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NEWS STREAM
Thailand's King Passes Away; Trump Campaign Fighting Back; Clinton Campaign Explaining Latest Email Dump; Boko Haram Releases 21 Chibok Girls
Aired October 13, 2016 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And welcome to News Stream.
Now, after two long years, Nigeria says Boko Haram has released more of the missing Chibok schoolgirls.
And the Trump campaign is fighting back after reports raised accusations that Donald Trump inappropriately touched three different women.
Breaking news for you here at CNN. We have learned that the king of Thailand has died. King Bhumibol Adulyadej had been Thailand's monarch
since 1946. He was revered in Thailand to the point of being worshiped as a living god. And for more on the loss of this much beloved king of
Thailand, let's go straight to Will Ripley in Bangkok.
And Will, a deeply tragic moment for the people of Thailand, they have lost their king.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They have. And they call their King Bhumibol, Kristie, the soul of this nation. And so not only have they lost
their king, but many people, as the new starts to spread here, will feel as if they have lost a piece of their nations soul as well.
70 years King Bhumibol has served. He rose to power at age 18. And you can see his influence in the eyes and faces of people here who are looking
at the national television broadcast, many of them on their phones, the news from the royal agency was just posted on their official Facebook page
a short time ago that the king died this afternoon at 3:52 p.m. local time. So, just over three hours ago at Siriraj Hospital where we are standing
right now.
He had actually been in hospital since October of 2014, Kristie, and there have been a number of health scares over the years. But the Thai people
knew that this one was different when the crown prince cut his trip short from Germany to come here.
All three of the princesses also joined the crown prince and they met yesterday with their father.
The prime minister came back early from a trip in eastern Thailand. And he came here, we believe, to have some sort of an audience with the Crown
Prince, who is the designated heir.
But really, this is something that this nation hasn't gone through in 70 years. This king is the only king that the majority of the 65 million
people here in Thailand have known in their lifetime. They don't know what a succession process is going to look like and what's going to happen.
And so in the coming hours, we expect to get more information released from the government
about exactly how this is going to work. There are obviously questions and concerns here about stability, political stability. Thailand is a deeply
divided country, as you know, Kristie.
And the king over the years has many times been the glue that has held the two opposing sides
together. So his loss is a huge loss not only for the hearts of the people here in Thailand but also
for the stability of this country as they move forward.
LU STOUT: Will, in the last few days, there has been this outpouring of just emotion and affection and concern about the ailing king. And we have
learned that the king of Thailand has passed away. The crowds behind you have been swelling in the last few hours. Thousands of people around you.
Could you describe the scenes leading up to this moment and perhaps the reaction right now
in Bangkok.
RIPLEY: And I have to say, we've moved around 500 yards from the area where we were earlier, Kristie, because the crowds became so large that the
cell phone signal that we used to bring you a live picture went down. We were unable to even get a phone call, barely, out of there. But you can
see around the hospital perimeter here, people are standing, they are awaiting word from the police officers that are standing here. They're
looking at their phones.
This is somebody who made the monarchy in Thailand accessible to ordinary people. It used to be that commoners weren't even allowed to gaze on their
king. But this king would go out into the countryside. King Bhumibol would always be seen carrying his camera, because he loved photography. He
would take pictures of the landscape and his people. He cared about things like soil preservation. He turned the palace -- the swimming pool and
different parts of the palace grounds into agricultural experiments to try to figure out how to produce more food for people.
He created educational opportunities. He was the first to broadcast distance learning over radio
stations that people outside of Bangkok here in the rural areas could learn trades, could learn useful skills, and families could become food self-
sufficient.
So this is a man who's earned the nation's respect over 70 years of being a leader, yes, but a leader who very much had the common touch. And that is
what people are mourning just as much as anything, because he is the one figure in this divided country who no matter what the political situation,
and there have been more than a dozen military coups in the king's lifetime, he's the one people would listen to. He was the one able to
often smooth over conflicts to keep order, to keep things moving forward.
And so now in many ways -- and you can understand why the people of this country may feel
at a sense that this is a bit of a rudderless ship, even though he has been in hospital for the last two years, actually living in hospital, and has
made fewer and fewer public appearances and statements over the years has his health has declined.
LU STOUT: Yeah, the king of Thailand, as you describe him, he was respected
for making the monarchy accessible in his country. And he was also revered to the point of being a living god, like a deity. Could you please
describe and explain that to us.
RIPLEY: Well, King Bhumibol, people thought, for example, that he was going to live to
be at least 120, that's what one woman told us here earlier today. So, even though the official palace
statement puts his age at death at 89 years old, they thought he might live longer. They thought he might rule for another 30 years. And so the
prayer we kept hearing was a prayer for the king to recover.
They were chanting "long live the king." They were singing the king's song.
