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| English.news.cn 2012-10-15 05:28:02 |
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian retired King Norodom
Sihanouk died of natural cause at the age of 90 in China's capital city
of Beijing, where he had his diseases treated by Chinese doctors,
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Nhik Bun Chhay confirmed on Monday.
"Our former King died at 2:00 a.m. early Monday in Beijing due to natural cause," he told Xinhua over telephone. "This is a great loss for Cambodia. We feel very sad. The former king was a great king that we all respect and love him."
He said that King Norodom Sihamoni will fly to Beijing Monday morning to receive Norodom Sihanouk's body to Cambodia for a traditional funeral.
Sihanouk was born on Oct. 31, 1922. He suffered from various forms of cancer, diabetes and hypertension and had been treated by Chinese doctors in Beijing for years.
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"Our former King died at 2:00 a.m. early Monday in Beijing due to natural cause," he told Xinhua over telephone. "This is a great loss for Cambodia. We feel very sad. The former king was a great king that we all respect and love him."
He said that King Norodom Sihamoni will fly to Beijing Monday morning to receive Norodom Sihanouk's body to Cambodia for a traditional funeral.
Sihanouk was born on Oct. 31, 1922. He suffered from various forms of cancer, diabetes and hypertension and had been treated by Chinese doctors in Beijing for years.
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14 October 2012
Last updated at 23:46 GMT
Norodom Sihanouk was seen as a father figure by many Cambodians
Sihanouk came to the throne in 1941 and led Cambodia to independence from France in 1953.
Despite long periods of exile and his abdication in 2004 due to ill health, he remained an influential figure.
Political broker Prince Sisowath Thomico said the former king died in Beijing at 02:25 local time on Monday (18:25 GMT Sunday).
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Nhik Bun Chhay confirmed the news, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reports.
The officials provided no further details.
Sihanouk was born in 1922, the eldest son of King Norodom Suramarit and Queen Kossamak.
Educated at French schools in Saigon and in Paris, the Nazi-controlled Vichy government in France crowned Sihanouk king of Cambodia in 1941, bypassing his father in the hope that the 18-year-old could easily be manipulated.
However, after the war Sihanouk embarked on an international campaign aimed at ensuring independence for Cambodia.
It was achieved without bloodshed in 1953 - after nearly a century of French rule. Two years later Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father and became both prime minister and foreign minister of his country.
Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge brought death and starvation to millions of Cambodians
He tried - but failed - to keep the country from the Cold War
conflict that engulfed south-east Asia in the 1970s, striking an
ill-fated deal with the emerging Communist force, the Khmer Rouge.
The brutal regime - which ruled the country in 1975-79 - was responsible for one of the worst mass killings of the 20th Century.
It claimed the lives of more than a million people - and some estimates say up to 2.5 million perished.
Sihanouk later condemned the Khmer Rouge for the deaths of the Cambodians, including of his own children.
However, Sihanouk and the Khmer Rouge had a common enemy in the face the Vietnamese-installed government, the BBC's Jill McGivering says.
When the UN in 1991 persuaded the Vietnamese to withdraw and set Cambodia on the road to democracy, Sihanouk returned again as king.
His role was increasingly as broker between Cambodia's warring political factions as his health steadily worsened, our correspondent says.
Despite being criticised for being autocratic, volatile and elitist, she adds, for the people of Cambodia he was a much-loved father figure, a rare point of constancy through decades of instability and bloodshed.
Cambodia former king Norodom Sihanouk dies aged 89
Norodom Sihanouk was seen as a father figure by many Cambodians
Cambodia's former King Norodom Sihanouk - a revered figure in his country - has died aged 89, Cambodian officials say.
He died of a heart attack in China's capital, Beijing,
Sihanouk's personal assistant Prince Sisowath Thomico was quoted as
saying by Kyodo news. Sihanouk came to the throne in 1941 and led Cambodia to independence from France in 1953.
Despite long periods of exile and his abdication in 2004 due to ill health, he remained an influential figure.
Political broker Prince Sisowath Thomico said the former king died in Beijing at 02:25 local time on Monday (18:25 GMT Sunday).
The BBC's Guy Delauney looks back at the life of the former Cambodian king
The officials provided no further details.
Sihanouk was born in 1922, the eldest son of King Norodom Suramarit and Queen Kossamak.
Educated at French schools in Saigon and in Paris, the Nazi-controlled Vichy government in France crowned Sihanouk king of Cambodia in 1941, bypassing his father in the hope that the 18-year-old could easily be manipulated.
However, after the war Sihanouk embarked on an international campaign aimed at ensuring independence for Cambodia.
It was achieved without bloodshed in 1953 - after nearly a century of French rule. Two years later Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father and became both prime minister and foreign minister of his country.
Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge brought death and starvation to millions of Cambodians
The brutal regime - which ruled the country in 1975-79 - was responsible for one of the worst mass killings of the 20th Century.
It claimed the lives of more than a million people - and some estimates say up to 2.5 million perished.
Sihanouk later condemned the Khmer Rouge for the deaths of the Cambodians, including of his own children.
However, Sihanouk and the Khmer Rouge had a common enemy in the face the Vietnamese-installed government, the BBC's Jill McGivering says.
When the UN in 1991 persuaded the Vietnamese to withdraw and set Cambodia on the road to democracy, Sihanouk returned again as king.
His role was increasingly as broker between Cambodia's warring political factions as his health steadily worsened, our correspondent says.
Despite being criticised for being autocratic, volatile and elitist, she adds, for the people of Cambodia he was a much-loved father figure, a rare point of constancy through decades of instability and bloodshed.
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