MAK REMISSA/EPA
Cambodians mourn and pray for the former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Sihanouk died
Monday of a heart attack in Beijing at age 89. Thousands of mourners
have since gathered in the streets of Phnom Penh ahead of the royal
funeral.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012,
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - The body of Cambodia's late King Norodom Sihanouk
returned to his homeland Wednesday afternoon, welcomed by hundreds of
thousands of mourners who packed tree-lined roads in the Southeast Asian
nation's capital ahead of the royal funeral.
Sihanouk, 89, died Monday of a heart attack in Beijing, where he had been receiving medical treatment since January.
The former monarch was the last surviving Southeast Asian leader who
pioneered his nation through postwar independence. He served as prime
minister and twice as king before abdicating the throne for good in
2004.
A Boeing 747 arranged by the government of China - a steadfast friend
of the late monarch for decades - brought back the body, which was
accompanied by Sihanouk's widow, Queen Mother Monineath.
MAK REMISSA/EPA
Monks and soldiers both rode the float carrying the remains of the former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk, during a processing ceremony in Phnom Penh.
Also on the plane was Sihanouk's son and successor, King Sihamoni, and
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who had traveled to Beijing to
retrieve the body.
The casket was carried on an elaborate motorized float from the airport
to the Royal Palace, where Sihanouk will lie in state for three months.
During that time, the public can pay respects before the body is
cremated according to Buddhist ritual.
Monks and soldiers both rode the float, designed to represent a giant golden phoenix-like bird.
Crowds had gathered since morning all along the eight-kilometer
(five-mile) route, many wearing white, a color of mourning in Buddhist
tradition. Officials estimated the crowd to be more than 200,000. Long
Demon, a city government spokesman, told the local news website DAP that
as many as 1.2 million people in total, including many from outside the
capital, had come to mourn.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Officials estimated that over 200,000 people lined the route from the airport to the Royal Palace.
When the float passed them, wailing grew louder among the onlookers.
Many, especially the elderly, bowed low with hands pressed together
above their heads in a traditional mark of respect. Some tossed flowers.
Thousands of people, some with tears in their eyes, gathered outside
the palace in swelteringly hot weather, many of them kneeling before a
huge portrait of the late monarch on the main wall, which was also
adorned with lights. They carried flowers, lit candles, burned incense
and prayed.
"I needed to come here today to pray and see the body of the king
because he dies only one time, not twice," said Khy Sokhan, a
73-year-old woman in a wheelchair outside the palace.
While older people seemed more emotionally affected, younger people also came out to grieve.
MAK REMISSA/EPA
A Boeing 747 brought back the body, which was accompanied by Sihanouk's widow, Queen Mother Monineath.
A young woman who traveled with her family from Kampong Cham province in eastern Cambodia described mixed emotions.
"I am happy because I have a chance to come to Phnom Penh see the
coffin of the grandfather-king with own eyes, but I feel so sad to see
him passing away," said 20-year-old Kay Savath.
A holiday atmosphere accompanied the grief.
Mom Khak, 23, was selling incense and candles in front of the palace,
and acknowledged that Sihanouk's death was good fortune for him because
the crowd meant better business. Even as more mourners flocked to the
area, he said he had already earned the equivalent of $60, more than 10
times what he usually made in a day.
"I am sad about the death of the king father but happy as well that I
could earn more money because of his death," he said as his 1-year-old
daughter looked on.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images
King Norodom Sihanouk died of a heart attack in Beijing on Monday at age 89.
He added that he had prayed to Sihanouk's spirit the night before to help his business.
Sihanouk played many roles in the Cambodia he helped navigate through
half a century of war and genocide. He was a known as revered
independence hero, communist collaborator, eccentric playboy, and a
cunning and sometimes ruthless monarch and prime minister.
First crowned king in 1941, he stepped down in 1953 to pursue a
political career. He became head of state, and during the Cold War tried
to steer his country on a neutralist course.
Eventually, however, his country became enmeshed in the conflict in
neighboring Vietnam, leading to his first fall from power and
culminating in the murderous rule of the communist Khmer Rouge in the
late 1970s, during which about 1.7 million of his countrymen perished.
His legacy became tainted because in an effort to regain his political
influence, he made common cause with Khmer Rouge, though the regime
never yielded power to him and killed five of his children.
STEPHEN MORRISON/EPA
Monks pay their respects for the former king as his remains arrive outside the Royal Palace.
After the Khmer Rouge were ousted and Sihanouk regained the throne in
1993, he rebuilt his reputation as the conscience of his country. But
Hun Sen, a tough and canny politician who had defected from the Khmer
Rouge, undercut his influence, and a discouraged Sihanouk gave up the
throne eight years ago. Sihanouk spent much of the rest of his life in
China.
The passage of time and Sihanouk's retreat into quiet retirement in
China made the once-dynamic monarch more of a historical figure than a
contemporary statesman, but his passing was noted internationally.
No comments:
Post a Comment