CULTURE BITE

The Ministry of Women's Affairs is preparing to shut down a website showing naked Cambodian Apsara paintings by a group of Cambodian-American artists. "Now we are preparing to shut down the website," said Ing Kantha Pavi, minister of women affairs, citing its negative effect on Cambodian cultural values. Vann Sophath, deputy director of communication and advocacy at Licadho, said the website should be shut down because it appealed too much to young Cambodians. He said the paintings were modeled on a traditional Apsara but  depicted human bodies. Chuch Phoeung, secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said his ministry had no reaction to the paintings. "It is the freedom of painters to draw pictures of the body of human being," he said. "If you go to museums in European countries, most have these kinds of paintings."