The government has decided to require shops and homes to register their ownership of Cambodian antiques in a move proponents say will help prevent the cultural strip-mining of Cambodia.
Officials in the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts plan to make the announcement Sunday. Antique owners will be required to register their treasures at the government’s Supreme Council for National Culture, Ministry of Culture official Chuch Pheoun said.
Under government guidelines, products or artwork more than 50 years old and buildings or architecture more than 100 years old are considered antique, Chuch Pheoun said.
When registering the items, people will be required to show proof of ownership and tell officials where the items came from. If someone can not prove ownership, the government “will have the right to arrest both the buyer and the seller,” Chuch Pheoun said.
Anyone who has not registered antiques within six months of the government decree will also face confiscation and punishment, Chuch Pheoun added.
While the measures strike some vendors as draconian, they are necessary to protect what is left of Cambodia’s cultural heritage, Ministry of Culture undersecretary of state Michael Tranet said.
“How do we know who we are if we do not have our identity?” Tranet asked.
The crackdown comes at a critical moment for Cambodia’s heritage, according to Tranet. “The government will have to fight this kind of business as soon as possible. If not, the country will face a huge loss,” he said.
Some vendors approved the impending registry—provided they are all are treated equally under it.
“I will agree to register at the ministry as long as all shops in the country have to do so,” Hotel Le Royal antique shop manager An Piseth said.
Other vendors were suspicious of the registry and worried the program left too much room for corruption.
At Phsar Tuol Tumpong, where foreigners often flock to buy souvenirs, one vendor said the government ought to be watching the borders and their own officers, not the markets.
“They should make sure the armed men and border police are not corrupt,” the vendor said.
Even Tranet agreed the government needs to bring more pressure on other nations to erase the demand for cultural artifacts.
“If there was no market, thieves wouldn’t steal from us,” he said.
