There were seven (7) speakers, all of whom supported the
renewal. They were: Dr. Brian Daniels (U. Penn Cultural Heritage
Center/AIA); Tess Davis (Researcher/University of Glasgow); Diane Edelman
(President, Lawyer’s Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation); Josh Knerly
(lawyer/AAMD); Paul Jett (Freer Gallery/Smithsonian); Karen Mudar (National
Park Service, but speaking privately); Helen Jessup (Friend of Khmer Culture).
Brian Daniels spoke first.
Cambodian temple sculptures are still being looted. Recently, the U. Penn received an email
solicitation for the sale of such temple sculptures from Cambodia. The U. Penn turned the matter over to the
authorities. The seller also sent the
solicitation to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Cambodia has been very generous with loans to
U.S. Museums and has made a real effort to inventory its national museum. That work is being expanded to include
inventories of regional museums and archaeological sites. In response to questions, Dr. Daniels
indicated: (1) there has been some cooperation between Thailand and Cambodia
with regard to repatriation of looted Cambodian antiquities; (2) Cambodia has
entered into an MOU with Australia that calls for the return of looted
material; (3) Cambodia is truly interested in completing an inventory of its
cultural treasures.
Tess Davis spoke next.
There are 4,000 known prehistoric sites in Cambodia. Most have been looted. Cambodia is a much
poorer country than its neighbors, Vietnam and Thailand. It is ranked below the Congo and Iraq in terms
of its economic development. Yet,
Cambodia has committed serious resources to protecting its cultural patrimony. It is hosting an international conference on
the subject. It is going forward with an
inventory. Its law enforcement recently
arrested a high ranking general and governor on charges of antiquity smuggling
(along with weapons and drugs). In
response to questions, Ms. Davis indicated:
(1) a surprising number of inventory records have survived since the
1960’s given all the warfare that has beset the country; (2) tourism is a
positive development, but requires educating tourists not to purchase looted
materials; (3) because artifacts are easy to smuggle, U.S. import restrictions
are a good second layer of protection; (4) there also is looting of Khmer
materials in Laos and Burma, but statistics are hard to come by; (5) there is
currently enough funding for the inventory project; (6) the agreement with
Australia focuses on law enforcement; (7) the ultimate markets for Khmer
artifacts are the U.S., Japan, France, Belgium and Switzerland; and (8) the
Cambodian government is doing a better job of posting warnings to tourists.
Ms. Edelman spoke next.
The Lawyer’s Committee is an advocacy organization that is happy to add
its agreement to the unanimous view that the MOU should be renewed.
Josh Knerly then spoke in favor of the MOU. Loans have been made to major U.S. Museums
like the Freer Gallery, but more could be done to encourage loans to regional
museums in the U.S. The AAMD would like
to see more direct loans as well.
Currently, all loans need to be negotiated under the authority of the
U.S. Embassy. The Embassy has been
cooperative, but it makes sense that some private organization take over. What the Korea Foundation had done provides a
model.
Paul Jett discussed the Freer’s long-term collaboration with
Cambodia. This began in 1997 with the
establishment of a metal conservation lab.
Next, was an investigation into the stone that was used for temple
building. Finally, there was the Gods
of Angkor Wat exhibit of last year. In
response to questions, Jett indicated there are public education programs in
Cambodia. The inventories vary in
quality.
Karen Mudar works for the National Park service but appeared
in a personal capacity. She previously
worked in Thailand. There needs to be
public education about looting. The border with Thailand is porous and there
are markets for Khmer objects in Thailand.
Helen Jessup spoke last.
There have been 4,000 archaeological sites identified in Cambodia. There is a porous border with both Vietnam
and Thailand. Artifacts transit through
each country. For a poor country,
Cambodia has made a big effort to protect its patrimony. There are 511 Heritage police in the
country. Eighty-four were trained by the
FBI. Looting has taken place with road
construction. Friends of Khmer Culture
have helped fund inventories which have been useful in recovering material from
monasteries. Cambodia has 26 regional
museums. Some are so small that they are
housed in police stations or governor’s residences. There have been zoning efforts to preclude
digging near temples. Outreach is
important. The bilateral agreement has
been helpful to control the illicit trade.
In response to a question about corruption, Jessup stated that the
situation is uneven. There are some
corrupt officials, but others are good.
There is a need to focus on education.
Tourism is important for Cambodia and in some instances the tourism
ministry and the cultural ministry have not been on the same page. The Cambodians have been extraordinarily
generous with loans. There have been
some new museums put up. A museum run by
Thais was unpopular for political reasons.
Another built with Japanese funds but run by Cambodians has been
successful. Thefts from monasteries are a continuing problem. One of the
ministers in the Cambodian Government has a large collection and runs his own museum. Other wealthy Cambodians also
own Khmer antiquities. The Ambassador’s
Fund has been helpful. The State
Department funded the Red List of Cambodian antiquities at risk which has been
useful for Customs officials. There
should be a better effort to post warnings for tourists at the airport.
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