Former Cambodian King's Body Arrives in Phnom Penh

by Irwin Loy

Tens of thousands of mourners packed the streets of the nation's capital as the body of Cambodia's former king, Norodom Sihanouk, was flown home Wednesday from China where he died Monday of cancer at age 89.

Eight years after he gave up his throne to his son, Sihanouk is still called the father of the nation by many Cambodians.

Outside Phnom Penh’s main airport, thousands of white-clad mourners waited in searing heat to catch once last glimpse of the man known as "King-Father" as his golden casket, placed in a golden carriage fashioned in the shape of a swan, made one last journey to the Royal Palace where his body will lie in state for three months.

Poun Pon, a 67-year-old who journeyed from her rural home to say goodbye to a man she still calls "King," said she felt shock at hearing the of his death.

Also lining the 14-kilometer route, Long Kea, 72, only expressed a deep sorrow. "That's why I come to join his procession," said Kea. "It is all I could do."

"He struggled all his life and the country gained independence because of him," said Chhuong Chy, a popular comedian who also happened to be among the masses. "So as a son or grandson, I have been waiting for him, because I want to welcome him for the last time."

Mixed legacy

Some brought their young children to watch the mournful procession, wanting them to know the highly revered former monarch, who came to the throne in 1941 and ruled Cambodia off and on for more than 60 years, was much more than just grainy images on a television screen.

Although Sihanouk remains a hero to many Cambodians, he also leaves a mixed historical legacy. Unable to safely navigate the Cold War politics that engulfed his country, he sided with Khmer Rouge rebels who would later devastate his homeland and ultimately be blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians.

Yet for those who came of age during Sihanouk’s golden years of the 1950s and '60s, he is heralded for bringing his ancient kingdom through independence from France, war and genocide to form a fragile democracy.

Sihanouk’s return begins a week-long period of official mourning, during which the Cambodian flag will fly at half-mast and all entertainment is prohibited.

In 2004, Sihanouk abdicated the throne to his son, Norodom Sihamoni, citing old age and health concerns.

(Photo: Meeting in Beijing in 1956: from left Mao Zedong, Peng Zhen, Sihanouk, Liu Shaoqi.)

Cambodians Mourn Revered ex-King Sihanouk

Cambodians entered a second day of mourning Tuesday for their revered former king Norodom Sihanouk, as preparations were made to return his body from China.

Tearful mourners placed a small wreath outside the royal palace in the Cambodian capital and offered prayers for the man they called "King-Father."

Thirty-two-year-old monk Try Piseth said Kmer the former king's death is a major blow. “What he did was purely for the nation and religion, and I am so deeply sorry to lose him.  I am so speechless and cannot do much but to wish him rest in peace,” said Piseth.

Phnom Penh resident Chhun Chenda said all she can do now is mourn as she waits for the kings body to come back. “I love my king. I want him to continue to reign," said Chenda. "I want him to stay in our country forever.”

Norodom Sihanouk died of a heart attack in Beijing Monday at age 89 following a long battle with cancer. His son, King Norodom Sihamoni, and Prime Minister Hun Sen are in Beijing and are scheduled to escort the former king's body back to Cambodia Wednesday.

Even in death, the "King-Father" gets royal treatment. Sihanouk's body will be transported in a gold coffin and, once back, he will lie in state at the royal palace for three months before being cremated at a traditional Buddhist ceremony.

In a letter to the former king's widow, Monineath Sihanouk, and the current king, Prime Minister Hun Sen called the former king an “incomparable eminent figure.” The premier also tried to reassure Cambodians, saying he would remain dedicated to Cambodia’s “independence, integrity and…national unification.”

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was among those who paid respects to Sihanouk Tuesday, calling him an "old friend of the Chinese people."

Other condolence messages continued to pour in from around the world. The United States, which helped topple Sihanouk in a Washington-backed 1970 coup, offered condolences in a brief State Department memo.

North Korea, whose founder Kim Il Sung was close with Sihanouk, on Tuesday praised the former leader's "unprecedented" friendship with Pyongyang.

Sihanouk came to the throne in 1941 and went on to rule Cambodia off and on for more than 60 years.

He was heralded for bringing his ancient kingdom through independence from France, war and genocide to form a fragile democracy. But Sihanouk's name is also still soiled from his association with the Khmer Rouge movement, blamed for the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians.

Sihanouk abdicated the throne to his son, Norodom Sihamoni, in 2004 citing old age and health concerns.

(Photo: Billboard of King Norodom Sihanouk at Angkor International Airport.)

Cambodia Mourns Former King Who Shaped Decades of History

by Irwin Loy

Cambodians awoke Monday to the news that their country’s revered former king, Norodom Sihanouk, died overnight in Beijing. The 89-year-old leaves behind a colorful but tumultuous legacy.  To many Cambodians who mourned his death Monday, he will forever be remembered as the father of a nation.

