Connecting the past to the future: A vision for reconciliation in AnlongVeng, Cambodia

Mayer, Julia (2018) Connecting the past to the future: A vision for reconciliation in AnlongVeng, Cambodia. In: ICOMOS 19th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium "Heritage and Democracy", 13-14th December 2017, New Delhi, India. [Conference or Workshop Item]

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Abstract (in English)

With the Khmer Rouge Tribunal now drawing to a close, the need for healing Cambodia's old wounds and exacting social justice has shifted from large "outreach programs" designed to educate locals about the past, to smaller scaled activities where reconciliation is attempted within the context of "workshops" and guided “walks through history”. The long-term goals of this approach runs parallel to heritage conservation and sustainable development in tandem with emergingheritage management practices. In reaching these goals, respect and mutual understanding between and across communities calls for a collaborative effort where the desired outcomes of healing and reconciliation can be best achieved. With specific reference to the Anlong Veng Peace Centre, an initiative developed by the Documentation Centre of Cambodia (DC-Cam), this paper addresses a means of remembrance and reconciliation driven by a pedagogical perspective, in which preserving 'perpetrator sites' to heal the past is considered controversially the way forward. As the final stronghold of the Khmer Rouge regime, Anlong Veng remains 'home' to many ex-KR soldiers, civilian followers of the movement and their descendants (approximately 85% of the population)1 , who to this day, experience isolation, polarisation and marginalisation because of their complicity in Cambodia's brutal past. Thus finding innovative ways to appropriately remember a traumatic history, while simultaneously encouraging better social cohesion among the people of Anlong Veng, is the main objective behind this controversial project. Although it is too early to assess its success in terms of its impact on the wider community, the Anlong Veng Peace Centre, since its formation in May 2016, has shown itself to be an inspiring case study, offering us a glimpse into how we may facilitate heritage management and reconciliation in other post-conflict societies still reeling from the aftermath of war, civil unrest and uneasy peace agreements.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Authors:	Authors Email Mayer, Julia UNSPECIFIED
Languages:	English
Keywords:	Community; Tourism; Sustainable development; Reconciliation; Cambodia; Khmer; education; heritage conservation; management; Anlong Veng Peace Centre; Documentation Centre of Cambodia; healing; community; peace; post-conflict; discrimination
Subjects:	E.CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION > 07. Management E.CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION > 09. Social and economic aspects of conservation L.PRESENTATION AND TRANSMISSION OF HERITAGE > 02. Interpretation L.PRESENTATION AND TRANSMISSION OF HERITAGE > 04. Public awareness L.PRESENTATION AND TRANSMISSION OF HERITAGE > 07. Education P. GEOGRAPHIC AREAS > 04. Asia and Pacific islands
National Committee:	ICOMOS International
ICOMOS Special Collection:	Scientific Symposium (ICOMOS General Assemblies)
ICOMOS Special Collection Volume:	19th General Assembly, New Delhi, 2017
Depositing User:	intern icomos
Date Deposited:	06 Dec 2018 10:03
Last Modified:	24 Jan 2019 14:54
References:	Baker, Mark. ‘Pol Pot to return as a tourist’ The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 September 2003, accessed February 2017. ‘Circular on remains’, The Government of Cambodia (signed Prime Minister Hun Sen) 14 December 2001, ECCC, website accessed February 2017. DaeWha Kang Design, Anlong Veng Masterplan, June 2017 With permission from architect and DC-Cam. Dearing, C. & Ly, K. (2016) A History of Anlong Veng: The Final Stronghold of the Khmer Rouge Movement Guidebook for Tour Guides, DC-Cam, Phnom Penh. Dy, K. & Dearing, C. (2014) A History of the Anlong Veng Community Documentation Series No. 20, The Sleuk Rith Institute (SRI)/Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), Phnom Penh Fatby, Patrick. ‘Along Veng future KR Disneyland’ Phnom Penh Post, 6 June 2006, accessed February 2017. Little, H & Muong, V. ‘Dark Tourism in Anlong Veng’ Phnom Penh Post, 8 August 2015, accessed February 2017. Long, C. & Reeves, K. (2009) ‘ “Dig A Hole And Bury It In The Past”: Reconciliation And The Heritage Of Genocide In Cambodia’, in Places Of Pain And Shame: Dealing With Difficult Heritage, by Logan, W. & Reeves, K. (eds.) Oxon: Routledge, Pp 68-82 Wood, D. (2009) Tracing the Last Breath: Movements in Anlong Veng (Thesis) Rice University, Texas, USA.
URI:	https://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/1978

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