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.
