PRIOR to the coup attempt, His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk related how the two
alleged masterminds were angry with their leaders in the CPP.
During an
interview with the Post in Beijing on June 11 the King said his son, Prince
Chakrapong, and former Defence Minister Sin Song were furious because they had
not been rewarded for leading a secession movement in the wake of the elections
last year.
Though breakaway bid in several eastern provinces quickly
fizzled out, many seasoned observers credited it with forcing Funcinpec to
include their CPP rivals in a coalition government.
The King said: "The
reason why Sin Song and Chakrapong are now very very angry, vis a vis angry at
Hun Sen, is because they serve Hun Sen, the puppets of Hun Sen, and they cannot
have any important position now.
"Chakrapong told me after the end of
the seccession 'I served Hun Sen, but now Hun Sen let me down. He is co-premier
and his party , his group remain in power with Ranariddh. We the People's Party
continue to dominate, to have the real power, to exercise it to dominate
Cambodia, and there are only two victims, Sin Song and Chakrapong.'
"He
told me that! He told me! 'Papa it is unnacceptable. They enjoy power. They
continue. They used us as their instrument to remain in power because I saved
the situation, by forming, setting up, against the will of Prince Ranariddh.'
"
Reuters reports: Cambodian government and parliamentary leaders
paid their respects in Phnom Penh on Monday to the late North Korean Kim
Il-sung, a long-time friend of King Norodom Sihanouk.
About 100 diplomats
and government officials, including Second Prime Minister Hun Sen and
parliamentary president Chea Sim, attended a ceremony at the North Korean
Embassy where both national flags flew at halt mast.
The King decreed
three days of mourning in Cambodia
