King Norodom Sihanouk dies in Beijing
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's former king Norodom Sihanouk, whose life mirrored the turbulent history of his nation where he remained a revered figure, died in Beijing on Monday at the age of 89.
- Published: 15/10/2012 at 09:42 AM
- Writer: AFP
Sihanouk, who had been a frequent visitor to China where he received most of his medical treatment, died of a heart attack, according to his longtime personal assistant Prince Sisowath Thomico.
"He was brought to hospital and died shortly after," he told AFP of the former monarch who abruptly quit the throne in October 2004 in favour of his son, citing old age and health problems.
"It's painful. I am full of sorrow," Prince Thomico said. "King Sihanouk did not belong to his family, he belonged to Cambodia and to history."
The former king had been staying at his Beijing residence since January. He would have been 90 on October 31.
"The royal government of Cambodia will bring his body from the People's Republic of China to Phnom Penh to hold a funeral at the Royal Palace according to our traditions," said a government announcement read out on Cambodian television.
Sihanouk had fought a long battle with health problems that dogged his final years, including cancer, diabetes, hypertension and heart problems.
Despite abdicating in favour of his son Sihamoni, the ex-monarch remained hugely popular in his country. His portrait still adorns public buildings and many Cambodian homes, and he used his website to communicate with the outside world.
In a message in January, he said he wanted to be cremated upon his death and have his ashes kept in an urn inside the Royal Palace, reversing an earlier wish to be buried.
Cambodians woke to the news of their former monarch's demise on the final day of the annual festival for the dead, known as Pchum Ben, when most people leave the capital Phnom Penh to spend time with their families in the countryside.
Dead ancestors are believed to emerge to walk the earth during this time, and they are honoured with prayers and food offerings at Buddhist pagodas.
Prince Thomico said he believed Cambodians would find it "significant" that Sihanouk had died at the conclusion of the 15-day festival.
In eastern Kampong Cham province, local people expressed their sorrow over the former monarch's death.
"He was a good king and watched over the country and the Cambodian people. I liked him very much," said 94-year-old Ching Sivheang.
Sihanouk was placed on the throne in 1941 at the age of 18 by French colonial authorities.
Twelve years later he gained Cambodia's independence and shortly after quit the throne for the first time in favour of his father Prince Norodom Suramarit to pursue a career in politics.
Sihanouk served as premier half a dozen times, repeatedly leaving the post with a characteristic flash of angry theatre over perceived slights, until finally becoming "head of state" following the death of his father in 1960.
He was toppled in a US-backed coup by one of his own generals, Lon Nol, in 1970.
Sihanouk then aligned himself with communist guerrillas Khmer Rouge.
The hardline communist movement used him as a figurehead as they seized power before putting him under house arrest in the royal palace with his family during their 1975-79 reign of terror.
Sihanouk later condemned the Khmer Rouge, whose bloody rule left up to two million people dead.
He regained the throne in 1993, having helped push for peace.
Share your thoughts
- Discussion 1 : 15/10/2012 at 05:57 PM
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@ Discussion 7 (waters):
From Wikipedia:
The Viet Cong (...), or National Liberation Front (NLF), was a political organization and army in South Vietnam and Cambodia that fought the United States and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam War (1959–1975), and emerged on the winning side. It had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized peasants in the territory it controlled. Many soldiers were recruited in South Vietnam, but others were attached to the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), the regular North Vietnamese army.
- Discussion 2 : 15/10/2012 at 04:50 PM
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D7. This is the link for John Pilgers 'Year Zero'. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTmEy2GEVL8 Please view it and be more educated towards the unfortunate circumstances of Cambodia. There are many more similar reports, all giving America's Nixon and Kissingers illegal and secret bombing account. If I were an American I would be ashamed to even talk about the Vietnam war, which they deservedly lost, or of the disgusting outcome of Cambodia, which was caused by them.
- Discussion 3 : 15/10/2012 at 03:35 PM
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D6
Point 1 - Kissinger was Secretary of State, and didn't order any bombings. He was a diplomat who negotiated with North Vietnam to end the war
Point 2 - The NVA were using eastern Cambodia as a supply route and sanctuary in which to attack government forces in Vietnam, hence these regions were bombed
Point 3 - The Vietcong were South Vietnamese, and I think you're confusing them with the North Vietnam Army
Point 4 - Pol Pot's pro-communist army, supported by China, had already engaged the Lon Nol governments forces in Cambodia and the Lon Nol government asked for American assistance.
The rest is history,
- Discussion 4 : 15/10/2012 at 01:54 PM
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D4. I urge you to take some Asian history lessons. Please start with John Pilgers documentary 'Year Zero'. It explains that Nixon and his advisor Kissinger absolutely illegally dropped the equivalent of 5 Hiroshimas of bomb power on the neutral country of Cambodia. This raized the country which gave Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge their damming power. Please do not ask an American his view on this, ask the people who suffered it, and still are, the Cambodians.
- Discussion 5 : 15/10/2012 at 01:18 PM
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D1. Kosal, reading your disgusting comment, and seeing what flag you picked to represent you, that is truly revolting. Of course American Imperialism played no role in Cambodia and south-east Asia, right? As usual, this innocent country, pillar of democracy, standing up and pointing its finger and judging the others... Without America and its shameful war in Vietnam there would have been no Pol Pot and no Khmer Rouge seizing power in Cambodia.
May King Norodom rest in peace.
- Discussion 6 : 15/10/2012 at 12:58 PM
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alexa, DS # 2
A Cambodian communist fellow named Pol Pot, and his Khmer Rouge army created the genocide in Cambodia from 1975-1979 until he was driven out by the Vietnamese army.
You really ought to take a history course on modern Asian history, because you are totally incorrect.
- Discussion 7 : 15/10/2012 at 12:36 PM
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I'm so sorry to hear this. It's a tragedy that he didn't get the chance to spend his last days/years back in his home country surrounded by family and well wishers. Politics really drove him out and kept him away. It's an irony that politics are now forcing him back, but only upon death.
I know he did a lot to help children who were orphaned due to the Khmer Rouge. He donated his land for this purpose. Watch 'My Khmer Heart.' RIP
- Discussion 8 : 15/10/2012 at 12:15 PM
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D1. Surely the ones directly to blame and fully responsible for the cause of the genocide were Nixon and Kissinger trying to flush the Vietcong out of Cambodia by carpet bombing. This historic fact is easily available.
- Discussion 9 : 15/10/2012 at 10:06 AM
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King Sihanouk did a lot of good services to Cambodia and Khmer people. However, he was so power greedy, and selfish that he joined the Khmer Rouge; Thus, causing a genecide in Cambodia. He is responsible for whatever happened in Cambodia.
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