King Sihanouk prays for peace<\/p>\n
SIEM REAP, Cambodia (Agencies): Cambodia's King Norodom
\nSihanouk took part in Buddhist prayers for peace yesterday as
\nsporadic shelling continued around the contested northwestern
\nborder town of O'Smach.<\/p>\n
Sihanouk, who offered to mediate between his ousted son,
\nPrince Norodom Ranariddh, and the prince's former co-premier, Hun
\nSen, said he wished Cambodia could be peaceful and united.<\/p>\n
\"The ceremony is to wish that our nation and people stop
\nfighting,\" Sihanouk said as he entered a historic royal temple
\nopposite his villa in the center of Siem Reap.<\/p>\n
\"It is to let our nation enjoy unity again, as during Angkor
\nrule,\" he said, referring to the 12th century Cambodian empire
\nthat had its capital at the nearby Angkor temple complex.<\/p>\n
The king released nine turtles in a Buddhist merit-making
\nritual and said he hoped the Cambodian people could also find
\nfreedom and peace.<\/p>\n
Despite the king's repeated pleas for peace, fighting
\ncontinued in Cambodia's northwest yesterday.<\/p>\n
Government forces under Hun Sen attacking O'Smach fired
\nintermittent shells at royalist troops loyal to Ranariddh, and
\ntheir Khmer Rouge guerrilla allies dug in on high ground up
\nagainst the Thai border, Thai army officers monitoring the
\nfighting in Cambodia said.<\/p>\n
One Thai soldier was wounded by a stray bullet fired from
\ninside Cambodia yesterday and Thai forces were on alert to
\nprevent any spillover of fighting onto Thai soil, they said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Phnom Penh government advisers said yesterday
\nHun Sen had rejected a call by King Norodom Sihanouk to meet
\nrepresentatives of resistance forces to put a halt to isolated
\nfighting.<\/p>\n
The high-level advisers said Hun Sen would try to arrange a
\nmeeting with King Sihanouk to discuss the plight of the troubled
\nnation, but resistance figures loyal to deposed Ranariddh will
\nnot attend.<\/p>\n
\"Hun Sen's stance is still remaining firm and strong,\" one
\nclose adviser said. \"Hun Sen will not agree to informal talks
\nwith Prince Ranariddh or his supporters under a mediation of the
\nking.\"<\/p>\n
Sihanouk returned to Cambodia last Friday after months in
\nBeijing, where he was receiving medical treatment.<\/p>\n
The king announced Sunday his desire for an end to armed
\nhostilities after repeated calls from ASEAN leaders for a cease-
\nfire as the first step to restoring peace and democratic rule in
\nCambodia.<\/p>\n
After the prayers for peace, Sihanouk said \"it's up to him. If
\nhe does not accept mediation from me it's okay.\"<\/p>\n
\"If His Excellency Hun Sen rejects my proposal, so I have no
\nother idea, you know, to help,\" he said. \"I'm hoping and making
\nprayers.\"<\/p>\n
Second Prime Minister Hun Sen overthrew Ranariddh, his senior
\nco-premier, in early July. After defeating the royalist forces in
\nPhnom Penh, government troops under Hun Sen moved against
\nRanariddh loyalists in the northwest.<\/p>\n
\"I don't see Hun Sen compromising with Ranariddh,\" Cambodian
\nscholar Raoul Jennar told Reuters. \"He's clear, he refuses to
\nmeet Ranariddh. I don't see him changing his mind.\"<\/p>\n
Another political analyst said Hun Sen would have to be
\ncareful in dealing with the highly respected monarch or risk
\nupsetting members of his own political party.<\/p>\n
Khmer Rouge political leader Khieu Samphan said yesterday he
\nand his National Solidarity Party supported Sihanouk's efforts to
\npromote peace in Cambodia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/king-sihanouk-prays-for-peace-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}