Cambodian government official has revealed the country intends to host the 36th World Heritage Committee (WHC) meeting in 2012.
Phhay Siphan, spokesman for the Office of the Council of Ministers, said the Southeast Asian country has already expressed its readiness and intention to host the 36th meeting to UNESCO in order to share its conservation and preservation activities with the world.
Siphan believes that the country’s nearly 1,000 temples make it a perfect fit for the event and it already has two properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, including the world famous Temple of Angkor Wat and the controversial Temple of Preah Vihear.
The Temple of Preah Vihear and land surrounding the site has been the subject of an often violent territorial dispute between Cambodia and Thailand since 1962, when the International Court of Justice ruled the 10th-century temple belongs to Cambodia, and trouble flared up in 2008 when the temple was granted UN World Heritage status.
Access to the temple is possible from both Thailand and Cambodia, but due to the ongoing dispute Thailand often blocks access to the stunning hilltop temple from its side. Earlier this year, the Thai government’s representatives threatened to walk out of the 34th WHC meeting in Brasilia over the dispute about the management plan for the site.
The 35th WHC meeting will be held in July next year in Bahrain.
Siphan believes that the country’s nearly 1,000 temples make it a perfect fit for the event and it already has two properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, including the world famous Temple of Angkor Wat and the controversial Temple of Preah Vihear.
The Temple of Preah Vihear and land surrounding the site has been the subject of an often violent territorial dispute between Cambodia and Thailand since 1962, when the International Court of Justice ruled the 10th-century temple belongs to Cambodia, and trouble flared up in 2008 when the temple was granted UN World Heritage status.
Access to the temple is possible from both Thailand and Cambodia, but due to the ongoing dispute Thailand often blocks access to the stunning hilltop temple from its side. Earlier this year, the Thai government’s representatives threatened to walk out of the 34th WHC meeting in Brasilia over the dispute about the management plan for the site.
The 35th WHC meeting will be held in July next year in Bahrain.
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