Former King Laments the ‘Weight’ of Old Age

King Sihanouk went on to thank compatriots who have wished that he lives to be over 100 years old, but asked them to refrain from wishing him a long life. -- PHOTO: AFP

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
08 October 2009

Former king Norodom Sihanouk, who is 87 years old and has survived several bouts with cancer, said on his Web site this week he would like to die “as soon as possible,” as the years weigh upon him.

The gloomy statement comes as the lawyer for jailed Khmer Rouge chief Nuon Chea insist the former monarch be called to the UN-backed tribunal to give testimony.

Sihanouk has said he will not agree to a summons, and on his Web site Wednesday said his old age had become “an unsupportable weight.” Sihanouk abdicated in 2004, raising his son, Norodom Sihamoni, to the throne. He is currently in China, for cancer treatment.

“What I want is to die as soon as possible,” Sihanouk wrote, in French, on his Web site Wednesday.

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