In reaction to suggestions that he is involving himself to much in politics, King Norodom Sihanouk said Friday that he has a duty to speak his conscience but would give up the throne if the legislature called for it.
“To ascribe to me the desire to ‘govern’ present-day Cambodia ‘beyond my Throne,’ this shows unacceptable injustice and scorn to me,” the King wrote in a typed statement.
Cambodia’s constitution allows for a monarch who is largely symbolic—reigning but not ruling.
But in recent months, the King has issued a steady stream of strong letters and declarations taking stands on matters ranging from the country’s borders to the students and journalists arrested for alleged involvement in the Jan 29 anti-Thai riots.
“I consider it my duty (a duty of moral and not political nature) to present to History and the Khmer People what I have left to say in conformity with what my conscience dictates,” the King wrote.
“If this irritates some politicians, I beg them to excuse me. A true Khmer patriot must not be afraid of what I am moved to say or write concerning our People, our Fatherland.”
The King said he was ready to abdicate “without delay…as soon as I receive the authorization to do so from half + one of the members of the National Assembly,” the statement said.
“Such (official) authorization is necessary so that I cannot be held responsible for the ‘negative’ consequences of my abdication,” he warned.
In November, the King also indicated he was ready to abdicate.
Friday’s statement follows a lengthy “expose” issued Thursday, in which King Sihanouk bemoaned Cambodia’s current “mortal” dangers, like poverty and territorial losses.
Correction: The article “Road Project Continues Outside the Spotlight” (March 5, pg 1) wrongly indicated that Sin Khandy said Japan has granted $11 million for repairs to National Road 2 between Takeo town and Phnom Den on the Vietnamese border.