And even now you see people in the crowds here, they're gathering together. They're wearing -- some of these people are wearing yellow. That's the
king's color, because he was born on Monday. A lot of people inside near the hospital wearing pink shirts. Pink is considered a color that helps to
boost recovery. And so this obviously -- the monarch of Thailand, this is a Buddhist country. He has no actual political power, but he is the king
and he reigns using Buddhist ideals. And so a lot of those traditions we've seen out here on the streets of Bangkok today, and we'll certainly
see more of them in the coming days as this country, as they learn the news and they start to mourn this loss.
Also, of course, we will hear more from the crown prince, who is back here. He's 64 years old. The crown prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, he is a fighter
pilot. He's the father of seven himself. At some point, he has been named as the heir to the king. But how that process is going to work, when that
will happen, what kind of a king will he be like, these are all questions that the Thai people have right now, and they don't have answers. And they
can't really speculate too openly about it because of the very strict enforcement of this country's (inaudible) laws which prevent any
speculation about the royal family or any public discussion, social media posts that, sort of thing.
So, people are basically waiting for official information and trying to sort through their feelings
of grief at the loss of their king.
LU STOUT: Now, this is a national tragedy for the people of Thailand. How do the people of Thailand consider this moment and their future, a nation
after King Bhumibol?
RIPLEY: Well, it's telling, Kristie, that ever since news over the last few days has broken that
King Bhumibol's health was -- his health was declining, we've seen the stock market here go down every day. It dropped by 3 percent yesterday. I
haven't seen the latest updated numbers today, but it was on a downward trend at last check.
So obviously this has the business community worried because there are questions about the stability of Thailand moving forward without this
unifying force, without this king who really did have a power to speak and people would listen.
There are few figures in the world -- in fact, no monarch in the world really with this kind
of relationship with his people. It is unparalleled in modern society to have a monarch as well respected as the Thai king. And so that is going to
have an effect, at least in the short-term, on investor confidence. It's going to have an effect certainly on the mood of this nation as they deal
with the sadness of this loss. It really feels -- it's a huge void that will have to be filled.
And so as we learn -- we know from the previous royal funerals, the most recent was back in 2012, I believe, you know, usually the way it works is
that the body is brought back to the palace and will lie in state, sometimes for a year or longer, because the goal is to
give as many people, and ideally everybody in the country, the opportunity to come and pay their respects.
With 65 million citizens, we don't know if that's going to be possible, but you can bet there will be many people, millions of people, who are going to
want to do this, are going to want to be close to the king to thank him one last time, to pay their respects. And it goes back to what you were
saying, Kristie, about this king really being almost worshiped as a living god, now a god who has left this world, but again under the Buddhist
religion, which this country adheres to.
They believe he will be reincarnated to something even greater for all of the good work
that he has done over the last 70 years as king of Thailand.
LU STOUT: And now this is a nation in mourning, a nation that must say good-bye to a much loved king. Will Ripley reporting live for us from the
Thai capital. Thank you, Will.
Now, Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, again, has passed away. Here's a look back at the life of one of the world's longest reigning monarchs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT; King Bhumibol Adulyadej was revered to the point of being worshiped like a living god. One of the longest reigning monarchs in the
world, he served for 70 years.
And to the Thai people, he wasn't just a head of state, he was a stalwart defender of democracy. Many here thank him personally for their freedom.
King Bhumibol inherited the throne in 1946 and was formally crowned amid much pomp and
ceremony four years later. He traveled the world meeting foreign leaders, acting as a sort of ambassador for Thailand. Here reviewing a guard of
honor with President Eisenhower in 1960.
He worked for decades trying to improve the lives of ordinary Thais, using his engineering
background, advising on new irrigation systems. He also worked to eradicate opium production, replacing it with more sustainable agriculture.
But he also frequently had to guide Thailand back from the brink of crisis, intervening at
critical times during succession of military coups, many saying he was a guiding hand, always steering Thailand back to democracy.
In 1992, the king again exercised this discreet power during a political crisis. Two rival military leaders were summoned before the king after
days of violent clashes between pro-democracy campaigners and the army. Pictures of both men submissively bowed before their monarch calmed
tensions and stopped the violence immediately.
The king made fewer public appearances after 2009 when he was admitted to hospital for respiratory issues, a stay that lasted four years. Well
wishers continued to support him as his health declined after that. He returned to hospital for several different health issues, including a
gallbladder removal, fluid on the brain, and surgery to open the arteries in his heart.
His passing will leave a cavernous void in Thai society, a country now united in profound
grief and sorrow, their monarch, the father of modern Thailand, will be dearly missed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: King Bhumibol Adulyadej reigned over Thailand for 70 years. As a constitutional monarch, he acted as head of state and head of the armed
forces, at least largely symbolic roles hold little direct power, which instead rests with parliament, but the monarch still retains the power to
approve or delay legislation.
