Sihamoni and his father King Norodom Sihanouk, who developed a strong bond with generations of Chinese leaders, are scheduled to return to Cambodia on Wednesday. A coronation ceremony is scheduled for October 29. Hu congratulated Sihamoni again on his succession. "I trust that under Your Majesty's leadership, the Cambodian people will achieve great progress in construction of your country." Sihamoni said he was very excited about the opportunity to pay respects to Hu. Cambodia sings high praises of China and is thankful for the precious and selfless assistance it has offered Cambodia over the years, Sihamoni said. Cambodia will continue to adhere to the one-China policy and to nurture closer good-neighbourly ties with China. Hu said China believes that the succession of King Norodom Sihamoni will benefit the national stability and development of Cambodia. China is willing to work with Cambodia to push for the continuous development of neighbourly and friendly co-operation, Hu said. The fact that Sihamoni chose to make his first official appearance in China is symbolic of the strong bond between the two countries, Asia-based analysts said. His decision points to the importance he places on continuing to develop Cambodia's traditional friendly ties with China. The 51-year-old Sihamoni, was named by a nine-member Throne Council of political and religious notables on Thursday, a week after Sihanouk announced his surprise abdication for health reasons. In his official statement on Friday he said he accepted "this supreme mission" from his father, in the interest of the country's stability and to help ensure the survival of the monarchy. The monarchy is largely a symbolic position with no real power in Cambodia, but it carries weight because of the reverence most Cambodians give to their royal family, and is seen as key to stability in the nation.

October 18, 2004 - Cambodia gets a new king

After serving his country from within and without for more than half a century, Cambodia's legendary monarch King Norodom Sihanouk has finally made good on his threats to abdicate his throne. According to a decision handed down by Cambodia's Throne Council, 51-year-old prince Norodom Sihamoni, the youngest of King Sihanouk's children, will succeed his illustrious father to the Cambodian throne later this month. A devout Francophone, Czech-trained ballet dancer and former Cambodian ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), monarch-to-be Sihamoni has asked his nation to be patient with him as he learns the ropes of guiding his country toward a better future. We also hope that in the new era of King Sihamoni, Cambodia and Taiwan can restore friendly relations, boost commerce and further expand people-to-people ties that have suffered over the past few years amid interference from Beijing. While we would not expect Cambodia to restore official diplomatic relations with us as long as that country's government remains so close to Beijing, we do think the time is ripe for unofficial, substantial relations to blossom as the reins of power transfer to a new generation. Our veteran readers are surely familiar with the exploits of the 81-year-old King Sihanouk, who has spent his entire adult life coming in and out of power and aligning himself with various forces shaping Cambodia's political history.On some occasions, Sihanouk has been hailed as a central figure bringing Cambodians together, such as when he made a symbolic return to his country in 1991 as part of a United Nations-brokered peace arrangement restoring order and normalcy to the country after years of war and isolation from the international community. No matter what observers may think about Sihanouk's politics, the story of his life has been an amazing, perilous and enchanting epoch that has never been predictable. Born in 1922 to a royal dynasty presiding over a shrinking kingdom, Sihanouk was first made King of Cambodia in 1941, although that title gave him little substantial power due to his country's status as a virtual province of French Indochina. While the French colonization of Indochina rescued Cambodia from being swallowed up by Vietnamese expansion, Sihanouk came to the throne at a time when people in Paris, not Phnom Penh, made all the decisions. It wasn't long before Sihanouk was made king that he was made a prisoner in his own palace by Japanese forces, who overtook his country following France's capitulation to Nazi Germany. After Cambodia was handed back to France in 1945, Sihanouk achieved autonomy for Cambodia in 1949 while remaining within the French Union. The country's first elections were held a year later. King Sihanouk ignited his first major controversy by dissolving the country's parliament and ruling by royal decree. He continued this policy even after achieving independence from France in 1953. In 1955, Sihanouk took a big gamble by abdicating the throne, making his father king, and assuming the office of prime minister. This era saw Sihanouk take Cambodia completely out of the French Union and follow a foreign policy that kept world powers constantly guessing as the entire region became enveloped in a destructive war between communist and non-communist forces in neighboring Vietnam and Laos. In 1970, Sihanouk's policy of tolerating North Vietnamese use of Cambodian territory to invade South Vietnam led to his ouster by former Premier Lon Nol, who led a doomed fight against the communist Khmer Rouge guerrillas Sihanouk eventually allied himself with. But when Sihanouk rode the Khmer Rouge coattails back into Phnom Penh in 1975, he once again found himself a prisoner in his own palace and many of his children and family members were slaughtered by the radical new regime. Despite this, Sihanouk remained allied with the Khmer Rouge even after their regime of terror was toppled by invading Vietnamese forces in 1979, and didn't abandon his links with the murderous Khmer Rouge until the U.N.-sponsored peace agreement with the Vietnamese-installed Cambodian government of Hun Sen got underway in 1991. Since being restored to the throne in 1993, Sihanouk has spent most of his time at guest houses in Beijing and Pyongyang, North Korea, where he grew accustomed to living in luxury during his years of exile.In between his visits back home, Sihanouk has repeatedly threatened to quit the throne every time political chaos has erupted in his country. Since Sihanouk is the only figure in the country commanding the respect of most ordinary people, his threats have so far been enough to force rival parties to reach consensus. Many observers believe that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has long planned to abolish the monarchy on the death of King Sihanouk. This would offer a good explanation as to why Sihanouk has decided at this time to make good on his threat to give up the throne, so that he can influence the choice of successor and keep the institution of the monarchy alive. No matter what King Sihanouk really had in mind, we believe preservation of the monarchy is an important part of maintaining national unity in Cambodia and wish the new king well.

