Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Aerospace & Defense
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Campaign Polling
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Anatole Kaletsky
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Reihan Salam
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Mark Leonard
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (2)
Slideshow
Video
Full Focus
Photos of the week
Our best photos from the past week. Slideshow
Images of September
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Cambodia's quixotic former king Sihanouk dies in Beijing
|
3:19am EDT
In second debate, Obama faces challenges on key issues
14 Oct 2012
Pakistani schoolgirl attacked by Taliban sent to UK for treatment
|
2:53am EDT
Satellite burns up following SpaceX rocket glitch
12 Oct 2012
German city battles elusive new-look neo-Nazis
11 Oct 2012
Discussed
162
Democrats frustrated by Obama’s ”Big Bird” campaign turn
138
Biden and Ryan in high-stakes election debate
96
Jobless claims fall to lowest in four and a half years
Sponsored Links
Cambodia's quixotic former king Sihanouk dies in Beijing
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Cambodia's former king Sihanouk dies in Beijing: Xinhua
Sun, Oct 14 2012
World Chefs: Phan shares food, journey from Vietnam
Tue, Oct 9 2012
Cambodia rights activist jailed 20 years on disputed conviction
Mon, Oct 1 2012
Analysis & Opinion
China bashing: A U.S. political tradition
Vietnam is a bad example to newly emerging markets
Related Topics
World »
Related Video
Sihanouk dead at 89
Sun, Oct 14 2012
1 of 13. Then Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk stands beside flowers given by the Chinese government during a meeting with Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo (not seen) in Beijing, October 30, 2006. Cambodia's former King Norodom Sihanouk died of natural causes in Beijing, China, early Monday, Xinhua News Agency reported. Picture taken October 30, 2006.
Credit: Reuters/China Daily
By Prak Chan Thul
PHNOM PENH |
Mon Oct 15, 2012 3:19am EDT
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's former king Norodom Sihanouk, once an absolute ruler who freed Cambodia from colonialism before becoming a tragic pawn through decades of turmoil, died on Monday in a Beijing hospital. He was 89.
A pre-eminent figure in Cambodia's history for seven decades, Sihanouk however will also be remembered as a puppet kept by the Khmer Rouge during their 1970s reign of terror that killed almost a quarter of the Cambodian population.
The quixotic ruler held considerable power in the 1950s and 1960s when the young, flamboyant leader came to symbolize Cambodia's liberation from French rule in what is now seen as a golden age for an impoverished country long scarred by war.
His close aide, Prince Sisowath Thomico, said Sihanouk had died of heart failure.
"This is not just mourning by the royal family but for all Cambodians. He is the father of the nation," he said.
Flags were lowered across Cambodia and the capital, Phnom Penh, was quiet on Monday, the second day of the three-day Pchum Ben Festival, a national holiday.
His son, King Norodom Sihamoni was seen tearfully embracing Prime Minister Hun Sen before both left for Beijing on a flight that included Buddhist monks. They will collect Sihanouk's body in preparation for a state funeral in Phnom Penh.
Despite his self-exile in China, declining health and diminished influence in later years, Sihanouk still looms large over Cambodia, his portrait commonplace in homes and buildings across the Southeast Asian nation of 14 million people.
But as much as he will be remembered as the firm hand that held the young and newly independent Cambodia together in the 1950s and 1960s, memories are unlikely to fade of a man whose ill-fated forays into politics contributed to three decades of war that turned his country into a failed state.
"There can be no doubt that Sihanouk's actions and his decisions contributed to the political malaise that finally tore Cambodia apart," historian Milton Osborne wrote in his 1994 biography.
His rise came after he was chosen by France to be a puppet king to succeed his uncle, Sisowath Monivong, in 1941. He soon pushed for independence from Paris, which he achieved in 1953.
An unashamed ladies' man, amateur film director and charismatic orator adept in his native Khmer, French and English, Sihanouk endeared himself to the public.
PALACE PRISONER
In the late 1960s, long after he had abdicated to strengthen his own political clout, Sihanouk was powerless to stop his country's slide into the Vietnam War and the 1970s Khmer Rouge "killing fields", under which at least 1.8 million people died during Pol Pot's ultra-Maoist revolution.
The Khmer Rouge kept Sihanouk as a figurehead and a prisoner in his own palace after their 1975 victory, which ushered in four years of brutality under which almost a quarter of the population died of starvation, disease, execution or torture.
Like most families in Cambodia, Sihanouk did not escape the tragedy of Pol Pot's reign of terror, losing five children and 14 grandchildren.
Just two years before the black-clad Khmer Rogue took power, he had posed for photos with the guerrillas who would later seek to turn Cambodia into a blood-stained peasant utopia.
At his political prime, he dealt harshly with opponents and leftists and walked a tightrope between East and West, alternately courting Washington and Moscow during the Cold War.
He upset conservatives by breaking off aid relations with the United States in 1963 and helped China ship weapons to the Vietnamese communists fighting Americans.
But Sihanouk paid the price and was toppled from power while on a visit to Moscow by Lon Nol, the U.S.-backed general who moved to thwart Vietnamese and Cambodian communists.
In 1973, Sihanouk made his biggest mistake in linking up with his former opponents in the Khmer Rouge, a pact with the devil for which he would pay dearly.
Even after the fall of the Khmer Rouge in 1979, he supported royalists in their jungle battles against the Hanoi-backed government of Hun Sen, whose seemingly unassailable grip on Cambodian politics has never waned.
After a U.N.-brokered peace treaty that led to a shaky transition to democracy in the early 1990s, Sihanouk became a figurehead king with limited power. The fate of the monarchy, and the country, then rested with Hun Sen.
He abdicated again in 2004 and went to live in Beijing, where he received medical treatment for cancer and diabetes, among other ailments.
Prince Sisowath said the motivation for his abdication had been to preserve the monarchy and build a stable Cambodia.
(Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by)
World
Related Quotes and News
Company
Price
Related News
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (2)
mgunn wrote:
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.