PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh/Asia News Network): To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on Unesco’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on Sept 20.
Venerable Om Lim Heng, chief monk of the Buddhist Mohanikaya sect, also issued a notice to all pagodas, instructing them to mark the historic accomplishment.
“We call on chief monks and deputies to get ready to celebrate the occasion by ringing bells and banging gongs at all pagodas, meditation centres and parish halls across the country at 7am on Sept 20,” read the notice.
In his message celebrating the inscription while on his China visit, Prime Minister Hun Manet referred to the day, Sept 17, as “another source of national pride on the international stage”.
Religion minister Chay Borin also issued a notice advising all religion departments and every religious school throughout the country to cooperate closely with chief monks, abbots and spiritual leaders to hit bells, drums and shake wooden rattles in celebration of the inscription.
Former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who remains president of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), shared his gratitude to the Unesco World Heritage Committee for adding the temple complex to the World Heritage List.
“I also thank the government and each relevant ministry and institution for the work leading to such an excellent result for the nation,” he said in a Sept 17 social media post.
He noted that the temple complex was the former capital of the Khmer Empire during the reign of Jayavarman IV in the 900s, from 928AD until 941AD.
The CPP also issued a statement in celebration of the temple complex’s admission.
“We express our deep admiration and thanks to the government of the sixth and seventh mandates as well as all relevant ministries and institutions in the reign of King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother [Norodom Monineath Sihanouk] for working tirelessly since 2018 to prepare application forms and achieve this excellent result,” it said.