October 16, 2004 - Cambodians Wonder About Monarchy's Future

KER MUNTHIT Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Older Cambodians say there was a time, many years ago, when their country was peaceful and prosperous under the strong but benevolent hand of Norodom Sihanouk, the 81-year-old king who gave up his throne just over a week ago. The parents of motorbike taxi driver Yien Lion, 40, used to tell him how popular Sihanouk was in the 1960s, which they recalled as "the good old days."But such nostalgia doesn't exist for Cambodians of Yien Lion's age or younger. And that could mean bad news for the future of the country's centuries-old monarchy.Calamity rocked Cambodia after Sihanouk was deposed as the supreme political leader in 1970: civil war, genocide under the Khmer Rouge, and more war, wreaking destruction that left the country, in Sihanouk's words, a "beggar state."Asked his reaction to Sihanouk's abdication, Yien Lion said coolly he had "no impression" about the matter: "I don't think he is extraordinary at all."Sihanouk, one of Asia's most extraordinary postwar leaders, may have left his mark on history, but perhaps not on the generation that will steer Cambodia into the future.His controversial life has fascinated observers abroad, but many ordinary Cambodians seem unmoved that the man who has been central to their country's affairs for more than six decades may be fading from the scene.Politicians as well as Sihanouk had warned darkly of possible unrest if the succession was not accomplished smoothly. But Sihanouk's replacement on Thursday by a son, Norodom Sihamoni, who has spent most of his life abroad, inspired mainly mild curiosity among people interviewed in the Cambodian capital."What's most striking is the lack of a spontaneous public reaction to the news of the abdication," said Steve Heder, a Cambodia expert from London's School of Oriental and African Studies.Sambo Manara, a college history professor, found "very little reaction" among his students. He attributes that indifference to not having lived at a time when Sihanouk wielded great power.Young people today "are more interested in the direction of development for the country, be it a monarchy or a republic," he said.However, Sihamoni's accession may represent a turn toward recovery of the monarchy's popularity, he said.After he became king in 1941, Sihanouk led the country to independence from France in 1953. Two years later, he handed the throne to his father so he could become actively involved in politics.As the country's supreme political leader, he was adept at quashing challengers, with the result that most Cambodians enjoyed relatively untroubled lives until the country was caught up in the maelstrom of the Vietnam War.In 1970, he was toppled by a pro-American Cambodian elite who accused him of sympathizing with the Vietnamese communists and declared a republic, plunging the country into a disastrous civil war.First allied with the Khmer Rouge, Sihanouk was later confined to his palace during their 1975-79 rule, when the radical communist movement was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians.A long struggle to oust the Vietnamese-installed regime that replaced the Khmer Rouge ended with a U.N.-supervised election in 1993 and Sihanouk's reinstallation as a constitutional monarch.The last decade saw Sihanouk largely relegated to the sidelines while corrupt, incompetent and bickering politicians failed to solve mounting social and economic problems. Sihanouk has been receiving medical treatment in the Chinese capital, an absence he has also used to register his disapproval of his country's political leadership. Sao Sopheap, a 24-year-old employee of the nonprofit group Family Health International, said Sihamoni's accession establishes an important link between young people and a royal tradition dating back to the 13th-century Angkor empire. "Monarchy is indispensable for us," he said. "I would be so sad if it disappears one day." Heder said Sihamoni - a former ballet dancer with little political experience - must play a leading role if he is to revive the monarchy's popularity. If he fails to challenge what the Cambodians see as injustices of the current regime, then "the monarchy will be further reduced to just a kind of curiosity," he said.

