Thai PM to pay homage to late Cambodian King-Father Sihanouk

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will visit Cambodia on Friday afternoon to pay her last tributes to late King-Father Norodom Sihanouk, according to a media statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "She will lead a high delegation to pay last respects to the King-Father at 3:30 pm on Oct. 19 at the capital's Royal Palace," the statement said.

It added that after the ceremony, Yingluck will hold a meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Peace Palace.

Besides Yingluck, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong will also pay their last tributes to the late King-Father this Friday afternoon at the Royal Palace.

The most revered ex-King Norodom Sihanouk died of illness at the age of 90 in Beijing last Monday and his body was transported to Phnom Penh by Air China jumbo jet Wednesday afternoon. Hundreds of thousands of mourners tearfully welcomed the return of his body.

The country announced a week-long mourning period from Oct. 17 to 23, and the body of the King-Father will be exhibited for at least three months at the Royal Palace before being cremated.

Born on Oct. 31, 1922, Sihanouk reigned the country from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his voluntary abdication on Oct. 7, 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni.

He was the king who led the country to gain independence from France in 1953. He was a presence through decades of political and social turmoil in Cambodia, despite long periods of exile overseas.

He suffered from various forms of cancer, diabetes and hypertension and had been treated by Chinese doctors in Beijing for years before his death.

Sourced: Xinhuanet