwestern city of Siem Reap, was built as a Hindu temple.
22 comments:
If India successful proceed to build Angkor replica, the nit will set the unprecendent step for other nation to follow suit,esp Thailand. Thailand has money to invest in this project plus it is in their advantage to add not only salt but hot spicy pepper to the injury regarding Preah Vihear. It is going to be very painful and Cambodian can't do nothing about this. It is scary and worrisome for India to set the first step.
Yes it is the fact that the replica can't be replaced the ancient original Angkor but it is an assault and infringing to rightful owner.
May China or Russia build a replica of US B-2 stealth bomber plane.
Very Very shameful to the Indian government. Do you have some thing else to do or just look around to copy thing from other people or nations?
India!..go to hell. People around the world will criticise your decision.
Not an acceptable act. Don't agree. We, Cambodian protest.
It will only show respect and apreciation . And will do a great advertising to the great old original!!!
Not necessarily 5:17 AM!
Hun Sen will shut up if Indian put money in his mouth like Viet's tycoon Sok Kong owner of Angkor Wat put money in Hun Sen's mouth. Preah Vihear was owned by the Viet's tycoon too Cambodian cannot do anything to Hun Sen anyway. Why are we complaining about Indian replica of Angkor Wat.
Reverse your nick and you have my real name Takeo,
It's a matter of principle for being "Khmer to the backbone" like you and I, Takeo! You are giving up already? I hope not!
Takeo reverse mirror
8:41 AM
Do you mean like, my last name is LON and when you reverse it you get my first name NOL?
But in your case the reverse of TAKEO is OEKAT.
And what is OEKAT, some of kind lizard in a remote African jungle?
Yes, precisely Buddy... You're too damn good at this, now you know!
Take care!
i know!
you know!
really!
ok!
etc!
There will be an original,
and there will be a fake!
Can the Viet controlled regime in Phnom Penh do anything positive for the good of Khmer race besides just getting irritated by India's 'replication' of Angkor Wat???
We should not be worried about the replication of Angkor Wat by India, instead we should be proud of it because at least they admire khmer architectural achievment. There are many hindu temples in southern indian built at the same period as Angkor Wat. Phay Siphan should do more travelling to learn more about world cultures.
Hun Sen was very angry at Indian replica of Angkor Wat but it was OK for Viet's tycoon to owned it. Hun Sen broken promise to World Heritage Organization by letting foreigner to became an owner of Cambodian heart.
If Indian is not building a replica of Angkor Wat, the future generation of Khmer will be disappear from Earth like Tibet and Kashmir in 100 years to be exact. In 100 years from now there will be no more Cambodia by the Vietnamese expansion. Current Cambodian inactive people are ignored and joined the Hun Sen's regime violent forced evictions, gave and sold land to Viet, etc. When Viet takeover of Cambodia is completed they will rename it and United Nations will do nothing if Cambodian in Cambodia stay silence.
Cambodian government is stupid,
the building of a replica of Angkorwat would be positive for Cambodia and Angkorwat.
The rplica will never be appreciated as much as the original.
There are Cambodian monks who are travelling around USA to raise funds of million US dollars to build Temples in India. Stop these monks. There are some stupid Cambodians, too who joint these monks. They are realy stupid.
They are doing wrong for the country.
Plese stop them. Don't let them do.