October 16, 2004 - Cambodia's newly crowned King Norodom Sihamoni.

(Xinhuanet) -- Cambodia's newly crowned King Norodom Sihamoni has pledged to do his best in serving his country and his people. The 51 year old was named on Thursday by the Throne Council, a week following the abdication of his father, Norodom Sihanouk. The Chinese government congratulated Sihamoni on his accession, vowing to step up efforts to promote friendly cooperation with its neighbor. In a message sent from Beijing, the new monarch pledged that he will respect Cambodia's constitution and do his utmost to follow in his father's footsteps. The 51-year-old also expressed thanks to his half-brother Prince Ranariddh, who offered him the candidacy for the throne. Prince Ranariddh was widely considered the most likely choice for monarch, but he turned the opportunity down. He said he wanted to remain in politics as a president of the royalist funcinpec party, and the speaker of the National Assembly. Cambodia will hold the new king's coronation on October the 29th. Many foreign leaders, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, and Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong, have congratulated Sihamoni. They expressed the hope that under his leadership, Cambodia will remain peaceful and politically stable, and also achieve development.

October 15, 2004 - Cambodia's real crown long gone

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodia's new monarch may be offered the throne vacated by revered King Norodom Sihanouk, but he will not wear the glittering crown any time soon. The diamond-encrusted crown, along with a sacred sword and other priceless royal regalia, disappeared after Sihanouk was toppled in 1970 by the pro-US Lon Nol regime, according to Julio Jeldres, Sihanouk's official biographer. The whereabouts of the crown and other items and the precise circumstances under which they were spirited away remains an unsolved mystery. Lon Nol's chaotic regime was followed by the murderous and ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge, who swept to power in 1975 and oversaw the deaths of up to two million Cambodians during their less than four-year rule. When Sihanouk was finally returned to the throne in 1993 as the country moved towards a peace, he became custodian of replicas which are considered to have equal symbolic power. The original cone-shaped crown was worn by Cambodian kings stretching back to the ancient Angkor period, and symbolises Mount Meru, the centre of the universe and domain of the gods in Hindu mythology. "The king did not want a crown remade because of Cambodia's poverty," Jeldres told AFP. The sword, made of silver and gold and considered the protector of the kingdom, only left its special pavilion for the coronation of a new king, and together with the crown is the most highly respected royal regalia. Cambodia is still struggling to recover after its tragic years of unrest, with most people surviving on less than a dollar a day.

October 15, 2004 - Cambodia's new king apologises for inexperience

PHNOM PENH, Oct 15 (Reuters) - New Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni said on Friday he had accepted the throne with trepidation and used his first message to his people to apologise for the lack of experience he brings to the job. The 51-year-old was chosen a day earlier to replace his father, Norodom Sihanouk, who submitted his shock abdication saying he feared more violence in a land still traumatised by Pol Pot's brutal 1970s rule without a clear succession. "I am afraid that I cannot fulfil this great duty well because of my lack of experience," Sihamoni said in a written message from Beijing, where his aging father has been living for months while undergoing medical treatment. "I apologise," he said, but added that he would have the benefit of advice from his father, with whom he is due to return to Phnom Penh on Oct. 20 from Beijing. Sihanomi, a dance professor who has lived most of his life outside Cambodia, promised to be politically neutral after his coronation scheduled for Oct. 29. "I solemnly promise that I am neutral to all politicians, political parties and will follow the great policy of my father, the father of independence, national unity and conciliation," Sihamoni said. Sihanouk, 82 on Oct. 31, was heavily involved in politics throughout his life, during which he led Cambodia to independence from France, tried to keep his country out of the Vietnam War and sided initially with Pol Pot after being toppled in a coup. His shock abdication was aimed at ensuring the succession before he died and Cambodia's two houses of parliament rushed through legislation to allow him to retire because the constitution does not provide for abdication. Sihanouk has said he will live near the famed Angkor Wat temples and Sihamoni, until recently Cambodia's ambassador to UNESCO, the U.N. cultural organisation in Paris, made clear he would lean heavily on his father for advice. "My parents said they will show me how best to respect, love and serve our religion and people," he said. Sihamoni said he was open to ideas from all Cambodians. "Please, give me ideas so that I can improve my work every day, month and year to serve the interests of our nation, people and monks," he said. The impoverished Southeast Asian nation was devastated by civil war in 1970s, especially after Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge came to power and killed an estimated 1.7 million people during their brutal "Killing Fields" rule from 1975 to 1979. The predominantly Buddhist country remains heavily dependent on international aid to rebuild its ravaged infrastructure and an estimated 36 percent of the population lives below the poverty line of a dollar per day. ((Reporting by Ek Madra, editing by Michael Battye))

