Norodom Naradipo

Prince Norodom Naradipo (also spelled Noreakthipo;[1] Khmer: នរោត្តម នរៈទីប៉ោ, Chinese: 诺罗敦·纳拉迪波, 10 February 1946 – c. 1976) was a Cambodian prince who went from being known as the "Prince of the People" during his life to posthumously being referred to as "the most unfortunate prince".[2]

Norodom Naradipo
នរោត្តម នរៈទីប៉ោ
Born(1946-02-10)10 February 1946
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, French Indochina
HouseHouse of Norodom
FatherNorodom Sihanouk
MotherSisowath Monikessan
Disappeared1976? (aged 30)
Kampuchea

Biography

Birth of an orphan prince

Samdech Norodom Sihanouk Naradipo was born to King Norodom Sihanouk and Princess Sisowath Monikessan on (1946-02-10)10 February 1946.[3] Naradipo's mother died of post-natal complications shortly after his birth. He was brought up by Princess Sisowath Pongsanmoni. Educated in Phnom Penh and later in Beijing.[1]

Education in Communist China until the Cultural Revolution

Naradipo was sent to a school in Beijing, China together with his two half-brothers Yuvaneath and Khemanourak under the personal supervision of Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1960.[4][1] Naradipo entered Dengshikou Middle School (灯市口中学,[4] now merged into Beijing No. 25 Middle School) in 1962.[5] Later, he attended senior high school (gao zhong) in Affiliated High School of Peking University.[4][6] Naradipo was designated as Sihanouk's heir on 17 November 1963,[1] to be his successor as the leader of the Sangkum and, eventually, as Chief of State:[7] according to King Norodom who was starting to feel insecure about his own personal safety,[8] Naradipo was chosen as "he alone would be capable of maintaining [...] the absolute unity which is indispensable" for Cambodia.[9] After graduation in 1965, he studied Chinese language and literature in Peking University,[4] In the next year, the Culture Revolution broke out. Guo Luoji, a teacher of Peking University, described that the prince shared Maoist views, which was unacceptable for Cambodian royalty. In 1967, Naradipo had to leave China without a degree.

Exile in France until the social unrest of 1968

Naradipo headed for France to accomplish his study, however, May 1968 events in France caused him to have to return to Cambodia.[4]

Return to Cambodia as the People's Prince until the Civil War

Upon his return to Cambodia, Naradipo, with his fluency in Chinese, became the editor of the government's Chinese newspaper.[1] As a Communist, Naradipo acquired a nickname: the People's Prince.[4] Sihanouk was ousted as head of state in 1970. Naradipo was arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment for alleged involvement in terrorist attacks, by a special military tribunal of Lon Nol regime on 17 July 1971.[10]

Exile in China and return to Cambodia under the Khmers rouges

Naradipo was released in May 1973. In the same year, he left for exile in China.[1]

Disappearance

Naradipo returned to Cambodia with his father in late 1975.[1] He disappeared mysteriously in 1976. During the Khmer Rouge years, five of Sihanouk's children disappeared, including Prince Norodom Naradipo, Princess Norodom Sorya Roeungsi, Prince Norodom Khemanourak, Princess Norodom Botum Bopha and Princess Norodom Sujata.

Posterity

Sihanouk's quest for his lost son

Sihanouk wrote several letters to the Khmer Rouge leadership asking them to allow his children to come and visit him, but he never received an answer.[1] All of them were declared dead in absentia. On 7 June 1994, Naradipo was posthumously granted the Cambodian royal title of Samdech.[11] However, there were rumors that he was still alive.

Claimants of the lost Prince

Several people claimed to be the missing prince,[12] all of whom were confirmed impostors. On 12 February 2010, Sihanouk reasserted that Naradipo and Khemanourak were killed by the Khmer Rouge.[13]

The living spirit of Prince Naradipo

Decades after his disappearance, Prince Naradipo is still at the heart of a faithful devotion, some Khmers believing that he could have been the prophesied Prince who would have saved the Khmer nation.[14] Other devotees even claim have to have identified his reincarnation, namely abbot Lim Buntheoun in the United States of America, despite the fact that the latter has publicly refused this claim.[15]

See also

References
  1. "A journey to study in China". The Phnom Penh Post. 29 October 1999.
  2. ព្រះអង្គម្ចាស់ ណារ៉ាឌីប៉ូ ព្រះរាជបុត្រដ៏អភ័ព្វបំផុត show on YouTube
  3. Jeldres, Julio A. (2003). The Royal House of Cambodia. Monument Books. p. 96.
  4. "郭罗基：我有两个高贵的学生" (in Chinese).
  5. "柬埔寨王子曾在这里就读". 凤凰网. 10 January 2013.
  6. "北大附中50年校庆首发毕业戒指" (in Chinese). Tencent. 6 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  7. Osborne, Milton E. (1973). Politics and Power in Cambodia, the Sihanouk Years. Longman. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-582-71040-5.
  8. Dommen, Arthur J. (2002-02-20). The Indochinese Experience of the French and the Americans: Nationalism and Communism in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Indiana University Press. p. 367. ISBN 978-0-253-10925-5.
  9. Osborne, Milton E. (1973). Politics and Power in Cambodia, the Sihanouk Years. Longman. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-582-71040-5.
  10. "Sons of Sihanouk Acquitted Of Charges of Terrorism". The New York Times. 18 July 1971.
  11. Jeldres, Julio A. (2003). The Royal House of Cambodia. Monument Books. p. 97.
  12. "A missing prince who would be king". The Phnom Penh Post. 29 October 1999.
  13. "Sihanouk Says Impostor Claims To Be Late Son". The Cambodian Daily. 12 February 2010. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  14. "មកដឹងព្រះរាជជីវប្រវត្តិ ព្រះរាជបុត្រា នរោត្ដម នរៈទីប៉ោ កម្សត់ជាងគេក្នុងកំណត់ហេតុព្រះមហាវីរក្សត្រ" (in Khmer). Archived from the original on 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  15. Mortland, Carol A. (2017-07-25). Cambodian Buddhism in the United States. SUNY Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-4384-6665-1.
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