Phnom Penh: Catholics hold vigils and prayers in memory of King Sihanouk
Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) - The death of King Sihanouk Norodorm was an "expected" event which is not a surprise to the people of Cambodia, "advanced in age and in exile" that was imposed in 2004 "kept him away from internal events, but the people still show love for him. " So says Fr. Mario Ghezzi, a missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) for 12 years in the South-East Asian country. Speaking to AsiaNews he announces that "a prayer vigil will be held in all the Catholic communities" scheduled for Saturday night, October 20. Phnom Penh has laid in state the body of the former monarch, who died aged 89 on 15 October in Beijing, where he spent the last year of his life for medical treatment of life. According to government sources, almost 100 thousand people saluted the funeral cortege from on the way from the airport to the Royal Palace.
Cambodia is also observing a week of national mourning and the body of Sihanouk will lie in state for three months, to allow the population to bid a final farewell to a politician, even before a monarch, who marked the country's recent history. The government has banned "joyful" television and radio programswhich contrast with the "pain" for the loss of the king. The Water Festival, scheduled for next month, was also cancelled. The celebration characterized by trade fairs, events and fireworks attracts millions of visitors every year.
Fr. Ghezzi confirms to AsiaNews that a "great crowd accompanied the passage of the coffin", in the "10 km that separate the airport from the Royal Palace." The missionary said that "despite the scorching sun, many waited up to five hours to go see the coffin." He adds: "Everyone talks about [his death], but without showing fear or disorientation for a future without him. He had little impact on the present already." However his distance "did not change the affection of the Cambodian people" and the king "remains a charismatic although very contradictory figure for this country,." He embodied the soul of the Cambodia "very well", through "moments of glory and prestige to moments of despair and imprisonment."
Even the Catholic Church in Cambodia intends to honor the memory of the deceased monarch, with special events and celebrations. "Saturday evening - says Fr. Ghezzi - we will hold a prayer vigil in all the Catholic communities of the Apostolic Vicariate" in Phnom Penh. In the capital, the celebration will be presided by Bishop Emeritus Msgr. Emile Destombes, who "personally knew and met him King Sihanouk several times." The prelate always spoke, concludes the PIME missionary, of how the monarch had confided that "in his bedroom he had a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, which he prayed to every night before going to bed."
Meanwhile, Cambodian analysts and policy experts wonder about the legacy of the late king and the future of the monarchy in the country. If King Sihanouk in the past has been able to lead the nation to independence, others remember too many influences exerted by foreigners and connivance with the Khmer Rouge regime, during which he also lost five of his 14 children. At one time he was considered a "threat" to the power of Prime Minister Hun Sen, with whom he often had strong verbal confrontations, but the decision to abdicate in 2004 to his son Sihamoni helped to calm the waters, softening the power struggle. Today, the current monarch is seen as a "symbolic" figure without any real influence in the life of the nation. For this reason, most agree that the true heir of King Sihanouk is the current Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former official under the regime of Pol Pot, for decades at the helm of Cambodia and true leader of the nation. (DS)
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