Prince Ranariddh injured, wife dies in car crash
He was traveling from Kampot to Preah Sihanouk for election engagements. A taxi travelling in the opposite direction crashed head on with the royal motorcade. Prime Minister from 1993 to 1997, the prince was overthrown by a coup led by forces loyal to Hun Sen. In recent years he has reconciled with his former enemy, now a political ally.
Phnom Penh (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Prince Norodom Ranariddh, second son of the late monarch Norodom Sihanouk and half-brother of the current king Norodom Siham, was involved in a car accident that yesterday caused the death of his wife, Ouk Phalla (photo 1).
The couple was traveling in the province of Preah Sihanouk, when a taxi travelling in the opposite direction crashed head on with the royal motorcade (photo 2). Ranariddh and his wife were immediately taken to the hospital. Phalla died in a nearby hospital. Ranariddh, 74-year-old leader of the Funcinpec Party , was airlifted to a Phnom Penh hospital (photo 3).
Ranariddh was traveling from Kampot to Preah Sihanouk for some election engagements. His party will take part in the controversial national elections, scheduled for July 29th. They will take place months after the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the main opposition political formation, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). In the absence of a significant rival for Cambodia's People Party (CPP), of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has been in government for 33 years, activists have called the next election "meaningless". They have asked voters to abstain, to undermine the legitimacy of the premier.
Ranariddh is linked to Hun Sen by a rather complicated relationship. The prince served with the strong man as prime minister from 1993 to 1997; was then overthrown by a bloody coup led by forces loyal to Hun Sen. Expelled from the Funcinpec almost ten years ago, Ranariddh returned there only in 2015, after several attempts to re-enter the country's political life. In recent years he has reconciled with his former enemy, obtaining one of the CNRP parliamentary seats, redistributed after the dissolution of political formation.
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