A U.S. Role in Saving Cambodia’s Treasures

Re “Loving a Treasure to Death,” editorial, May 13: The Times correctly noted both the growing world interest in the Angkor Wat site and the stress imposed on the ruins by the growing number of tourists. With visits nearing 1 million this year, Cambodian officials anticipate up to 5 million in years to come, placing an enormous burden not only on threatened ruins but on a dwindling water table that could cause subsidence and damage to the temples. Our country needs to play a more active role not only in preserving these priceless relics but also in helping Cambodia develop a stable economy based on a permanent resource instead of its current reliance on the ephemeral garment industry.

Yet the U.S. has played virtually no role at Angkor because of restrictions on direct aid to the Cambodian government, including Apsara, the monument management agency. The Congress wisely repealed that restriction with respect to cultural efforts, and now we should join India, Japan and other nations in preserving the wonders of the ancient temples of Cambodia.

Rep. George Miller

D-Martinez