Sihanouk to be cremated in February

Cambodia's beloved former monarch Norodom Sihanouk, who died aged 90 last month, will be cremated on Feb 4 following an elaborate ceremony, Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Monday.

The cremation will be preceded by a procession on Feb 1 that will see Sihanouk's coffin carried from the royal palace in Phnom Penh to a funeral pyre in a nearby park, the premier said in a speech on national radio.

"It will be a big ceremony," Hun Sen said.

More than a million mourners are expected to line the streets for the procession, which will be broadcast live on television, said government spokesman Khieu.

"After the procession, the body will stay at the (cremation) site for three days to give people a chance to pay their respects," he said.

A tall cremation pyre is already under construction near the royal residence.

Sihanouk died of illness in Beijing on Oct 15 and his body was returned to Phnom Penh by Air China jumbo jet on Oct 17.

After a week of mourning, his body has been exhibited for more than 3 months at the Royal Palace for the public to see and honor it before it is cremated.

Sihanouk ruled 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 independence from France in 1953 and was named the father of independence, territorial integrity, and national reconciliation and unity.

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

The death of the popular royal plunged his nation into deep mourning. Hundreds of thousands filled the capital's boulevards when his body returned home from China.

Hun Sen reiterated the cancellation of the annual Water Festival, which was planned to celebrate from Tuesday to Thursday on Tonle Sap River in front of the Royal Palace.

AFP-Xinhua