The Press FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1970. Preserving The Glory Of Angkor Wat

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32321, 12 June 1970, Page 10

The Press FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1970. Preserving The Glory Of Angkor Wat

The fall of Rome led Gibbon to reflect on the “vicissitudes of fortune, which spares neither man “ nor the proudest of his works, which buries empires “ and cities in a common grave ”, Few of the ancient works of man have inspired more awesome reflection than the buildings of Angkor Wat, illustrated elsewhere in this edition. Nestled in the jungles of northwestern Cambodia, close to the Thai border, Angkor Wat was once the centre of an empire which embraced much of South-East Asia. Suryavarman 11, King of the Khmers, built Angkor Wat between 1113 A.D. and 1150, probably as a mausoleum for himself. On a square mile of land surrounded by a moat, it was the largest building in the world. Plates of gold once covered its nine great pinnacles: as much stone went into its building as into the Great Pyramid of Egypt There is an austere certainty in its perfect proportions and a wealth of Asian history and theology in its carvings. Around the lowest terrace a tapestry in stone, eight feet high and half a mile long, records incidents from Indian epics and Hindu holy books. After the collapse of the Khmer Empire in the fifteenth century Angkor Wat was gradually absorbed by the jungle. Its rediscovery in 1860. and its partial restoration under French rule, inspired generations of French scholars to the study of South-East Asian history and religions. The buildings are now a tourist attraction though birds and monkeys still inhabit them, and tigers and panthers can be found at night stalking the silent passageways. Small wonder that Angkor Wat has become, in SouthEast Asia, the greatest symbol of the fraility of man and his works.

Small wonder, too. that the Secretary-General of the United Nations (U Thant) should have voiced concern that Angkor Wat might fall victim to the fighting in Cambodia. The modem town of Siem Reap, a short distance away, has changed hands twice in the confused fighting between Communists and Cambodians. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese are reported to have turned Angkor Wat into a fortified strong-point Angkor Wat should not be allowed to become a battleground. As a monument to the faith and works of earlier times it has been likened to Notre Dame de Paris or Lincoln Cathedral in England: its spaciousness and splendour are even more ambitious. Serious damage has already been done to historical treasures in Indo-China. not least during the 1968 Tet offensive in Hue. Angkor Wat like Paris and Rome in the Second World War, deserves the status of an “ open city It should not suffer the fate of the Parthenon and other relics of classical Greece which were severely battered during fighting between Venetians and Turks in 1687. It may seem insensitive to plead for special consideration for an ancient and uninhabited building in a war which has been marked by little consideration for the living and their homes. But Angkor Wat belongs not only to Cambodia: it is part of Asia’s heritage. It could serve as a bridge between the factions in this war. for its very majesty should compel them to display their common interest in its preservation and to demonstrate that there are limits to the divisions of the present. It is worth noting, too, that Suryavarman n, who built this monument to himself, won great battles against the Thais and opened diplomatic relations with China—only to die at # a time when his armies were being beaten in an attempt to conquer Vietnam.