A Cambodian genocide museum yesterday called for help in preserving the deteriorating bones of more than 8,000 Khmer Rouge victims salvaged from its mass graves.
Rous Sophea Ravy, deputy director of the Choeung Ek Genocide Museum on the outskirts of the capital, said the thousands of skulls and other bones currently housed at the site needed to be preserved or risk deteriorating into dust.
She said curators of the private company JC Royal, which took over the site in May last year, were worried as some of the bones were again showing signs of deterioration.
"The company is seeking to unite with Phnom Penh City Hall to request countries or companies with sufficient skills to preserve the bones chemically to come forward and begin discussions with us," Ravy said.
She said the cost of preserving the bones could not be estimated until talks were held with experts who could outline the best processes to employ.
"Of course, if a country or donor could help us we are happy, but if a private company has the skills and can give us a quote, we will seek money to pay, because these bones represent Cambodian feelings. This museum is proof of what people suffered under the Khmer Rouge," she said.
Choeung Ek's macabre centerpiece is a stupa stacked high with hundreds of skulls salvaged from the surrounding mass graves. The site attracts thousands each year.
Up to 2 million Cambodians died of torture, disease, execution and starvation during the 1975 to 1979 Khmer Rouge regime.
Due to its proximity to Phnom Penh and its close links with Pol Pot's secret S-21 torture center, from which many of its victims were brought, Choeung Ek has become the best known of the nation's Killing Fields.
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