The prime ministers of Thailand and Laos arrived in Phnom Penh yesterday to express their condolences to Prime Minister Hun Sen on the death of his father, who passed away Friday.
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong arrived at Phnom Penh airport yesterday afternoon and were scheduled to fly back the same day, according to officials at the airport.
Neither could be reached.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra also visited Cambodia on Sunday to pay their respects.
Hun Sen’s father, Hun Neang, 89, died early Friday morning, and his funeral will be held today in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district. His body will be placed in a crypt near his wife.
Kem Gunnawadh, director-general of state-run television station TVK, said yesterday that the heads of state had come of their own volition.
“It’s traditional.… We always share our condolences with each other by our own initiative, not by invitation,” he said.
Gunnawadh said he would not speculate on how many people will join in today’s funeral procession, which begins at 6am.
