PHNOM PENH, (PNA/Xinhua) — One year on, some mourners still shed tears on Tuesday in remembrance of the death of the nation’s most revered King Father Norodom Sihanouk.
Crowds of people, armed with lotus buds and incense sticks, flocked to a newly-built Sihanouk’s statue near the capital’s Independence Monument to pay their respects to the late King on the first anniversary of his death.
After paying tribute to the late King, Try Bun Kheng, 60, said she could not hold her tears when recalling about Sihanouk’s passing-away.
“He was the best King in our eyes; we miss him very much,” she told Xinhua. “Despite his departure, he still lives in our minds forever.”
Sihanouk died of illness at the age of 90 in Beijing on October 15, 2012 after receiving medical treatment from Chinese doctors for years.
He reigned Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his voluntary abdication in 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni.
Sihanouk was the King who led the country to gain independence from France in 1953.
“I had placed his photo on an altar at my house and pray to his soul every night for good luck and happiness,” said a 67-year-old man Ros Roeun, who had spent four hours driving a motorcycle from his hometown in eastern Kampong Cham province to Phnom Penh for the first anniversary of the late King.
“When I see the statue, I feel like I see him face-to-face,” he said.
A 74-year-old woman Yorng Kong from southern Kandal province said she paid tribute to the late King and wished for a national unification among politicians over the disputed election in July.
The 68 lawmakers of the Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party on Sept. 24 voted for the formation of a new government despite a boycott of the opposition’s 55 lawmakers-elect. The opposition is still boycotting the parliament as a protest against the disputed election results.
“I pray to the King Father’s soul for a national peace and prosperity, wishing to see Khmer politicians united for the interests of the nation,” she said.
The country marked the first anniversary of Sihanouk’s death on Tuesday by paying homage to his newly-built statue and holding an elaborate Buddhist ceremony.
Prime Minister Hun Sen led his Cabinet members to pay tribute to the late King at the statue site in the morning before proceeding to the Royal Palace for an elaborate Buddhist ceremony with the current King Norodom Sihamoni and his mother Queen Mother Norodom Monineath.
Last Friday, the country inaugurated a huge bronze statue commemorating the late King.
The 4.5-meter-tall statue, housed under a 27-meter-tall shrine, is situated in a public park across Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house and just east of the Independence Monument.
The larger-than-life statue depicted the King Father wearing a dark business suit.
Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Sok An said the construction of the statue took eight months, costing 1.2 million U.S. dollars.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said during the statue unveiling ceremony that the statue was to express gratitude and to honor late King Norodom Sihanouk, the father of independence, territorial integrity and national unity.
He said the country would hereafter mark Oct. 15 — the day of King Sihanouk’s death — as a day of remembrance for the former ruler.
“The King Father is our father forever,” he said. “I would like to appeal to the next generations to pay their respects to the King Father on Oct. 15 every year.”