Ethnic Khmers not Thai temple vandals, says Cambodian official

May 23, 2008, 6:38 GMT

Phnom Penh - Ethnic Khmers were unlikely suspects in the desecration of an ancient Hindu temple in Thailand earlier this week and the very insinuation showed a deep ignorance of Khmer culture, a senior Cambodian official said Friday.

Son Soubert, a member of the Cambodian Constitutional Council, said he was disappointed some Thais apparently suspected that ethnic Khmers would damage a temple for black magic rites.

He said Khmers were the original architects of the 10th century Phanom Rung temple.

He was responding to a report in the Thai English-language daily Bangkok Post published Thursday, in which police were quoted as saying the vandalization of Thailand's Phanom Rung temple may have been an occult ritual, also noting many ethnic Khmers lived there.

'The Khmers of Buri Ram and Surin provinces respect the Linga of Brahmanism because they believe if they desecrate it they cannot live in peace,' Soubert, a US and French-trained archeologist, said.

The provinces lie on the Thai-Cambodian border within Thailand and have a strong ethnic Khmer community.

Relations are already strained between some Cambodians and Thais over disputed lands around the sacred Preah Vihear border temple.

Cambodia has rejected Thai offers to co-manage the site and hired 22 Thai-Khmer speaking guards, who also act as guides, to protect it.

Phanom Rung's ancient Shiva Linga stone, which was in the centre of the temple, was found to have been moved off its plinth Tuesday and several statues badly vandalized.

Accusations have flown wildly over who may have damaged the temple and why, with allegations of guilt ranging from Khmer sorcerers to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra being made.

Soubert begged Thailand to protect such sites more carefully.

'Thailand is a peaceful, developed country so it should be able to protect monuments - but I am not Thai,' he said.