And the king's popularity also gave him considerable political influence. He stepped in to defuse tensions during troubled times. He also pioneered
thousands of development projects to help improve health, education and prosperity for the Thai people, especially
the rural poor.
Now, we will have more on the death of Thailand's king later this hour right here on News
Stream.
Now, elsewhere, it is a day of renewed hope for some families in Nigeria's -- the Chibok girls and their families. Now, Nigeria says Boko Haram has
released 21 of them. And they are now in custody. This photo, obtained exclusively by CNN, shows some of the girls.
Now the released happened after a series of high level negotiations involving the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Nima Elbagir has been following what happened to the Chibok girls, and their families from the very beginning. She joins us now with more on this
story from London.
Nima, again, 21 missing schoolgirls have finally been released. Tell us more about what led to their freedom.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDEN: Well, we understand that this has all happened very quickly, Kristie. It in fact -- the handover
happened this morning. The girls have now been delivered to Borno state capitol. Borno is home to the Sambisa forest stronghold of Boko
Haram, where the girls have been being held for much of the last -- over two years. They are now in the state government's custody and are en route
to being delivered to the presidency in Abuja.
It has come after two-and-a-half very long years for the families on the ground, a time where for many of these families, hope started to seem very
far away.
It was only really back in April when we first broadcast the proof of life video of the Chibok girls that the pressure began ratcheting again on the
Nigerian government and families started feeling that perhaps hope wasn't lost, that their girls were within reach.
What we're trying to pin down now is what was the deal exactly. The Nigerian government says that there was no prisoner swap. That was one of
the main tenants that Boko Haram were putting forward for any kind of negotiation, but we're hearing potentially, though, that might not be
exactly how this all played out. So we're going to be looking into that for you, Kristie, and hoping to get you some more details of that
throughout the day.
But for now, what we do know is that for 21 girls and their families, finally after it felt that hope had been all but extinguished, these girls
are going to be going home, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Yeah, this is a day to celebrate for these 21 girls and their families. These girls are the lucky ones. They have managed to be
released, but what did they have to go through? What did they endure? And what's needed for them to rebuild their lives?
ELBAGIR: We did get some pretty sombering glimpse into what life might have been like over the last two years from the one girl who had
successfully managed to escape once Boko Haram got back into their Sambisa Forest stronghold, and it sounded absolutely heartbreaking -- forced
marriage, many of the girls described as having given birth to their captor's children. She even spoke about some girls who she said hadn't
survived the ordeal. We'll now be getting, I imagine, much more definite details of that. But it sounds like what these girls have been through is
almost undescribable.
But what has been so extraordinary to witness throughout all of this is the resoluteness of their parents. Throughout of all this, every time we have
spoken to any one of these girls' parents, they have always said we don't care how they come back to us. There will be no shame. We will fight any
kind of broader stigma about whatever it is they have been through, whatever it is that has been forced on them through these two-and-a-half
years. We just want our children home, Kristie.
LU STOUT: That is wonderful to hear, no stigma at all. They're back home. Welcomed back to their families and communities.
And Nima, many, many, many other schoolgirls, they are still enduring this nightmare. They remain missing. What kind of operation is under way to
try to find them or to secure their release as well?
ELBAGIR: Well, we understand from the Nigerian government that negotiations do continue for the around 200 girls that are still believed
to be -- and that's a very rough estimate at this point, Kristie, but are still believed to be being held by Boko Haram.
But I think it's also worth mentioning here that while we talk about the Chibok girls. The Chibok girls are very much a microcosm for the thousands
of schoolchildren, boys and girls, who have lost their childhoods, who have lost their lives and lost their liberty, to the Boko Haram campaign
throughout the north of Nigeria.
And this is really what the government needs to continue to be committed to, that from what we're hearing from all the activists, their hope is that
even in this moment of optimism, even in this moment of joy, for the specific 21 girls and their families, that this will continue to be a point
of pressure brought to bear on the Nigerian government to continue with that
campaign to push Boko Haram entirely out of the north of Nigeria so that so many of this
generation that has been really described as Nigeria's lost generation up in the north of the country can finally find some kind of hope and finally
we gain some belief they do -- that they can have a future, Kristie.
LU STOUT: Thank you for that reminder, Nima, and it's a very, very important one. Thousands of schoolgirls, thousands of young women do
remain missing as Boko Haram continues to terrorize communities there in Nigeria.
Nima Elbagir reporting for us. As always, thank you.
Now, you're watching News Stream. We'll be back after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej has died. He was one of the world's longest reigning monarchs, having sat on the throne for 70 years.
A palace statement did not give a reason for his death, but the 88-year-old king had been hospitalized in poor health recently, prompting an outpouring
of support and affection from the Thai people. And they are now grieving for the passing of their king.
