Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Japan, Cambodia sign museum agreement

PHNOM PENH, May 26 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Japan on Tuesday signed a deal with Cambodia to help Cambodia develop skills to better manage and operate a peace museum.

Chuch Pheung, secretary of state of the Cambodian Culture and Fine Arts Ministry, said the project will help Cambodia to better manage, store and utilize materials left over at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

The museum was used as a torture center by the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled from 1975 to 1979, during which time some 14,000 prisoners were executed there.

"The documentation and archives remaining at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum are important as they show the serious and barbarous culture of atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge, and thus proper management and storage need to be conducted," he said, adding that through the cooperation agreement, Japan will help train three Cambodians a year.

According to the minutes of the meeting between the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the ministry, the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum will offer direct training in Japan to Cambodian staff from the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

The minutes said the cooperation will run for three years starting from May this year.

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