Burmese conservationists battle to save Rangoon's colonial heritage
Conservationists in Burma are battling to save Rangoon's unique colonial heritage amid fears that many of its admired British Raj-era buildings will be destroyed once sanctions against the government are lifted.
The colonial-style Central Telephone & Telegraph Office in Rangoon Photo: ALAMY
By Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor
Their sense of urgency intensified last week after the United States and the European Union said they would begin lifting some sanctions soon after Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory in a series of by-elections.
Thant Myint U, the Cambridge-educated Burmese historian and author, has launched a campaign, with some support from Britain's Department for International Development, to catalogue the former capital's colonial architecture and preserve its finest buildings.
His group believes they could not only attract thousands of tourists to one of Asia's last intact colonial 'quartiers', but also remind Burma, as it emerges from international isolation, of its earlier history as a hub of global trade.
They also serve as a reminder of the place Britain once had in world markets. Many of Rangoon's imposing late 19th Century buildings were commissioned by Scottish trading firms who dominated the city and their imposing style is believed to have been influenced by Victorian Glasgow.
Britain's embassy on The Strand was once the headquarters of J&F Graham & Company of Glasgow, while around the corner on Pansodan Street the empty Inland Water Transport department building was once the Burma headquarters of the Glasgow-based Irrawaddy Flotilla Company.
The colonial-style Central Telephone & Telegraph Office in Rangoon Photo: ALAMY
By Dean Nelson, South Asia Editor
Their sense of urgency intensified last week after the United States and the European Union said they would begin lifting some sanctions soon after Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory in a series of by-elections.
Thant Myint U, the Cambridge-educated Burmese historian and author, has launched a campaign, with some support from Britain's Department for International Development, to catalogue the former capital's colonial architecture and preserve its finest buildings.
His group believes they could not only attract thousands of tourists to one of Asia's last intact colonial 'quartiers', but also remind Burma, as it emerges from international isolation, of its earlier history as a hub of global trade.
They also serve as a reminder of the place Britain once had in world markets. Many of Rangoon's imposing late 19th Century buildings were commissioned by Scottish trading firms who dominated the city and their imposing style is believed to have been influenced by Victorian Glasgow.
Britain's embassy on The Strand was once the headquarters of J&F Graham & Company of Glasgow, while around the corner on Pansodan Street the empty Inland Water Transport department building was once the Burma headquarters of the Glasgow-based Irrawaddy Flotilla Company.
Sources: The Telegraph (UK)
