Govt dismisses as fake news claim Fine Arts Dept approved bombing of ancient temple

A government spokesman on Tuesday warned the public not to believe or share fake news alleging that the Fine Arts Department had given the green light for the military to bomb an archaeological site in order to defend Thai territory.

Deputy government spokesman Anukool Pruksanusak said the false report — which claimed the department was ready to allow the military to destroy a prasat (ancient temple) for military purposes — had become the most widely viewed fake news item among Thai readers.

The fake news referred to Prasat Ta Kwai, which the Royal Thai Army (RTA) has said lies inside Thai territory. The RTA earlier stated that Thai troops had failed to retake Prasat Ta Kwai in Surin province because a ceasefire came into effect first. Cambodian forces had allegedly surrounded the site with landmines, preventing Thai troops from using airstrikes for fear of damaging the temple.

The fabricated story, which has been widely shared on social media, claimed that the Fine Arts Department would not object if the military destroyed Prasat Ta Kwai to reclaim the territory. It also alleged that the department could reconstruct the temple from its ruins.

Anukool stressed that the Fine Arts Department has never had a policy to allow any archaeological site to be destroyed for military purposes, adding that such sites are part of the cultural heritage of the nation and humanity.

He said restoring a damaged site could never truly compare to the original, and that the intentional destruction of an archaeological site would harm national pride and violate international conservation principles.

“Although the Fine Arts Department is capable of restoring a damaged site to resemble the original, it cannot match the historical value, artistic merit, and spirit of the original,” Anukool said. “Doing so would violate international archaeological principles that prohibit the destruction of any archaeological site under any circumstances.”