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It was a celebratory Sunday for Cambodians as they marked 20 years since their beloved former King returned from exile 20 years ago.
Norodom Sihanouk, who turned 89 Monday, spoke to tens of thousands of Cambodians from the palace in Phnom Penh, vowing to stay in the country despite his failing health.
“I have the great honor to inform our lovely compatriots that from now on, despite still having health problems and needing routine checkups by my Chinese medical team, I and my wife, the queen, have decided to stay forever with our compatriots inside our country,” he said.
The 20th anniversary of his return from exile is really on November 14th, but Cambodia wanted to coincide the celebrations with Sihanouk’s birthday.
Sihanouk originally was placed on the throne at age 18 by French colonialist officials. He stepped down for his father in 1953. Seven years later, Sihanouk became King again.
In 1970, he was removed from the throne in a US-backed coup by one of his generals, Lon Nol. He then sided with a communist guerrilla group, the future Khmer Rouge, which eventually turned against him and placed Sihanouk under house arrest once it came to power.
After the Khmer regime fell, the King fled for China, only to return in 1991. He abdicated in 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni, due to health issues. Sihanouk has dealt with cancer, hypertension and diabetes, and was treated until this past Thursday in China.
Sources: AFP, AP
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