Former Monarch Norodom Sihanouk and Queen Monineath arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea, on 28 Feb. 2006. The former Monarch flew in from Beijing where he resides. (Photo Rodong Sinmun newspaper, North Korea)Phnom Penh (dpa) - Former Cambodian king, Norodom Sihanouk, claimed Sunday he was afraid to return to Cambodia and would remain abroad indefinitely.
In a letter sent from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, dated Saturday and posted on his website Sunday, the mercurial former monarch said he was homesick, but was sure that if he returned home, events would force him to leave the country again.
"I always miss my homeland and my beloved compatriots but I do not return home yet," Sihanouk wrote in Khmer in response to a letter from Prime Minister Hun Sen Friday, inviting him to come back to Cambodia in time for the Khmer New Year celebrations in April.
He cited anti-Sihanouk reports in both English and Khmer-language media, in addition to rumors that circulated over a year ago that there would be riots upon his arrival when he last said he would return.
"Now I dare not return. If I return now, absolutely something bad will happen again and I would have to leave again," he wrote, adding that he was now retired.
He abdicated in 2004 in favour of his son, King Norodom Sihamoni, citing old age and health problems.
Sihanouk, who turns 84 this year, has been undergoing medical treatment in China for numerous health concerns including diabetes and stomach cancer but recently moved his base to North Korea for reasons his officials did not specify.
Earlier in the day, the royalist political party Funcinpec announced in a letter that its president and another of Sihanouk's sons, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, had resigned from his position as National Assembly head because "he wanted to spend more time with his electorate."
A constitutional change voted by the National Assembly last week saw Hun Sen's dominant Cambodian People's Party take absolute control of the legislature, although at the time of the vote Hun Sen pledged not to force out Funcinpec, which is his party's coalition partner.
The premier's party named its honorary president, Heng Samrin, as the new National Assembly leader shortly after government-aligned television announced Ranariddh had resigned.
In a letter sent from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, dated Saturday and posted on his website Sunday, the mercurial former monarch said he was homesick, but was sure that if he returned home, events would force him to leave the country again.
"I always miss my homeland and my beloved compatriots but I do not return home yet," Sihanouk wrote in Khmer in response to a letter from Prime Minister Hun Sen Friday, inviting him to come back to Cambodia in time for the Khmer New Year celebrations in April.
He cited anti-Sihanouk reports in both English and Khmer-language media, in addition to rumors that circulated over a year ago that there would be riots upon his arrival when he last said he would return.
"Now I dare not return. If I return now, absolutely something bad will happen again and I would have to leave again," he wrote, adding that he was now retired.
He abdicated in 2004 in favour of his son, King Norodom Sihamoni, citing old age and health problems.
Sihanouk, who turns 84 this year, has been undergoing medical treatment in China for numerous health concerns including diabetes and stomach cancer but recently moved his base to North Korea for reasons his officials did not specify.
Earlier in the day, the royalist political party Funcinpec announced in a letter that its president and another of Sihanouk's sons, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, had resigned from his position as National Assembly head because "he wanted to spend more time with his electorate."
A constitutional change voted by the National Assembly last week saw Hun Sen's dominant Cambodian People's Party take absolute control of the legislature, although at the time of the vote Hun Sen pledged not to force out Funcinpec, which is his party's coalition partner.
The premier's party named its honorary president, Heng Samrin, as the new National Assembly leader shortly after government-aligned television announced Ranariddh had resigned.
1 comment:
AS long as hun seng is in power ,the step toward demcracy will not move forward.I suggested that we use POEPLE POWER to ousted him like the phillipine did to MARCOS about 20 years ago .And his vietnam friend will swallowed cambodia in front of our eyes.It's happening rigth now.
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