. J A R LI
EMBARGOED AGAINST DELIVERY: APPROX. 6.3OPM
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P. J. KEATING MP
THE AGE OF ANGKOR, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL GALLERY,
21 AUGUST 1992
The Honourable Lionel Bowen and Mrs Bowen, Mr Pich Kec,
Ministerial Colleagues, Mr and Mrs Hoare, distinguished
guests, ladies and gentlemen.
I am honoured to be invited to open this exhibition.
It is a very significant exhibition an historic one.
I know what imagination, hard work and persistence have
gone into it.
And part of my duty this evening is to acknowledge the
debt we owe to those who conceived the idea and worked
intensively through the past year to make it a reality.
In particular Mr PichKeo, the Director of the National.
Museum in Phnom Penh.
Mr Keo welcome to Australia; on behalf of the Government
and everyone here, I thank you for your part in this.
Your staff and many others in Cambodia also deserve our
thanks. Mr Hun Sen, I know, gave the project his personal
backing. I look forward to the opportunity to personally deliver
our thanks when I visit Phnomn Penh next month. While I
am there, I hope I will have a chance to visit the
National Museum.
I also want to congratulate Michael Brand,. the curator of
Asian Art here at the Australian National Gallery, both
for his vision and his stamina.
I know that in such things as this there is a long way to
travel between vision and realisation: I know also that
it takes a lot of team work to get there. 1485
So, for the sake of brevity, I congratulate the people on
the team including the RAAF who took them to Phnom Penh
along with the empty packing crates, and brought them
back with the exhibition.
I must also pay tribute, of course, to my colleague, the
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Gareth Evans.
Gareth's outstanding contribution to the implementation
of a peace process in Cambodia is well known to everyone
here. His support for this proposal is a measure of his
admiration and affection for Cambodia and its people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Cambodia, rightly I believe, sees the protection of its
cultural heritage as a vital part of the current
reconstruction. The culture of a people unites them. I always think of
it as a great healer.
And Cambodia has tragic wounds to heal.
Just as a nation's cultural heritage unites its people,
so can cultural exchanges such as this one bring people
of different cultures together.
It is because we want to expand our understanding of
Cambodia and other countries in the region where we live
that Australia seeks to develop cultural, as well as
economic and political, relationships.
Much has changed within a generation: among Australians
today there is an awareness and appreciation of Asian
cultures which was unimaginable twenty years ago.
Travel, migration, trade and communications have played
their parts in bringing us closer together.
So will cultural exchanges and in this context the
Australian National Gallery is to be congratulated for
for its efforts to raise the profile of Asian art in
Australia. There is still a long way to go, but the Australian
Government and its agencies are actively pursuing
programs aimed at heightening the level of mutual
understanding through culture and art.
This, then, is an exhibition of great consequence.
Not only does it comprise magnificent and unique works of
art, but it is the first time these works have left
Cambodia.
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We are delighted that Australia should be the first
country in the world to have that honour.
Yet the significance of the exhibition goes well beyond
that. It strengthens the bond between our two countries,
our two peoples.
Australians have been shocked and saddened by the
terrible crimes and suffering inflicted on the Cambodian
people. This exhibition might be taken as a symbol of our hope
that Cambodians are at last succeeding in their struggle
to regain the opportunity for better lives.
As we admire these works, I think we should also pause
for a moment to recall that the peace process on which
these hopes depend still faces severe difficulties.
Along with many others who are contributing to and
supporting the United Nations presence in Cambodia, the
Australian Government is committed to doing all it can to
help the peace process succeed.
In addition to our significant contribution of military
and civilian personnel to the United Nations Transitional
-Authority in Cambodia, this financial year Australia will
provide approximately 15 million dollars in humanitarian
assistance to Cambodia.
We have much to gain from coming to understand the
societies of Asia and we have much to give.
This evening I am happy to annouce a small contribution
we may be able to make towards the rehabilitation of
cultural life in Cambodia.
In an effort to help preserve the important symbol of
Khmer culture and unity which these works of art
represent, the Australian Government and the Australian
National Gallery have agreed to contribute towards a
public appeal to raise S700,000 for urgently needed
repairs at the National Museum of Cambodia.
To help launch the appeal, which will be run at the
Gallery in the course of the exhibition, the Department
of Administrative Services will provide S250,000 in
technical assistance, the Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade will provide S50,000, and the Gallery will
provide $ 25,000.
Our aim is to raise the remaining S375,000 through a
public appeal, with the Government matching public
contributions on a two for one basis. 1487
I understand that a promising start to the public appeal
has already been made, with Qantas offering to pay the
cost of flying 12 specialists involved in the Museum
project return from Australia to Bangkok.
In addition to this appeal, theAustralianInternational
Development_ Assistance. Bureau has agreed to ' provide
training and development for the staff of the Museum at a
cost of $ 150,000 over two years.
This training will concentrate on developing skills in
the conservation and restoration of stone and bronze
works, as well as photographic exhibits.
Further assistance will also be possible within
Australia's established sponsored training program for
Cambodia which will allow Museum staff to study in
Australia in conjunction with the Gallery.
Ladies and gentlemen
As I said, it is a privilege to be present at this
opening as it is to see these works.
I sincerely hope we are the first among a multitude.
Once again, let me congratulate all those who have worked
so hard to bring this great project to fruition.
It represents, as I have said, a significant moment in
our cultural history.
I wish it every success.
And I hope in years to come it will be seen to symbolise
peace at last in Cambodia.
Thank you.
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