Mrauk-U’s UNESCO heritage bid delayed by coronavirus

By Myo Thiri Kyaw 25 May 2020

Myo Thiri Kyaw | DMG
25 May, Mrauk-U 

Count Mrauk-U’s bid to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site as being among the multitude of matters put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Experts from the UN cultural agency were to conduct field surveys of the ancient city in Arakan State this year, following submission of a final bid proposal in January. But those visits have been delayed indefinitely in the wake of the global viral outbreak, said Daw Khin Than, chairperson of the Mrauk-U Ancient Cultural Heritage Conservation Group. 

“Since the draft nomination dossier was submitted [in September 2019], we have been facing civil war. And COVID-19 is occurring now. So, all processes are halted now,” she said. 

“We will launch a management plan next month,” she added. 

A final proposal intended to put Mrauk-U on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites was submitted to the Paris-based body on January 27, with a decision previously expected in 2021. The extent to which that pre-coronavirus timeline has been delayed is not known at present. 

An officer from the Mrauk-U Township Department of Archaeology and National Museum said that in the interim, meetings have been convened online, but the requisite field survey remains a major obstacle to bringing the process to a close. 

Among other advocates for the listing, local experts, departmental officials, heritage lovers, foreign experts and Arakan State residents have all endeavoured to put the Mrauk-U cultural region on the UNESCO heritage docket, forming committees since 2017 in pursuit of that aim. 

But conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army in Mrauk-U and beyond has imperiled the bid as cultural heritage highlights such as the temples and pagodas of the ancient city have sustained damage during the ongoing hostilities.