Phnom Penh
February 1, 2013
Crowds of mourners dressed in black and white
lined the route Friday of an elaborate parade to honour former Cambodian
monarch Norodom Sihanouk as Buddhist monks chanted and traditional
music was played three days before his cremation.
Sihanouk’s casket was taken from the royal palace to a golden float,
which transported the king’s remains through the city to an ornate
cremation site.
The sound of artillery shots rang out over Phnom Penh’s river frontas
the colourful parade set off. It included thousands of participants,
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen among them.
Sihanouk’s son King Norodom Sihamoni and Sihanouk’s widow Norodom
Monineath Sihanouk walked slowly behind the casket, shaded by black
parasols.
Some parade members played music while others clutched photographs of
Sihanouk as the procession made slow progress through the streets. The
king later returned to the palace with Sihanouk’s widow who dabbed her
eyes with a handkerchief during the morning’s events.
University student Oun Bora, 25, was one of a group of youths who watched the spectacle from Phnom Penh’s riverside.
"I think it’s amazing. I have never seen this before in my whole life.
This event is like history," he said, highlighting Sihanouk’s role in
Cambodia’s independence from France in 1953 "We will be paying homage to
the ’King Father,’ showing our gratitude and our respect to him,"
Sihanouk’s relative and procession member Prince Sisowath Thomico said
Thursday. The prince, who hads haved his head as a mark of respect for
the late monarch, estimated that 2 million to 3 million people would be
in the capital for the royal cremation.
Sihanouk was a significant political figure in Cambodia for nearly 60
years before abdicating in 2004 because of poor health. He died in
Beijing October 15 at 89.
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