The royal family committee’s head Ton That Vien Bao, lights incense praying after the grave was found under thick layer of bulldozing soil. (Photo: VNA) ThuaThien-Hue (VNA) - The People’s Committee of Thua Thien- Hue provincedecided to move the grave of the bulldozed king wife’s tomb, augmenting theconflict between local government and the royal family committee.
Nguyen Dung, the committee’sdeputy chairman, told a press briefing early this week that provinceauthorities decided to remove the underground tomb of Tu Duc King’s wife thatwas razed last month.
Dung said the move was to“ensure fairness among other owners of graves”, which had been excavated andreburied at another place to give land to a parking lot project built in thebuffer area amidst emperor Tu Duc, emperor Dong Khanh and other wives ofemperor Tu Duc’s mausoleum and tombs.
Meanwhile, the Nguyen FamilyCommittee, which is an organisation representing descendants of the NguyenDynasty (1802-1945) said they wanted the tomb to be rebuilt at the site wherethe grave’s remains were found.
In case local authoritiesremove the grave, the royal family committee will send petition to the PrimeMinister and report the case to UNESCO, said Ton That Giap, a member of theroyal family committee’ secretary unit. At the same time, they will suethe investor of the parking lot for the criminal violation of illegaldestruction of the tomb, which the royal family committee owns.
At the press brief, Nguyen Thien Binh, theculture department’s deputy director, said the tomb was considered ‘haunted’before it was ‘cautiously’ razed by a bulldozer, blaming the royal familycommittee for being irresponsible for the tomb.
Binh added that the tomb hasno cultural and architectural value. The provincial People’s Committee’s DeputyChairman Dung supported this, saying the case is not an exception, as “theking’s wife is not a historical figure”.
Comments by the culturedepartment have puzzled locals in Hue. Earlier, officials claimed that no tombstructure had been razed but bushes.
On June 21, locals livingnear the tomb attempted to stop a bulldozer from razing it, but the driverignored the protests and destroyed the ancient royal structure.
At that time, the culturedepartment and Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, a local government’s bodythat manages all monuments related to the dynasty, affirmed that there was noroyal tomb, despite the fact that the tomb was located in the middle of asingle tomb of another king wife and a collective tomb for 15 other royalwives.
The razed tomb was located inthe buffer area of two mausoleums, Tu Duc and Dong Khanh, which is a protectedarea according to heritage law.
With strong pressure from theroyal family committee and public, the department and the centre later admittedtheir mistake, but blamed the investor for the razing work.
Locals are questioning themotives of the razing after authorities remained determined to remove thegrave.-VNA
Nguyen Dung, the committee’sdeputy chairman, told a press briefing early this week that provinceauthorities decided to remove the underground tomb of Tu Duc King’s wife thatwas razed last month.
Dung said the move was to“ensure fairness among other owners of graves”, which had been excavated andreburied at another place to give land to a parking lot project built in thebuffer area amidst emperor Tu Duc, emperor Dong Khanh and other wives ofemperor Tu Duc’s mausoleum and tombs.
Meanwhile, the Nguyen FamilyCommittee, which is an organisation representing descendants of the NguyenDynasty (1802-1945) said they wanted the tomb to be rebuilt at the site wherethe grave’s remains were found.
In case local authoritiesremove the grave, the royal family committee will send petition to the PrimeMinister and report the case to UNESCO, said Ton That Giap, a member of theroyal family committee’ secretary unit. At the same time, they will suethe investor of the parking lot for the criminal violation of illegaldestruction of the tomb, which the royal family committee owns.
At the press brief, Nguyen Thien Binh, theculture department’s deputy director, said the tomb was considered ‘haunted’before it was ‘cautiously’ razed by a bulldozer, blaming the royal familycommittee for being irresponsible for the tomb.
Binh added that the tomb hasno cultural and architectural value. The provincial People’s Committee’s DeputyChairman Dung supported this, saying the case is not an exception, as “theking’s wife is not a historical figure”.
Comments by the culturedepartment have puzzled locals in Hue. Earlier, officials claimed that no tombstructure had been razed but bushes.
On June 21, locals livingnear the tomb attempted to stop a bulldozer from razing it, but the driverignored the protests and destroyed the ancient royal structure.
At that time, the culturedepartment and Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, a local government’s bodythat manages all monuments related to the dynasty, affirmed that there was noroyal tomb, despite the fact that the tomb was located in the middle of asingle tomb of another king wife and a collective tomb for 15 other royalwives.
The razed tomb was located inthe buffer area of two mausoleums, Tu Duc and Dong Khanh, which is a protectedarea according to heritage law.
With strong pressure from theroyal family committee and public, the department and the centre later admittedtheir mistake, but blamed the investor for the razing work.
Locals are questioning themotives of the razing after authorities remained determined to remove thegrave.-VNA
VNA
