Cambodia Leader in China to Meet With Sihanouk

Cambodian leader Hun Sen flew to China’s capital Monday to meet today with his country’s monarch, King Norodom Sihanouk, who hinted that he may abdicate and return to Cambodia to observe strict Buddhist abstinence and to help the poor.

Hun Sen’s scheduled audience with the king would be his first since ousting Prince Norodom Ranariddh--the monarch’s son and Hun Sen’s co-prime minister--in a bloody coup early last month. Hun Sen is now in effect Cambodia’s sole ruler, but he appears to be trying to consolidate his position by meeting with Sihanouk.

Sihanouk, a constitutional monarch who has been in Beijing for several months for treatment of cancer and other ailments, lacks the troops or firepower of Hun Sen. But he still possesses considerable stature and political influence in Cambodia, and his return could complicate the situation for Hun Sen. It remained unclear whether Sihanouk will follow through on his plans or was posturing to wring concessions from Hun Sen.

In an official statement Monday, the king said he will return to Cambodia “in the near future” and “sojourn” at Siem Reap. “I will observe the eight precepts of abstinence of Buddha and continue to help the poor conform to the rules of Buddhism,” he said.

Sihanouk said he will pray and “organize Buddhist ceremonies in order that . . . our country and its people recover peace in a framework of national reconciliation.”

Separately, the king said in a letter dated Sunday that he is prepared to abdicate--but only if Hun Sen promises not to criticize him.

“I am ready to abdicate as soon as it is possible to do so,” Sihanouk said in the letter, which was addressed to a friend and was faxed Monday to news organizations in Beijing. “But I am waiting for his excellency Hun Sen, our strongman, to make it clear to me, indirectly through appropriate actions or words, that I can abdicate without risk of being criticized or accused of creating major additional difficulties for the country and people” of Cambodia, he wrote.