|
Cambodia officially opened its 24 million- dollar new National
Assembly Saturday in a lavish traditional Buddhist ceremony
presided over by King Norodom Sihamoni and seven of the nation's
most venerable Buddhist monks.
With 7,777 guests in attendance, the timing of the opening to
coincide with the anniversary of factional fighting in 1997 which
ousted then First Prime Minister and Funcinpec leader Prince
Norodom Ranariddh was almost certainly for its astrological
significance rather than irony.
Cambodian People's Party (CPP) lawmaker Cheam Yeap declared
that 2007 was the anniversary of democracy which was established in
Cambodia in late 1946. Observers noted that Prince Norodom
Sihanouk's rule from 1953 until UN-organized elections in 1993
Cambodia was ruled by single parties.
The new National Assembly was built entirely by Cambodians, from
architectural design to construction, and using only Cambodian
funding, Cheam Yeap added.
King Sihamoni said the new building was 'a great monument to
Cambodia's idealism and commitment' to democracy.
Neither the CPP nor its junior coalition partner Funcinpec
marked the anniversary of the July 5 and 6 fighting, which left
hundreds dead, saying that was in the past. Instead they turned
their full attention to Saturday's ceremony.
A public museum inside the National Assembly includes a
remarkably record of Cambodia's strides towards its current
multi-party democracy, with a rollcall of parliamentarians from
1946 onward listing 10 names of the Khmer Rouge's Democratic
Kampuchea (DK) regime leaders.
Brother Number 2, Nuon Chea, who is expected to be a prime
candidate to face impending 56-million dollar joint Cambodia-UN
trials of former leaders of the regime, tops the list rather than
the movement's deceased leader Pol Pot. It was unclear why only 10
of 250 DK parliamentarians' names were recorded.
Saturday's ceremony was attended by the nation's
parliamentarians and senators from all parties, as well as a range
of dignitaries and representatives from foreign embassies.
Although the building is extensively and almost exclusively
decorated with prime examples of Cambodian artwork, one tribute
from a foreign nation was prominently displayed during the opening
tour - a gift of a large painting of the Great Wall of China
presented by the Chinese government just days before the
inauguration.
 |
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