October 15, 2004 - Cambodia enters new royal era

Cambodia, politically fractious and still traumatized by Pol Pot's brutal 1970s rule, moved smoothly into a new royal era yesterday by choosing a successor to King Norodom Sihanouk after his shock abdication. The nine-member Royal Throne Council announced after meeting in the royal palace on the banks of the River Mekong that it had selected 51-year-old Norodom Sihamoni, one of Sihanouk's sons, to take the throne. Acting head of state Chea Sim said on state television that the vote by secret ballot was unanimous. Prince Norodom Ranariddh, a member of the council as head of the National Assembly, had signalled the deal was done before the meeting. "All nine members of the Royal Throne Council support Sihamoni as the new king," Ranariddh told reporters after a self-declared "mission impossible" to Beijing to persuade Sihanouk to change his mind. Sihamoni, a Prague-educated dance teacher who until recently was Cambodia's ambassador to UNESCO in Paris, had accepted the role, Ranariddh said. Sihamoni would accompany his father back from Beijing on October 20 and be crowned on October 29 in a relatively low-key ceremony, Ranariddh said. Sihanouk had said "we should save the nation's money" rather than splash out on an elaborate ceremony, he said. Ranariddh, deep into politics like most of Sihanouk's other children who survived Pol Pot's "Killing Fields," helped to persuade the reluctant Sihamoni to succeed to the throne. Sihanouk has said Sihamoni, who has spent much of his life outside Cambodia, would be his ideal successor because he was not involved in politics. Prime Minister Hun Sen, a member of the Royal Throne Council, backed his choice. Sihanouk, who turns 82 on Oct. 31 and has been undergoing medical treatment in Beijing for months, announced a week ago that he was too old, sick and tired to carry on and rebuffed all attempts to convince him to change his mind. He made plain in a message to the Cambodian people on Tuesday that he wanted the succession determined before he died, even though the constitution says the monarch rules for life, because he feared another bloodbath. "My abdication allows me to give our country, our nation and our people a serious opportunity to avoid mortal turmoil the day after my death," Sihanouk wrote. Cambodians, he said "do not deserve another disaster," after Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge killed 1.7 million by overwork, starvation and execution during their brutal rule from 1975 to 1979. Cambodian politics were so factionalized that an all-out battle for power could erupt without a monarch to keep the lid on, he said. Cambodia's two houses of parliament rushed through legislation allowing Sihanouk to retire when it became clear he would not change his mind about abdicating his title, a move he had threatened many times in frustration at political chaos.

October 14, 2004 - Prince Sihamoni named Cambodia's new king

MARK COLVIN: It was 63 years ago that the then Prince Norodom Sihanouk ascended to the throne of Cambodia, but the six decades in between have hardly seen an untroubled reign. Sihanouk, an extraordinary figure, who's written poetry, composed music and directed at least one film, abdicates tonight after his sudden decision to quit the throne a week ago. He's abdicated before, he's been toppled by coups, he's been an elected and appointed head of state, he's spent years on and off in exile. His life has been characterised by a series of balancing acts, both wooing and fending off France, Thailand, Russia, China, the CIA, and Vietnam, and most tragically of all trying to control the Khmer Rouge before being exiled once again by them. Because Cambodia is not a hereditary monarchy his successor is to be elected at a meeting of Cambodia's top political and religious leaders later today. The front-runner is the 81-year-old King's son, Prince Norodom Sihamoni. He is a former ballet dancer who's lived in Paris for 20 years and recently said he had no interest in the job. South East Asia Correspondent Peter Lloyd reports.