Sihanouk’s death came amid one of the country’s most important religious festivals, Pchum Ben, when Cambodians pay respect to their ancestors.

At a pagoda in the capital, monks chanted while people made symbolic offerings of food to deceased relatives. Kong Sidoeun waited while his elderly mother prayed. He says the death of the man known to Cambodians as the "King-Father", came as a shock to his entire family.

“I feel shock, and unbelievable … our King-Father passed away. It’s very, very sad. I read this information to my family, and my family, my mother, my relative very shocked,” he said.

For half a century, Cambodia’s history was intertwined with Sihanouk’s. He led the country to independence from France in 1953. But his public support of the Khmer Rouge, following the 1970 coup that unseated him, also bolstered support for the communist movement that would devastate the country five years later.

Still, Sihanouk remains revered by many here. That is particularly true among older Cambodians, who associate him with the country’s post-independence years.

“I heard from my father, my mother and also I observed from the people, nationwide, they think during his period, under his control, the country is very developed. People live with safety during that time," Sidoeun stated. "It mean that in the region, Cambodia is one of developed countries at that time so it’s a very good achievement.”

At some government buildings in the capital, flags were flown at half-mast. Local television stations aired tributes to Cambodia’s former king. Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith says Sihanouk ushered his nation into the modern world.

“You know, when I was a young one. I used to quote his work. Now when I am old, the relationship is more than personal … It’s a great loss for the whole country,” Kanharith added.

Kanharith says officials are making preparations for a royal funeral. Sihanouk’s son and the current monarch, King Norodom Sihamoni, flew to Beijing, along with Prime Minister Hun Sen, to repatriate the King-Father’s remains.

Former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk Dies

Former Cambodian king, Norodom Sihanouk, has died at the age of 89.

Cambodian government officials say the former leader died of natural causes early Monday , in Beijing, where he was receiving medical treatment.

Sihanouk came to the throne in 1941 and went on to rule Cambodia off and on more than 60 years.

Sihanouk was heralded for bringing his ancient kingdom through independence from France, war and genocide to form a fragile democracy.

During the Vietnam War, Sihanouk was briefly overthrown by a military coup while travelling overseas.

In an effort to return to power, he aligned himself with the radical communist group, the Khmer Rouge. But by 1976 was sidelined by them and in fear of his life.

The Khmer Rouge remained in power until 1979, but Sihanouk's name remained soiled from his association with the movement that resulted in the deaths of some 1.7 million Cambodians.

He returned from exile in 1991 and regained the throne in 1993 and went on to become a central figure in the country's development.

Sihanouk abdicated the throne to his son, Norodom Sihamoni, in 2004 citing old age and health concerns.

Burmese Independence Leader Dies in China

One of the last surviving Burmese independence leaders has died in exile.

Former Brigadier General Kyaw Zaw died Wednesday at a hospital in southern China, where he had lived since fleeing Burma in 1976. He was 93.

Kyaw Zaw rose to prominence as one of the “30 Comrades” who led the fight for Burma's independence from Britain in the 1940s, and he was a founding member of the Burmese communist party. He fled to China 35 years ago due to differences with the military junta ruling Burma at the time.

Former Burmese Army Chief U Tin Oo, who fought alongside Kyaw Zaw for Burmese independence, praised him for pushing for the fair treatment of the country's ethnic minorities. Now with the opposition National League for Democracy party, U Tin Oo said that Kyaw Zaw's death is a great loss for Burma.

Kyaw Zaw had been in poor health and recently expressed a desire to return from China to make a final visit and pay his respects at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, one of Burma's most revered Buddhist sites.

Burmese officials granted permission for Kyaw Zaw to return, but he was too weak to make the trip. A top government official said that the offer to return still stands for Kyaw Zaw's daughters, who lived with him in China.

Dissident Vietnamese Poet Nguyen Chi Thien Dies at 73

Dissident Vietnamese poet Nguyen Chi Thien, who memorized his poems while languishing in prison where he was not allowed to write, has died at age 73.

A friend of Thien announced his death this week in Los Angeles, where he had lived since 1995.

Thein was first jailed in 1960 after telling a group of Vietnamese students that World War II ended when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan. Official communist-issued textbooks insisted that the war ended by the Russians defeating the Japanese.

Thien spent most of the next 31 years in jails and prison camps, where he memorized his poems and only writing them down after he was released.

His collection, Flowers of Hell won him international awards and honors.

Thien moved to France and later to the United States, where the Vietnamese community in Southern California saw him as a symbol of freedom.

