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Mirror, Mirror on the wall: What did she write?
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UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova visited the Sigiriya Rock Fortress this week and left a message on a replica of the famed “Mirror Wall” at the nearby museum dedicated to the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ms Bokova, who was in Sri Lanka on a four-day visit that ended on Wednesday, was dragged into a minor controversy after media reports implied that she had made a reference to the possible delisting of the Dambulla Temple over new constructions added to the historic site by a resident monk.
It was later clarified, however, that a number of recommendations have been made to the Government to improve the conservation and management of the site — and that there was no immediate danger of striking the Dambulla Temple off the World Heritage list.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee at its recently-concluded session in Istanbul, Turkey, has, however, expressed “serious concern” about, among other things, the failure to implement an agreed management plan for the Dambulla Temple. A management committee comprising relevant Government authorities and Dambulla Temple’s chief monks will be set up soon, a spokesperson for UNESCO in Colombo said. Pic by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa