Frail-Looking King Returns to Cambodia Preaching Peace

SIEM REAP, Cambodia — This nation’s ailing king returned home Friday and expressed hopes of restoring peace to his homeland, where a coup ousted his son as co-premier and ignited factional warfare.

Arriving at the Siem Reap airport, a frail-looking King Norodom Sihanouk pressed his hands together in a traditional sign of respect and waved to hundreds of well-wishers.

The 74-year-old king has been undergoing medical treatment in China. In recent years, he has suffered from cancer, a stroke, cataracts and arteriosclerosis, a thickening of artery walls.

The king talked briefly with Second Prime Minister Hun Sen, who seized power in the July 5-6 coup that deposed Prince Norodom Ranariddh.

The welcoming party also included Ung Huot, installed by Hun Sen to replace Ranariddh and maintain an image of power-sharing in line with 1993 U.N.-sponsored elections.

“My mission here is for peace and national reconciliation,” Sihanouk said at the airport. “I am the father of all Cambodians. I am going to work normally here to help my country.”

Sihanouk was then driven to his residence in the center of Siem Reap, 140 miles north of Phnom Penh, the capital. Hundreds of people lined the streets to welcome him.

Although his powers are limited by the constitution, the king remains popular and is probably the only Cambodian leader who can temper Hun Sen’s rapid consolidation of power.