Korea’s Sun Myung Moon, Founder of Unification Church, Dead at 92

Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church and one of the most prominent Koreans in the world, has died. He was 92 years old.

The Unification Church in South Korea said its founder succumbed to complications from pneumonia on Monday in a church-run hospital east of Seoul.

Reverend Moon's global business empire is worth billions of dollars. In the United States, the church controls the Washington Times newspaper and the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan.

The church, established in 1954, has millions of followers worldwide. In recent decades the church staged a number of mass wedding ceremonies for hundreds of church members whom Moon had selected to marry each other. He usually wore an ornate robe while presiding at such ceremonies, with a crown atop his head.

Unification Church members also have been known for their extreme commitment to the organization – in some cases turning over all their earnings to the church. That church's alleged tactics – using deceptive tactics to recruit followers and keep tight control over their lives – prompted critics to denounce the group as a cult more than a religious sect.

Once a staunch anti-communist, Moon was imprisoned in his native North Korea in the late 1940s. However, he later set aside ideology to do business with North Korea's founder, the late Kim Il Sung. A church-affiliated firm, Pyeonghwa Motors, established a carmaking business in partnership with the North Korean state in 1999.

In recent years, several of Moon's children took on influential leadership roles in the church's sprawling empire, and there have been reports of in-fighting among his descendants, often due to disputes where religious and economic interests diverged.

In 1982, Moon was convicted of tax fraud in the United States and he spent 13 months in a U.S. federal prison.

Moon's followers, popularly known as “Moonies” in the U.S., believe that marriage is central to the Unification Church's mission of uniting the world's Christian denominations.

(Photo: Sun Myung Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han.)

Prominent South Korean Democracy Activist Dies

South Korean news media report that a former leading South Korean democracy activist and prominent liberal politician, Kim Geun-tae, has died.

Reports say Kim died Friday from a brain disease at the age of 64.

Kim was known as a democracy activist during dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s. He was repeatedly jailed and tortured for his opposition against the regimes in support of democracy and labor rights.

In 1987, while in prison, Kim received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.

In 1996, he was elected to the National Assembly and twice won reelection. He was also a former leader of the Uri Party, and a former Health and Welfare Minister.

Kim had battled Parkinson's disease for the past five years. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports that he died of complications from pneumonia and kidney disease in a Seoul hospital.

It says he is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

Photo: Kim Keun-Tae, during South Korea's Protest Against Importing American Beef on 6 June 2008. Photo by Chong-Dae Park a.k.a. ChongDae.

Kim Jong Il Led North Korea With Cult of Personality

Kim Jong Il ruled North Korea for 17 years, continuing a government focused on the principle of self-reliance and a cult of personality founded by his father, Kim Il Sung.

There is not much reliable personal information about the enigmatic Mr. Kim. According to local legend, he was born on North Korea's Mount Paekdu under rainbows and the appearance of a new star in 1942. But his birth is believed to have actually taken place in Siberia in the Soviet Union in 1941.

Little is known about Mr. Kim's childhood. He graduated from Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung University in 1964.

In the 1970s, Mr. Kim was named to leadership positions in the ruling party, beginning two decades of grooming to replace his father as the country's leader.

He had a reputation for a lavish lifestyle that included a fondness for fine foods, cognac and women, which continued after he took power following his father's death in 1994.

Mr. Kim was also said to be a fan of the cinema. In addition to owning a large movie collection, he produced several films of his own. A South Korean director and actress said they were kidnapped and forced to make films for the man North Koreans called “Dear Leader.”

He was accused of playing a role in a 1983 bombing that killed 17 South Korean officials visiting Burma, as well as the 1987 bombing of a Korea Air flight that killed 115 people. Neither allegation has been proven.

Mr. Kim continued his revered father's governing principles, but lacked his charisma. Still, Mr. Kim cultivated his own force of personality exemplified by his bouffant hairdo, jumpsuits and large sunglasses.

He poured the impoverished and reclusive country's resources into the military, creating the world's fifth-largest force, while many North Koreans suffered from hunger.

His international relations were dominated by North Korea's push to develop nuclear arms. Former U.S. president George W. Bush called Mr. Kim a “tyrant” who starved his own people so he could build nuclear weapons.

North Korea conducted a nuclear test in 2006, and in 2007 agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for aid. But the country is estimated to have enough nuclear material to produce several atomic bombs, and multi-party negotiations to convince North Korea to dismantle its nuclear program have stalled.

Mr. Kim's marital status was not clear, but he is said to have been married once, with at least a few other companions, and has at least three sons. His youngest son, Kim Jong Un, has been groomed as his successor.

His two-day funeral ceremony was held on December 28, at the end of a 10-day period of national mourning.

North Korea's Kim Jong Il Dead at 69

North Korea's long-time leader Kim Jong Il has died.

