Ousted Apsara Authority President Vann Molyvann said Friday that the authority’s attempt to control construction permits in the area around the Angkor temples may have been behind his dismissal earlier this week.
“My top position provides that I have the right to reject illegal construction in the private sector,” he said. “Maybe this made them unhappy with me, which persuaded the government to fire me.”
Vann Molyvann said he was notified by fax in Siem Reap Wednesday that he had been fired as head of the government agency that oversees the Angkor temples. He said he has not contacted government officials to ask why he was dismissed.
“I was quite surprised when I received the royal decree in Siem Reap,” said Vann Molyvann, speaking at a news conference at his Phnom Penh home. “I did not know about it in advance.”
The decree, requested by Prime Minister Hun Sen May 31 and signed by King Norodom Sihanouk June 2, does not give a reason for the firing. He will be replaced by his deputy, Bun Narith.
Vann Molyvann, an architect by training who designed Olympic Stadium and Independence Monument, pointed out that the authority has “exclusive rights to deliver building permits across the Angkor region” and to destroy unauthorized constructions at the owner’s expense.
Vann Molyvann said his dismissal was not a result of the closing of RCAF General Chea Morn’s karaoke resort, built inside the Angkor park last year on the Western Baray. The resort was shut down after UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization officials complained to the government in December.
Keo Saravuth, an officer with Angkor Conservation, said Vann Molyvann was not easy to work with. He said Vann Molyvann’s way of dealing with others was more foreign than Cambodian, a style that may have been acquired from living in France.
“He should have built a better relationship with the provincial government,” Keo Saravuth said. “Sometimes, he did not make his plans known to local officials ….Bun Narith is CPP, and he has lived in Cambodia a long time. So I think he will be better.”
Apsara Authority official Tep Vatho added that Vann Molyvann was too critical and strict with colleagues. “In Cambodia, if you complain a lot, people will not be happy,” she said.
But Vann Molyvann said he had no conflicts with Apsara Authority board members, which meets every two months under the supervision of Minister of Cabinet Sok An.
“I didn’t do anything without the approval of the board,” he said. “Up until now, the board never mentioned any mistakes.”
As president of the authority, Vann Molyvann oversaw restoration projects at Angkor Wat and the Bayon, among others.
The body was formed in February 1995 at the request of the World Heritage Committee and other international organizations to oversee the development and preservation of the tourist area around the Angkor complex.
In December 1995, the Council of Ministers granted Apsara full authority over development in and around Siem Reap. The order put to rest months of internal power squabbles for control of future development projects.
Development is banned near the temples as part of Cambodia’s agreement with the UN to protect the country’s only World Heritage site. Unesco officials were unavailable for comment Friday.
Asked about the future of the authority, Vann Molyvann refused comment. But he said his replacement is a “good man” who will “work to serve the nation.”
