By | Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered in Cambodia's capital Monday awaiting the cremation of former King Norodom Sihanouk, the revered "King-Father," who survived wars and the murderous Khmer Rouge regime to hold center stage in the southeast Asian nation for more than half a century.
Cambodians from across the country flocked to Phnom Penh
to pay their last respects as Sihanouk was given elaborate funeral
rites — mingling Hindu, Buddhist and animist traditions — last seen 53
years ago with the death of Sihanouk's father, King Norodom Suramarit. And they may never be seen again in a rapidly modernizing country where monarchy has lost much of its power and glamor.
"I don't have any words to express the sorrow and suffering I feel
when knowing his body will soon disappear," said a weeping, 79-year-old
woman, Hin Mal, from the southern province of Takeo. "I love and respect
King Sihanouk like my own father."
His body had been lying in state since he died of a heart attack in Beijing on Oct. 15 at the age of 89.
Following a procession through
the streets of Phnom Penh Friday, his body was placed inside a
temple-like, 15-story-high crematorium where his son King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath will light the funeral pyre.
The evening cremation will climax
seven days of official mourning for Sihanouk, who was placed on the
throne by the French as a teenager. Instead of proving the puppet the
colonials had hoped for, Sihanouk went on to win independence, then rule
the country both as monarch and head of state until ousted in a 1970
coup.
A charismatic figure regarded as a "God-King" by many of his
subjects, a prideful Sihanouk sided with the Khmer Rouge against the
U.S.-backed government, but after the victory of the ultra-communists in
1975, he and his wife were held prisoners in the palace. Five of his
children died during the reign of terror.
A consummate survivor, Sihanouk emerged as a leader of an insurgency
fighting a Phnom Penh government installed by the Vietnamese and went on
to broker a peace accord that enabled his return to the throne in 1993.
He abdicated 11 years later in favor of Sihamoni, a former ballet
dancer who had spent most of his life in European artistic circles and
has proven a low-keyed constitutional monarch overshadowed by strongman
Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Sihanouk's dark side, particularly his cooperation with the Khmer
Rouge and his often brutal suppression of dissent, has been publicly
ignored as loudspeakers broadcast eulogies and television stations show
old clips of Sihanouk's triumphs and ebullient personality.
A larger-than-life character,
Sihanouk directed films, composed music and led his own jazz band and
palace soccer team. His appetite extended to fast cars, food and women,
marrying at least five times, some say six, and fathering 14 children.
In the coming days, some of
Sihanouk's ashes will be scattered near the confluence of the four
rivers in Phnom Penh, while others will be put in an urn which,
according to his wishes, will be placed on the grounds of the Royal
Palace near those of his favorite daughter, Kunthea Buppha, who died at
the age of three.
The funeral is being attended by
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Prince Akishino of Japan,
leaders of neighboring countries and China's Jia Qinglin, a senior
government adviser and former high-ranking Politburo member.
Representing the United States is
Ambassador William E. Todd. The U.S. Embassy did not directly respond
to explain such a relatively low-level representation given the long
U.S. involvement in Cambodia.
Many Cambodians were upset when
U.S. President Barack Obama was one of the only leaders attending a
regional summit here in November not to pay his respects before
Sihanouk's body. The president had a reportedly tense meeting with Hun
Sen at the time, with Obama pressing him on Cambodia's worsening human
rights record.
___
Associated Press reporter Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh contributed to his report.
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