Kanchanaburi to seek recognition of Death Railway as a World Heritage Site

[rooster59]

Kanchanaburi to seek recognition of Death Railway as a World Heritage Site

By THE SUNDAY NATION

 

Photo credit: Department of Local Administration

 

KANCHANABURI is pushing for its historically significant Death Railway to become a World Heritage Site.

 

A public hearing was held yesterday at the River Kwai Hotel in the western border province to hear the views of local residents. The event was presided over by Kanchanaburi Governor Jirakiat Poomsawat.

 

Almost 52 per cent of local residents backed a proposal by a national committee on the protection of cultural world heritage sites to have the railway line recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site, according to results of a survey by the province’s Cultural Office and Rajabhat Kanchanaburi University.

 

A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) as having cultural, historical, scientific or other form of significance, and is legally protected by international treaties.

The proposal, which got the backing from the Fine Arts Department, was first made in February 2014 by the national committee, which resolved to seek Unesco recognition for Death Railway and 10 other sites around Thailand, said Pisun Chansilp, Kanchanaburi’s chief cultural official.

 

Following yesterday’s public hearing, the relevant authorities will next prepare a report to apply for the recognition of Death Railway as a World Heritage Site, said Tharapong Srisuchart, director of the Office of Archaeology.

 

He added that a survey by his agency had discovered train parts and structures on the route.

 

The 415-kilometre Death Railway, also known as the Burma Railway, was built during World War II by Japan, with forced labour from Allied prisoners and Southeast Asian civilian labourers. 

 

The line originally linked Thailand’s Ratchaburi and Thanbyuzayat in Burma, which today is known as Myanmar. It was closed in 1947, but the section between Nong Pla Duk in Ratchaburi and Nam Tok in Kanchanaburi was reopened 10 years later. 

 

One of the most notable portions of the entire railway line is the world-famous Bridge on the River Kwai, which crosses Khwae Yai River and is a major tourist attraction.

 

“Kwai” is a corrupted spelling of the Thai transliteration “Khwae”, which means tributary.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30344696

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-05-06

[Bill Miller]

“Kwai” is a corrupted spelling of the Thai transliteration “Khwae”, which means tributary.

Huh. For half a century or so I have thought the river was named for water buffalo. 

[HAKAPALITA]

If you say it wrong in some areas youve just said Penises.!!

[AsiaHand]

Ah Yes,A world Heartage Site to show how the Thai cooperated in helping the Japanese in preventing any Allies prisoners from escaping as The Japanese killed hundreds of allies and tens of thousands of Chinese ,Malayans,and Indonesians. A railway started by the English with PAID workers not slave labor.

[AsiaHand]

So would this be a Heritage in honor of England,Thailand,Japan,China Malaysia ,Indonesia,Holland Australia,America, or any other country involved in this worthless endeavor? By the time it was finished it was no longer needed as Malaysia was now in the Allies hands  pushing out the Japanese army. Oh by the way there are grave yards with other allies that were killed by the Japanese on the Malaysian side of this railway.So where would this "Heritage" site began and end ?

[toofarnorth]

4 hours ago, AsiaHand said:

Ah Yes,A world Heartage Site to show how the Thai cooperated in helping the Japanese in preventing any Allies prisoners from escaping as The Japanese killed hundreds of allies and tens of thousands of Chinese ,Malayans,and Indonesians. A railway started by the English with PAID workers not slave labor.

In the 1890's the British thought about building a railway through Burma and Thailand if it had gone ahead thousands of coolies would have to be brought from India. The japs had thousands of POWs. and needed the railway in a hurry , the rest as they say is history.

[toofarnorth]

4 hours ago, AsiaHand said:

Ah Yes,A world Heartage Site to show how the Thai cooperated in helping the Japanese in preventing any Allies prisoners from escaping as The Japanese killed hundreds of allies and tens of thousands of Chinese ,Malayans,and Indonesians. A railway started by the English with PAID workers not slave labor.

In the 1890's the British thought about building a railway through Burma and Thailand if it had gone ahead thousands of coolies would have to be brought from India. The japs had thousands of POWs. and needed the railway in a hurry , the rest as they say is history.

[SupermarineS6B]

Who's paying for it ?   Sounds to me as though Thailand's trying to get another free Railway system...... The cemetarys are all war graves commision taken care of by western organisations...... The railway i believe was paid for at the end of the war by Thailand as part of reparations for collaboration........It's owned by Thailand, they can pay for it.......

[SupermarineS6B]

46 minutes ago, toofarnorth said:

In the 1890's the British thought about building a railway through Burma and Thailand if it had gone ahead thousands of coolies would have to be brought from India. The japs had thousands of POWs. and needed the railway in a hurry , the rest as they say is history.

"A thousand miles on an elephant in the Shan states"...... The British evaluation of a railway from Burma through Thailand. A fantastic read, doesn't have a lot of nice words for Siam as it was then........

[johng]

If you say it wrong in some areas youve just said Penises.!!

Funny you mention them because at the railway museum in the prisoner railway car there (used to be) a western mannequin holding onto the prison bars wearing a loin cloth..when my wife lifted the loin cloth she got a rather large surprise !

[AsiaHand]

1 hour ago, toofarnorth said:

In the 1890's the British thought about building a railway through Burma and Thailand if it had gone ahead thousands of coolies would have to be brought from India. The japs had thousands of POWs. and needed the railway in a hurry , the rest as they say is history.

Yes.The history of the most ruthless Axxholes next to the Nazis to have been in modern times.The Brits actually started  it with PAID labor not SLAVERY and then the money needed to continue this was needed back home in England and was abandon in about the 1930s. 

[Slip]

Only 52% local backing for this initiative?

[dinsdale]

10 hours ago, AsiaHand said:

Ah Yes,A world Heartage Site to show how the Thai cooperated in helping the Japanese in preventing any Allies prisoners from escaping as The Japanese killed hundreds of allies and tens of thousands of Chinese ,Malayans,and Indonesians. A railway started by the English with PAID workers not slave labor.

What a load of rubbish. As is your following post. How old are you? Let me guess 13 and drunk. This is also highly offensive.

[SupermarineS6B]

I had two family members that worked on the railway courtesy of the Japanese, one survived the war and one was executed. The one that was executed was one of four men that had escaped from the Japanese, took refuge in a village called Baan Khao, the villagers were feeding them as they were starving, but this was only a con while the head man grassed them up to the Japs for MONEY !  One of the men died fighting the Japs that turned up, and the other three were taken prisoner again and later executed. Eye witness accounts say that when the Jap officer was walking past the three men tied to posts, one of them spat in his face, lovely....... After the war that Jap officer was hung for war crimes....... Unfortunately the head man in typical fashion, "Fled the scene of the accident"......... All this was hushed up by the government, " As it might upset future business with Japan"  My relation is buried in the main cemetary and i only found out a year ago what really happened to him, as we were all told that he'd died of wounds from Singapore..... Not one of Thailands finest moments..........

[AsiaHand]

13 hours ago, dinsdale said:

What a load of rubbish. As is your following post. How old are you? Let me guess 13 and drunk. This is also highly offensive.

Offensive to whom ?dinsdale either you are very ignorant of history or have yet to go to a school or schools where history is taught.I am 80 years old and have spent more then 50 of the last 60 years in Asia.I am schooled in Far East studies as well as world history.With a BS and some graduate studies.Go to school young man or continue to just trod along the beaten path of others.