PETER LLOYD: In a society with a rigid attachment to hierarchy, Norodom Sihanouk has in turns reigned and ruled as a godlike father figure since 1941. In the '50s he freed Cambodia from French colonial rule and abdicated to become a political leader. The honeymoon ended in the '60s when he became a Cold War autocrat. Ousted in the early '70s, he then turned to the Khmer Rouge and formed an unholy alliance with Pol Pot and his murderous henchmen. In the shadows until 1993, he returned to take back the throne.

NORODOM SIHANOUK: You know I am the father of all Cambodians.

PETER LLOYD: Now the 'father' is making way for one of his sons. In recent years, the King's efforts to have a successor named before his death have been frustrated by strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen who many suspect has no interest is the survival of an institution that could challenge his authority. Under Cambodian law, the monarch is elected by secret ballot by a nine-person Throne Council, dominated by the government. But Hun Sen has steadfastly refused to convene the body until his hand was forced last week by the King's sudden decision to walk away.

The King's official biographer Julio Jeldres.

JULIO JELDRES: He's a master tactician and completely unpredictable. Whenever people are expecting that nothing's going to happen, it happens, yeah.

PETER LLOYD: To what extent has he outplayed Hun Sen, in the sense that Hun Sen was perhaps hoping the King would die and that the succession issue may never be dealt with, that the monarchy would end?

JULIO JELDRES: Yeah, well there had been rumours that that was the case. I can't confirm it. But there had been rumours in Phnom Penh that Hun Sen was hoping that the King was going to pass away, and then the monarchy would not be an issue anymore.

PETER LLOYD: King Sihanouk not only forced Hun Sen's hand but cast himself in the role of king maker by nominating a candidate that all sides now seem willing to accept.

JULIO JELDRES: Well, Prince Sihamoni is a hardworking person that has made his own career in the field of ballet and choreography. He studied in Prague. He finished his degree there in ballet. He graduated as a professor of classical ballet in Prague, and then he went on to study cinematography in North Korea, in Pyongyang, and he got a diploma from there also.

PETER LLOYD: Is he a surprise choice?

JULIO JELDRES: Well, it is a surprise choice, in the sense that he, himself, never said that he was a candidate, because if you know he's the youngest male in the family of the children of King Sihanouk. So normally this election process would tend to look to the elder one in the children of the King, not to the younger one.

PETER LLOYD: So what then for soon to be ex-King Sihanouk?

He's expected to return from self-imposed exile in Beijing to live out the remainder of his life in Cambodia's second city, Siem Reap.

To previous descriptions such as mercurial, flamboyant, extravagant, and autocratic history will add one more – retiree.

In Bangkok, this is Peter Lloyd reporting for PM.

October 12, 2004 - Cambodia's Future King Sihamoni Returns Home
Benjamin Sand - Hong Kong

