Cambodian officials pay tribute to late King Father Norodom Sihanouk in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Oct. 15, 2015. Cambodian politicians and government officials on Thursday commemorated the third anniversary of the death of King Father Norodom Sihanouk by either paying respect to his statue or offering alms to Buddhist monks. (Xinhua/Sovannara)
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian politicians and government officials on Thursday commemorated the third anniversary of the death of King Father Norodom Sihanouk by either paying respect to his statue or offering alms to Buddhist monks.
As Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in China since Oct. 11 for a series of international conferences, Acting Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng led government officials to lay wreaths at Sihanouk's statue in Phnom Penh.
Meanwhile, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, president of the royalist Funcinpec Party, held a Buddhist ceremony to mark the anniversary at his palace in Phnom Penh's Chamkarmon district.
"The ceremony is to remember the third anniversary of late King Norodom Sihanouk, the father of independence, territorial integrity, and national unity," said the prince, who is also a son of Sihanouk.
Opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party's vice president Kem Sokha also organized a Buddhist ceremony at the party's headquarters on the southern outskirts of Phnom Penh to commemorate the anniversary, according to a party's press release.
Sihanouk died of illness at the age of 90 on Oct. 15, 2012. He reigned the country from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his voluntary abdication in 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni.
