Monday, August 11, 2008

The Odd Royals

Just so we would know for sure there is something wrong with the royal family, the King has now ordered a planning committee to prepare for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of, yes it is true, North Korea.

I guess we all know that Sihanouk was a strange bed-fellow in his time with his seesaw politics that laid the breeding ground for the plight of his 'beloved children' – the Cambodian people.

But that his son now sees fit to honor a despotic regime, a pariah of the world, most aptly shows that something got lost along the way in the royal genetic line, as his half-brothers Ranariddh and Thomico have shown more than once with their past pronouncements.

No wonder nobody talks to him at the Olympic opening ceremony where he was sitting next to Laura and George Bush and Vladimir Putin. Not only is the PM shunned by world leaders, now it it is the King too. With this kind of official action he only underscores the reasons.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This must be like a smack in the face of all the donor nations.

Anonymous said...

The North Koreans have provided Sihnaouk and family with considerable support over the years providing for them during their exile and they still maintain a team of elite bodyguards protecting the King, Queen and King Father to this day.

Apart from the Chinese no other country has done more the Cambodian Royal family.

It actually plays in Cambodia's favor that the country maintains good diplomatic relations with both North and South Korea.

KJE said...

12:50
If that is reason enough to hold a national celebration for a Stalinist regime I don't know why we bother with democracy in Cambodia. The election brouhaha is bad enough for Cambodia's reputation. The endorsement of such a celebration is like an endorsement for the disregard of human rights and democracy.
It is well-known that Sihanouk got some big help from the Chinese and the North Koreans after the Pol Pot era; a King receiving help from arch-Communists no less. Normally, Communists slaughter royalty as the epitome of feudalism, which goes to show the true character of the former King. That the present King follows in his footsteps is clearly a misstep.

Anonymous said...

Well Cambodia also celebrates its relations with the US despite them having bombed the coutnry to hell and back in the seventies then supporting Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge as a legitimate political entity in the eighties.

The US has led numerous wars in the last twenty years resulting in hundreds of thousands killed.

When is the last time North Korea invaded a country?

I am not saying North Korea is good but take a look at Cambodia's other allies:

China, France, US - none of them are saints.

KJE said...

I have never seen any official celebration for the U. S. in Cambodia.
Yes, there aren't any saints around.
The royal family can celebrate all they want and have good personal ties. This should not extend to the entire country. It is bad judgment any way you slice it.

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