Unesco recognises King Rama V's reforms

Published: 1/08/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Archival documents of King Chulalongkorn's transformation of Siam have been registered with Unesco's Memory of the World.

The historical documents have become the second Thai item to be included on the prestigious list, after a stone inscription from the Sukhothai period was listed in 2003.

"Present-day Thailand owes much to the policies and reforms carried out by King Chulalongkorn the Great of Siam (1868-1910)," said the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation which announced the list yesterday.

The documents record social policies, such as the emancipation of slaves by peaceful and legal means, the abolition of gambling, the establishment of a public school system and the reform of the Buddhist Sangha.

"These measures contributed to Siam's ability, exceptional during the age of Western colonialism, to retain its independence," says Unesco.

Sivikar Mektavatchaikul, deputy permanent secretary for education and a member of Unesco's national commission for Thailand, said the international recognition was a wake-up call for Thais to help preserve items of historical value and importance.

She called on people who have important historical documents in their possession, such as letters written by King Chulalongkorn, to hand them over to relevant authorities for preservation.
The 800,000-page royal documents have been kept at the National Archives of Thailand and the National Library.

King Chulalongkorn's documents are one of 35 documentary properties added to the list declared by Unesco on Thursday, bringing the total number of Memory of the World inscriptions to 193.

Other items added to the list include Anne Frank's Diaries, which tell of the daily life of an adolescent Jewish girl in the Netherlands during World War II; the royal archives of Madagascar; Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archives of Cambodia; an encyclopaedia of medical knowledge and treatment techniques compiled in Korea; and Malaysia's Inscribed Stone of Terengganu.