After the surprise abdication of the popular monarch last week, Cambodia is just days away from apointing a new king. Prince Norodom Sihamoni has left his home in Paris and is back in Asia giving his future subjects a chance study the man they will likely crown later this week. The 51-year-old prince is an unlikely successor to his father's throne. The former dance teacher and U.N. ambassador has lived in Paris for more than 20 years and recently said he had no interest in becoming king. Royal watchers in Cambodia say his reign as king is bound to differ from his father's. The elderly Sihanouk was intimately involved in government affairs and twice served as prime minister. Royal biographer and Cambodian expert Milton Osborne says the elusive prince is barely known in the nation's capital, Phnom Penh. "Sihamoni is a political cipher, at least in terms of any involvement in Cambodia's affairs," said Mr. Osborne. It is precisely this non-political quality that may have prompted Sihanouk to choose as his successor Sihamoni over his other sons. Cambodia's leaders, including Prince Norodom Ranariddh head of the National Assembly, have been bitterly divided since elections last year. So much so that Cambodia was without a government for almost a year. Prince Sihamoni was best known for his work as a cultural ambassador in Europe and his keen support for the arts. In the late 1960s and '70s he studied classical dance in Prague and then filmmaking in North Korea. In 1981 he moved to France to teach ballet and was later president of the Khmer Dance Association. In 1993 the prince was appointed Cambodian delegate to UNESCO, the UN cultural body based in Paris, where he became known for his hard work and his devotion to Cambodia. "He has always been a voice for using culture as an entre to a variety of issues, not only development but also political reconciliation issues," said Richard Englehardt, UNESCO's regional advisor in Southeast Asia and former head of the Cambodian program. "I think it's probably an extremely wise and good sign for Cambodia." Prince Sihamoni is the only surviving son of the King's fifth and current wife, Queen Monieath. His only full-brother died of a heart attack last year in Paris. Sihamoni remains a bachelor and has no children.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - The son of King Norodom Sihanouk moved closer Monday to becoming Cambodia's new monarch after legal hurdles were cleared in the complicated succession process triggered by the surprise abdication of his father last week.Acting head of state Chea Sim signed legislation allowing a nine-member throne council to convene and pick a new king on track to meet a Thursday constitutional deadline, his chief of staff Chea Son told The Associated Press.Prince Norodom Sihamoni, 51, a former ballet dancer who has little experience in politics, has the backing of Sihanouk and Prime Minister Hun Sen - the country's most powerful man and long-time rival of the monarch - to ascend the throne.But under rules governing succession, the council must pick a new king a week after Sihanouk vacated the throne or the country risks becoming a republic, the prime minister said.Sihanouk has resisted overtures to return to the throne and his abdication is seen by many Cambodians as ensuring that the monarchy outlives him, as he is choosing and placing his heir while he still has the political stature to get his way.Sihamoni is seen as acceptable to Hun Sen - whose allies control the throne council - because he is expected to be comfortable as a figurehead. Sihanouk's oldest son, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, has long been a rival of Hun Sen.Sihanouk said in a letter from Beijing made public Sunday that Sihamoni, his son with Queen Monineath, would make a suitable king because he is "a neutral person not engaged in politics and non-partisan."Though Sihanouk has often been at odds with Hun Sen, he has long been seen as a stabilizing figure amid Cambodia's turbulence. Most Cambodians consider him as being akin to a god-king, so any threat to the monarchy might cause public unrest.Sihanouk led Cambodia to independence from France in the 1950s but was ousted in a coup in 1970 during the Vietnam War by a pro-U.S. Cambodian elite, which created a short-lived republic that fell to the genocidal Khmer Rouge - initially backed by Sihanouk.The king returned to the throne under a U.N. agreement in 1991 that ended the pro-Hanoi regime installed after Vietnamese troops toppled the Khmer Rouge in 1979.Sihanouk has been abroad since January, mostly in Beijing, to receive health care and to protest the failure by Cambodian leaders to solve numerous social and economic problems.

Cambodia has approved a law on how to choose a new monarch, a day after King Sihanouk's abdication announcement. The king's decision shocked Cambodia, not least because the constitution, rewritten in 1993, does not cover the issue of abdication. The new law specifies that a nine-member Throne Council must meet within seven days to elect a successor if the king "dies, retires or abdicates". Despite the move, efforts are under way to make the king change his mind. His son and head of the National Assembly, Prince Ranariddh, is due to fly to Beijing on Saturday to try and dissuade his father from stepping down. After a two-hour debate, lawmakers voted unanimously to set up the nine-member Throne Council, which is likely to include Prince Ranariddh, Prime Minister Hun Sen and acting head of state Chea Sim. "This is a historic day," Prince Ranariddh told reporters after the vote. "I thank the lawmakers for passing this legislation unanimously." The new law still has to be approved by the Senate on Monday, as well as being reviewed by a constitutional committee and signed into law by Chea Sim. Initially there was some doubt over whether King Sihanouk could abdicate at all, since the current constitution only allows for a succession in the event of the monarch's death. The new legislation indicates that Prime Minister Hun Sen's government appears ready to overlook this technicality. But while he is helping to facilitate the process to choose a successor, Prince Ranariddh has made it clear that he wants to try and persuade his father to stay on, arguing that neither himself nor his half-brother Norodom Sihamoni wants to be king. Prince Ranariddh will meet his father on Saturday in Beijing, where he has been receiving medical treatment. Prince Sihamoni is the leading candidate to become the next monarch. A classically trained dancer, he has worked in Paris for the United Nations cultural organisation, Unesco. More recently, he has been with his father in China. Mercurial leader

In a letter read on state television late on Wednesday, the 81-year-old king asked that he be allowed to "retire" because of his fragile health, saying that doctors have detected a "new and serious ailment" in his stomach. There is speculation that King Sihanouk has made the move to force the Cambodian authorities to hammer out the succession process. Norodom Sihanouk's reign has been as turbulent as his country's history, interrupted by civil war and the Killing Fields of the communist Khmer Rouge when more than 1m of his subjects were killed by starvation or execution. In recent years he has spent much of his time abroad running his own outspoken website, commenting on Cambodia's endless political power struggles. King Sihanouk has said he will not return to Cambodia until a new monarch has been chosen.