http://youtu.be/tEP8HdFpktI
Last Updated on 05 February 2013
Phnom Penh Post
Mourners grieve
outside the crematorium moments after cannons were fired to signal that
King Father Norodom Sihanouk’s funeral pyre had been lit. Crowds packed
the riverside area despite restricted access to streets near the
cremation site, Monday, Feb. 04, 2013. Photograph: Hong Menea/Phnom Penh
Post
Smoke billowed into the sky last night as thousands of mourners
inside the Veal Preah Meru crematorium bid farewell to King Father
Norodom Sihanouk, and the nation closed the books on an exceptional
chapter of its history.
The ensuing sound of gunfire and the fireworks that burst forth into
the sky over the nearby Tonle Sap river shortly after 6:30pm indicated
to tens of thousands of mourners, kept some distance away by barricades,
that the cremation of Sihanouk, their beloved former monarch, who was
placed on the throne as an 18-year-old in 1941, had begun.
“We’ll miss him forever. I’m so, so sorry,” a crying Soun Lina, 72,
from Siem Reap province, said from her place behind a barricade north of
the crematorium. “Already, I miss his face.”
Thousands of guests, including family, foreign dignitaries,
government officials and monks, began filing into the crematorium at
about 3pm yesterday to bid farewell to the King Father, who passed away,
aged 89, after suffering a heart attack in Beijing on October 15.
“In our hearts and spirits, we will remember the King Father and
believe that his spirit will be close to us, helping us develop and
bringing us peace,” Som Chandina, from the National Election Committee,
said outside the crematorium.
As the final day of a four-day funeral service turned to night and
darkness descended on the crematorium, thousands of lights that line the
walls illuminated the splendid structure and its immediate
surroundings.
Royals, local officials and foreign guests, including Thai Prime
Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault
and Japan’s Prince Akishino, shuffled past the casket, bowing as they
offered their final respects.
King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath lit the pyre
just after 6pm and the nation stood still in an official moment of
silence as fire consumed the body of the King Father.
Over the course of the next two days, the king and Queen Mother will
set off on a royal barge to scatter some of Sihanouk’s ashes on the
river. The rest will be placed in a diamond urn, which mother and son
will parade through the cremation site before storing it at the Royal
Palace.
The 3,000 in attendance sampeahed as Buddhist funeral chants filled
the air and drifted over the near empty streets immediately outside the
square.
Sum Saveith, 48, from Kandal province – granted access after pleading
with a friend who is an official – was one of few civilians who stood
on Sothearos Boulevard outside the crematorium. Tens of thousands of
others had been kept behind barricades blocks from the Royal Palace.
“I’ve spent many hours waiting here so I could see it with my own
eyes,” Saveith said, pointing through the open entrance. “I have been
standing here since 10:30am. I want to keep this picture in my head so I
can describe it to my family.”
Dom Sun, 80, from Kampong Cham province, was another who had made it
beyond the tight security to a spot outside the crematorium.
“I feel indebted to the King Father,” she said. “When he was alive,
he had time for all people — even the poorest of the poor. No hero of
Cambodia has done what he did.”
The majority of mourners who made a pilgrimage to the capital
yesterday to farewell Sihanouk were kept behind barricades blocks from
the palace, leaving the entire Royal Palace Park — where 10,000 monks
gathered on October 23 to pray for the King — empty during the
cremation.
Ouy Than, 59, from Banteay Meanchey province’s Thmor Pok district,
said she had wanted to get close to the crematorium, but had been
stopped by police at a barricade north of Veal Preah Meru.
Those barricades had been erected at 9am, keeping mourners away,
despite many being under the impression they could enter the crematorium
until early afternoon.
“The schedule was set for the roads to be closed at 1:30pm,” Pao
Pisey, director of the Ministry of Information’s media centre, said.
“But the authorities needed more time to prepare security.
“During the three months after the King Father passed away, the
authorities allowed people to worship and pray to the King Father inside
the Royal Palace.
“On the second and third day, the authorities allowed mourners
inside, but today is the cremation day – many foreign delegations have
to come to pray. The government apologises to people for not letting
them in.”
As crowds mounted on Sisowath Quay after the cremation, mourners
surged forward, attempting to jump the barriers before being blocked by a
phalanx of military police.
Just before 8pm, authorities pulled back barriers, sending thousands
pouring into the streets abutting the Royal Palace. Thousands more
flowed in from outside Chaktomuk Theatre, where armed forces had kept
mourners at bay since morning.
