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.
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
A Japanese city would urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties. The limit — which would be recommended for all residents in Toyoake City — would not be binding and there would be no penalties incurred for higher usage, the draft ordinance showed. The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues... including sleep problems,” Mayor Masafumi Koki said yesterday. The draft urges elementary-school students to avoid smartphones after 9pm, and junior-high students and older are advised not
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) attended a grand ceremony in Lhasa yesterday during a rare visit to Tibet, where he urged “ethnic unity and religious harmony” in a region where China is accused of human rights abuses. The vast high-altitude area on the country’s western edge, established as an autonomous region in 1965 — six years after the 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile — was once a hotbed for protest against Chinese Communist Party rule. Rights groups accuse Beijing’s leaders of suppressing Tibetan culture and imposing massive surveillance, although authorities claim their policies have fostered stability and rapid economic development in
RSS