On Heritage Day, see another side of Cambodia’s history

In an article for the Phnom Penh Post columnist Cindy Co describes the festivities in store for the capital this coming Saturday during "Heritage Day". I started reading this article without much expectation for substantive material, but I was incredibly surprised about how much it reveals about the adopted identity of the country (in its official capacity at least-- i.e by the government). The former statement may seem vague, but just take a look at the article, it is insane. Activities on "Heritage Day" include the touring of ancient sites in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap where relics have been enshrined, of the Agence Francaise de Développement, the Residencies of the Australian and British Ambassadors, and of the UNESCO office. Despite the purpose of this day being a celebration of "European history" and "cultural exchange" outside of Europe, it seems curious to me that 1.) the Cambodian government is so focused on honoring its colonial past and 2.) that no distinction between "heritage" types have been made. The description of the day as just "heritage day" seems to adopt the foreign presence in the country as an integral part of Cambodian identity. I may be reading too much into this, but the opening of historical sites in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh suggests slightly more than a simple recognition of the country's interaction with France. During the colonial era historical sites like Angkor Wat were renovated to quench the adventurous thirst of foreign visitors, but their connection to Cambodia's much broader history is indisputable. What does the recognition of this fossilization of Cambodian history by the French mean for Cambodian identity? From all of this it seems clear that the government is content with complimenting its colonial history; but to what end? After reading about the lay ascetic in Figures of Southeast Asia which detailed a common desire for acquiring a moral and cultural unity, I could only imagine a desire by the government to reach beyond the colonial past for inspiration. Maybe that is not the case.