“In the morning, I tried to go inside the crematorium to pay respects
to the King Father, but the police used the barricades to block us at
about 9:30am,” Khieuv Sokmean, 50, from Kandal province’s Takhmao town,
said.
“So I went back home to prepare lunch for my family.”
In the afternoon, Sokmean returned to the capital for the cremation,
and was ultimately allowed to sit near the road and watch the screen on
the front of the Royal Palace.
Sokmean said she had been overcome with emotion at the sound of the
guns that signified Sihanouk’s cremation and tried to rush closer, only
to be stopped by the police. All she wanted to do, she said, was pay
tribute to the King Father.
“If I could bring our King Father back, I would, but I cannot. This is life — people are born and they die,” she said.
To contact the reporters on this story: May Titthara at
titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com,
Khouth Sophak Chakrya at
sophakchakrya.khouth@phnompenhpost.com and Shane Worrell at
shane.worrell@phnompenhpost.com
9 comments:
I am Khmer myself only in my blood, but to tell all of you the truth, I am a traitor to Cambodia because I fled to the third world, I am not an anti Sihanouk. I lost my respect for him during an International interview of war crime and Sihanouk denied all.
First off, in my 30 years in the US and educated in the US educational system I never seen any other countries King Singing Karaoke and fond of making movies, only Sihanouk. It isn't his job to sing Karaoke, his job as a King is to monitor his country and to bring prosperity to his peoples, instead, he making a love movies.
Secondly, Sihanouk was the Head of the State during the Khmer Rouge. How could he denied all that? and above all he's the KING. Everything is the King fault and he should learn how to accepted the responsibility as the king, but he's not and still denied. He blame Pol Pot, instead.
Hey idiot just because Khmers fled to third country didn't mean you are a traitors to Cambodia. I lived in America since 1980 and still loved, missed, cared about my motherland Cambodia. We fled because to survive NOT betray Cambodia. If you are soo educated why you don't realize this? LOL. We Khmers had been having bad lucks since the fall of Angkor era. Since then we only had poor skill politician, unpatriotic, cruel, corrupted, foreigns influenced leaders for centuries. Sihanouk did a lot of good things but also he had many failed policies that cost millions of Khmer's lives including my immediate family members. He still the best leader we had. He was not a great king but he did his best. He had a lot of ignoranted advisors. For the record I had never been a traitor to Cambodia. Like you I also educated in America working as aircraft Technician on wide body Boeing, Airbus thank to America for given me and my family a second chance in life. We still lived both America & Cambodia.
Who's giving you the right to called dude that called himself "traitor" an idiot? There are many way to explain to him about escaping from motherland wasn't a traitor but for surviving the killingfield.Please be nice .How do you feel if he call you an idiot?
Noone is a traitor here, because we are here and we care about our country. The only traitors are Hun Sen and CPP, who are killing and destroying our motherland to our eternal enemies.
The enemies that have been killing and wipping us from killing our Khmer King, to tricking our Khmer King and destroying our Khmer city Prey Nokor to killing and turtoring our Khmerland, Southern Cambodia from its motherland.
When can we get over this funeral stuff. Every sites ran pictures and stories for the funeral. I am sick of it. Hopefully we forget about it in a week and let it clear from all web sites. It's too depressing reading these stories over and over everyday.
For your information, Sihanouk was not the head of state during Pol Pot era. He was just the figurehead used by KR to gain people support for the revolution. Pol Pot put Sihanouk under house arrest and he has no power what so ever. Sihanouk was the only figurehead still recognized by the internationals.
Now they should pay more attention on how to topple the current crooked government instead.
Agreed with 5:24 pm. Sihanouk is now dead and he held no power when he was alive, even during the KR regime. I think our focus now is to try to do something to change the present system or regime in Cambodia. Hun Sen is a dictator, he was an elected PM in disguise but deep down he is a ruthless dictator. We must do something to change the present regime or get rid of Hun Sen.
6 February 2013 9:36 am
You're 100% absolutely right.
6 February 2013 10:15 am
You're 200% absolutely wrong. This tell me that your education level by calling 6 February 2013 9:36 am an idiot, your education level since 1980 not even finish ESL or may be still be on the waiting list to be deport back to Cambodia who know.
You're escaped the killing field to the third world for survival.....you're abandoning your ship....you're a traitor.....you didn't stay and fight to the end or to survive at the end....you're are a traitor.....you're now from the outside looking in. Patriot inside Traitor outside.
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