The official Korean Central News Agency reported Monday the 69-year-old reclusive leader died Saturday of a heart attack while on a train for one of his “field guidance” tours. The agency attributed his death to “physical and mental over-work.”

KCNA said his funeral will be held on December 28 in Pyongyang. A period of national mourning was declared from December 17 to 29.

Kim Jong Il came to power after his father, North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung, died in 1994. Reliable biographical information about Mr. Kim is scarce. He rarely appeared in public and his voice was seldom broadcast.

He may be best remembered for defying the international community and boosting North Korea's nuclear program, while millions of North Koreans were starving.

Late last year, Mr. Kim promoted his youngest son Kim Jong Un to the rank of four-star general, in what was seen as a bid to extend the world's only communist family dynasty to a third generation.

The KCNA on Monday urged people to follow Kim Jong Un, who is believed to be around 28 years old.

North Koreans expressed shock at the news of Mr. Kim's death, with many people crying openly in the streets.

Workers at an electric wire factory were seen in tears as they watched the announcement on state television.

Factory worker Jo Jae Sok said he could not believe the news. “Leader Kim Jong Il is always with us. I saw him on TV every day. We have worked hard for the modernization of the factory under difficult conditions, eagerly waiting for him to come to our factory again. I can't believe the news about his passing away.”

Another factory worker, Kim Ok Song said she had been waiting for Mr. Kim to visit the factory she worked in. “It is unbelievable that leader Kim Jong Il whom I have followed like my own father passed away. I don't know how to describe my grief. I have been looking forward to seeing him in my factory. I will change sorrow into strength and courage and remain faithful respected Comrade Kim Jong Un.”

Oldest Bataan March Survivor Dies at 105

The oldest survivor of the harrowing World War II march from Bataan province near the Philippine capital, Manila, to a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp has died at the age of 105.

Albert Brown died Sunday at a nursing home in the northern U.S. state of Illinois.

He survived the so-called Bataan Death March that U.S. and Philippine prisoners were forced to make in 1942 after losing the battle of Bataan. The Japanese Imperial Army forced about 75,000 prisoners of war to march more than 90 kilometers to a Japanese camp. Thousands died during the forced transfer, which an Allied military commission later categorized as a Japanese war crime.

Brown was in his late 30s when he endured the march, but it was not until Japan's surrender in 1945 that he could return home. During his internment, he endured near starvation, cruel treatment by the Japanese prison guards and a host of diseases and ailments.

His remarkable experience during the march and in the Japanese camp is chronicled in a recently published book Forsaken Heroes of the Pacific War: One Man's True Story by Kevin Moore and Don Morrow.

In 2007, Brown was recognized at an annual convention of Bataan survivors as the oldest one still living.

Photo: U.S. and Filipino forces surrender to the Japanese Army at Bataan. Photo by U.S. military / Department of Defense, courtesy of National Park Service.

Former South Vietnam Leader Nguen Cao Ky Dies

Saturday, 23 July 2011

Nguyen Cao Ky, the former leader of South Vietnam, has died. He was 81 years old.

His family said Ky died Saturday at a hospital in Malaysia where he was being treated for respiratory complications.

Ky served as commander of the air force and as prime minister of U.S. backed South Vietnam during the Vietnam War in the mid-1960s.

He also served as vice president under General Nguyen Van Thieu. When Thieu's government in Saigon fell to North Vietnamese troops in 1975, Ky fled the country piloting a helicopter to a U.S. Navy ship.

He and his family eventually settled in the United States.

In 2004, Ky made headlines when he visited Vietnam, dropping his staunchly anti-communist rhetoric.

Ky is survived by six children and 14 grandchildren. A date for his funeral has not been announced.

(Photo: Nguyen Cao Ky, 20 March 1967)

Australian Aborigine Actor David Ngoombujarra Dies

Photo: HVE/Home Vision Entertainment

Australian Aborigine Actor David Ngoombujarra Dies
Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Australia's best-known indigenous actor David Ngoombujarra, whose films included “Rabbit-Proof Fence” and “Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles,” has died. He was 44.

Ngoombujarra was found Sunday in a park in Freemantle, a port city near Perth on Australia's west coast. He later died at a Freemantle hospital. The cause of death has not yet been determined, but police say it was not suspicious.

Ngoombujarra won Australian Film Institute awards for his role in the movies “Black and White,” in which he played an Aborigine convicted of killing a white girl, and for “Blackfellas,” based on the Australian bestseller “The Day of the Dog” by Archie Weller.

He received a third AFI award for his part in the Australian television show, “The Circuit.”

Ngoombujarra was born in 1967 and became an actor in the late 1980s.

His last film was “Australia,” from 2008, in which he co-starred with fellow Australians Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.