8:35 AM8:35 AM,
You need to think deeper. Sok Kong and other Viet Tycoons will not have what they want. All the money and wealthy Sok Kong and Yuon Tycoons under the corrupted CPP regime will be in hand of Khmer/Cambodian people with the interventions of UN and International Communities. The jungle militia Hun Sen who was illegally installed as the most dumbest Prime Minister of Cambodia by Communist Vietnamese masters and Vietnamese Tycoons will be taken down. Otherwise, there will be riots or bloody revolutions of Khmer people in the immediate future. Khmer people (not weak ones) know that so well, but they have already been so patient and beyond. Khmer people who are not thinking like Viet and Chinese people who think about the money and doing the businesses that destroy the environment. Khmer people usually live in simple life and don't think about the money or wealth. Some Khmer people like a dumb Hun Sen (along with Khmer Vietminh Heng Samrin, Chea Sim, etc) were brainwashed by the Vietnamese leaders in order to commit evils and to make them smell the money, wealth and power. That was what happened. There are many Vietnamese/Yuon and Chinese exploiting the Khmer society from village to village, region to region, or town to town in order to have the ideas to take advantages of Khmer people who lives in the simple life with rich civilization and skillfulness, not like Yuon and Chinese who like to build weapons and military to kill someone to take property, land, natural resources, and so on. Khmer people had built the very powerful armies or military in the past after the invasion of Cham armies in the past centuries. Then, Khmer became the empire stat in the region facing off with Mongol Empire armies. Khmer people did not usually killed anyone, but were manipulated by enemies who were foreigners in Khmer land or territories. There are so much to say here. Let you Khmer people think and find the way to solve the problem peaceful.
Hun Sen was not taught to behave well, but was influenced by foreigners or neighbor Vietnamese and his Yuon/Vietnamese wife Bun Rany, smelling money or wealth and power until he abuses the power and acts very stupid and dumb. He was never in school to finish the education, but you can tell the way he talked like a jungle or peasant person.
Khmer nation and people have been screwed up because of deceptions coming from Yuon/Vietnamese exploiters including some bad Chinese as well.
Khmer people have to wake up!
Phay Siphan should take a moment to clean his eye glasses then try to see the positive side of the Bihar state of the India nation good intent.
France did the same thing when hosted world expo in show case Angkor Wat replica. No one said a thing but bragged about it and thanked France for that.
In comparison,India was the closest link to Khmer in architectural and cultural forms including religion.
Why not Indians protest as Khmer claimed Buddhism is its state sponsored religion?
Why not Tamil protest Khmer using their scripts to develop Khmner writing forms?
Why not India protest Khgmer copied and cooked curry off the Indian recipes?
Why not indians protest and went berserk on Khmer copied its traditional wedding cewremonial rites and dresses?
It should be a national pride and honor that Bihar of India Union replicates Khmer architectural and artistic value in show casiing to its citizens.
Phay Siphan is too blind to see the globalization in art, technology, and cultural evolution.
Next thing for Siphan to do is to take off all of his clothes and go back to his Khmerness in clothing because what he is wearing now iis not Khmer's.
Hypocrisy is modern Khmer new way of living and adapting.That's shameful act but who gave a foot??
ក្រៅតែពីខឹងម៉ួម៉ៅផ្ដេសផ្ដាស...
តើរដ្វាភិបាល ខ្ញុំកញ្ជះ វៀតណាម របស់ ហ៊ុនសែន នៅភ្នំពេញ អាចធ្វើអ្វី ជាដុំកំភួន កើតដើម្បី ជាប្រយោជន៏ ដល់ជាតិសាសន៏
ខ្មែរ យើងទេ ចំពោះ សំណង់ចម្លង
ប្រាសាទអង្គរវត្ត ដោយប្រទេសឥណ្ឌានោះ???
How about Hun Sen trying to build and replicate Taj Mahal for his wife's tomb when she croaked.I bet India won't mind, not the least. Knock on wood, I hope she won't die too soon from her diabetes and bladder diseases.
Idiotic perception is the reason why Sihanouk,Pol Pot and Hun Sen continue to bow heads to the careered-unumeployed coolie named Ngyuen Ai Quoc(means Patriotic)or Ho Chi Minh image.
អាស្ដេចក៏ភ្លើ អាមន្រ្តីវាក៏ល្ងឺ ចាស់ហៅថាអាភ្លើលីលឺ
ពីនាយព្រិន្ទបាលឯក ម៉ាក់ហឺន
Cambodia biggest problems are right under her nose and they are the more than 6 million legal or illegal Viet settlers, the numerous land concessions to the Viet, the government is a puppet of Vietnam… these are our urgent worries.
The Indian replica of Angkor Wat is a small potato compared to our problems above.
Is this another Viet trick to distract us, who knows?
The Indian and the Viet are plotting to destroy Cambodia!
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