European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 09, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Renewing the glories of ancient angkor associated Pressw Ith the shadows of War still a threat to ancient angkor the International Community is mobilizing to Rescue from decay one of civilization s greatest artistic achievements. Unimportant militarily. Angkor is the Symbol of Cambodia its loss to one of the three guerrilla groups lighting the vietnamese installed government in phenom penh would be a huge psychological defeat. Angkor is the Mam target of our  said Cambodia s defense minister tie Danh they will try very hard to occupy that place " after starting out with High Hopes of a comprehensive settlement to the cambodian conflict the 19-nation peace conference in Paris collapsed aug 30 in a swirl of acrimonious debate and bitter recriminations. The parties could t oven agree on a final statement and a civil War appears imminent. The three cambodian resistance actions led by Prince Norodom Sihanouk seem bound to step up their military efforts against the phenom penh regime of Hun sen. Supported for the last 10 years by vietnamese troops who Are due to leave the country by sept. 26, reopened in 1987, angkor s 194 Square Kilometres of Lem plus now draw a few Hundred visitors on Day trips each month. According to local tourism director Hao Sotha. The hindu and Buddhist edifices dating from the ninth through 12th centuries have been assaulted by Jungle growth Monsoon Rains and thieves As armies clashed around them Over the past two decades. India the Only non communist nation to recognize the pro Hanoi government in phenom penh is already restoring the colossal angkor wat. The crowning jewel but hundreds of other temples and architectural relics from Cambodia s Golden age remain untended. Security has been a major problem in recent years with the Khmer Rouge and other anti government guerrillas within striking distance of angkor and diplomatic isolation of the phenom penh government has prevented most International assistance. We Are waiting for the first available Opportunity to restore the magnificent monuments says Maluz Anam. Regional spokesman Lor the . Educational scientific and cultural organization. Enesco s director general is hopeful of a political  although it is restricted irom working with the phenom penh government which the United nations does not recognize Enesco this Spring quietly dispatched iwo experts Lor a preliminary on site diagnosis of angkor s ills. Ung von who Heads Cambodia s conservation Effort there says the poles will arrive late this year to begin work on the Bayon an intricate 800-year old shrine of mysterious galleries and 54 Stone towers sculpted with the laces of smiling deities the wondrous Structure is currently looked after by two old sweepers and guarded by two teen age policemen. Is Eastern Gate caved in like a deck of cards several years ago. Green algae and while fungi mar its friezes of ancient Battles and court life. The French who hacked angkor out of the Jungle in the last Century and became its most expert overseers refuse to provide valuable archival material to phenom penh but have asked to restore the 11 Irv Century Bap Huon. Ung von says. The indians Are Midway through their six year $1o million project to renew angkor wat the massive representation of the hindu Cosmos in Stone which rises in three successive flights to five Central towers that have become the Symbol of Cambodia. The work by 13 indians and More than 400 cambodians has included cleaning the friezes dismantling and reassembling the gateways and the excavation of ditches to allow drainage of water within the Moat girded Complex. The work on angkor wat s nearly 1,440 Square Yards of Anezes is painstaking. Brushes Are used to scrub off Moss insect nests and clinging vegetation the latter sometimes requiring injections of Weed killer in a syringe. Other chemicals Are used to attack fungi Micro vegetable matter and corrosive bal droppings before a protective coating is applied. Heavy machinery is limited to the occasional use of a borrowed Crane. Obtaining construction supplies like Cement is a logistical Nightmare. Work proceeds with the use of hands hoes and Bamboo baskets nol unlike the Way angkor wat was probably constructed. Some old expert craftsmen who had worked with the French have returned but ung von says local expertise was decimated during the Khmer Rouge Rule and by Lack of training since. Some also criticize the indians. They need our  ung von says. Sometimes they Don t have the experience. They have done their Job Well but their technique is different from the  some cambodians and westerners say privately that the Indian learn uses inferior chemicals is reassembling galleries in a Way that allows water seepage and is stubbornly clinging to some techniques abandoned by International leaders in conservation. But an expert Independent evaluation of their work has yet to be made and the cambodians Are publicly reluctant to criticize because they have made a major political Issue of non communist India coming to their Aid. The Indian restoration which began in 1987, was the first meaningful attempt to keep the rapid deterioration at1 Bay since French archaeologist Bernard Phillipo Groslier was expelled irom angkor by the Khmer Rouge in 1972. Angkor has fought against the elements since being abandoned in the 15lh Century As the capital of a once powerful cambodian Empire. The Khmer Rouge occupied the area during their War against the . Backed government in phenom penh and did nothing to restore angkor during their brutal time in Power. Page 14 the stars and stripes saturday Sef r