[MSN] Cambodian religious officials dismayed at theft of ancient statue.

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Cambodian religious officials dismayed at theft of ancient statue 

Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa
Published: Wednesday September 27, 2006 

Phnom Penh- The daring theft of a 13th-century bronze Buddha statue from one
of Cambodia's most important pagodas was an attack on the nation's culture
of Khmer Rouge proportions, the nation's most venerable Buddhist monk said
Wednesday. Supreme Patriach Tep Vong said by telephone that the theft had
robbed the country of an important piece of its heritage and was a direct
attack on the Buddhist religion by the perpetrators. 

"This act is like a political act. It attacks our culture like Pol Pot," he
said in reference to the late leader of the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge regime,
which attempted to eradicate religion during its 1975-1979 genocidal rule. 

Chim Chour, the deputy head monk of Wat Botum Vatey pagoda, from where the
statue of the sitting Buddha was taken, said the piece dated back to 1250
and weighed about 70 kilograms. 

He said it had been housed in the main area of worship in the pagoda so the
public had full access to view it during the day but that it was locked away
at night. 

The statue was stolen last week during celebrations for Pchum Ben, or the
Festival of the Dead, he added, and so far, police had not come up with any
leads although it was believed more than one person was involved in the
theft because the weight of the statue. 

"Someone cut the lock sometime after midnight and carried it off," Chour
said. "This is a big loss for us." 

Cambodian artifacts and antiques are worth huge sums of money overseas, and
pagoda officials said they believed the thieves might try to smuggle the
statue across the border to sell on the international art market.