Now, the campaign for Donald Trump is fighting back claims that he groped and kissed women
without their permission. The New York Times published an article on Wednesday in which two women claim trump touched them inappropriately.
One alleged incident took place in 2005, the other, more than 30 years ago. Now, CNN has not been able to independently confirm those accounts. A
Trump attorney demanded a retraction, calling the article politically motivated.
The Trump campaign is threatening to sue the paper.
CNN's Jason Carroll has details on the allegations against Trump.
(BEGIN VOIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Several women speaking out, accusing Donald Trump of touching them inappropriately.
JESSICA LEEDS, ACCUSES DONALD TRUMP OF INAPPROPRIATE TOUCHING: It was a real shock when all of a sudden his hands were all over me.
CARROLL: Two of these women, Jessica Leeds and Rachel Crooks, telling "The New York Times" they were both groped or kissed by Trump without consent.
The incident with Leeds allegedly took place 35 years ago when she sat next to the billionaire in the first-class cabin on a flight.
LEEDS: If he had stuck with the upper part of the body, I might not have gotten -- I might not have gotten that upset. When he started putting his
hand up my skirt, that was it.
CARROLL: Crooks telling "The Times" after introducing herself to Trump outside an elevator at Trump Tower, Crooks alleges he would not let go of
her hand, then kissed her directly on the mouth, something she says felt like a violation. Crooks says this happened in 2005.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: You know, I'm automatically attracted to beautiful. I just start kissing them.
CARROLL: That same year, Trump boasted to Billy Bush about how he forces himself on women.
BILLY BUSH, FORMER HOST, "ACCESS HOLLYWOOD": Whatever you want.
TRUMP: Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.
CARROLL: The two women telling "The New York Times" they came forward after watching Trump deny ever assaulting women at Sunday's debate.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Have you ever done those things?
TRUMP: Women have respect for me. And I will tell you, no, I have not.
CARROLL: The Trump campaign says the entire article is fiction, calling "The New York Times" story a coordinated character assassination.
Also in 2005, Natasha Stoynoff, a writer for "People" magazine, claims that she was physically attacked by Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate while writing
a piece on Trump and his wife, Melania's, one-year anniversary. Stoynoff says she was briefly alone with Trump in a room when, "within seconds, he
was pushing me against the wall and forcing his tongue down my throat."
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but a Trump spokesperson told the magazine, "This never happened. There is no merit or
veracity to this fabricated story."
This as another recording that year reveals Trump bragging to Howard Stern about going backstage at the beauty pageants he owns.
TRUMP: I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant, and therefore I'm inspecting it. They're standing there with no clothes. "Is
everybody OK?" And you see these incredible looking women, and so I sort of get away with things like that.
CARROLL: Former Miss Arizona, Tasha Dixon, tells CNN that's exactly what happened in 2001.
TASHA DIXON, FORMER MISS ARIZONA: It was announced Donald Trump was going to come in, and before you could put a robe or kind of dress yourself, he
walked in. And you know, some women were half naked. Others were in the process of changing.
It puts us in not only a physical, vulnerable position, but also an emotional state.
CARROLL: Trump's campaign manager refusing to comment.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: There's no way for me to know what happened there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LU STOUT: And that was CNN's Jason Carroll reporting. The Clinton camp, meanwhile, is
scrambling to explain the latest batch of stolen emails released by WikiLeaks. They include unflattering remarks reportedly made by a senior
staffer, referencing Catholic and evangelical Christians.
Now, another hacked email suggests the campaign may have been presented with a question for a CNN TV One town hall back in March, a day prior to
the actual event.
Now, we've heard Russia flatly deny any role in the hacking. That's made headlines in the
U.S., but there is another major issue stoking some of the highest tensions between the two nations
since the Cold War. I'm talking about the crisis in Syria.
But now other nations have agreed to join the U.S. and Russia to discuss a cease-fire. A multilateral meeting is to take place Saturday in
Switzerland. Earlier this month, Washington suspended talks with Moscow.
Matthew Chance joins us now with Moscow from more. And Matthew, why? Why is Russia saying that they are ready to resume talks on Syria?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, to be fair, I think it wasn't the Russians that broke away from the talks in the first place,
it was the United States because of the cessation of hostilities coming to an end. John Kerry said that these bilateral talks between Russia and the
United States were no longer worth continuing.
And that's still the case, according to the state department, that these aren't going to be the bilateral talks that we saw for the last several
months in which both the Russian foreign minister and the U.S. secretary of state sat down to try and hammer out the details of a cessation of
hostilities and to allow humanitarian access, particularly to eastern Aleppo to alleviate suffering there.
It's going to be a multilateral talk. There's going to be more people at the table, in other words.
more countries, including Turkey, some Gulf states, as well as Russia and the United States. And that broadens the conversation out somewhat.
But the substantive issues about what needs to be done, about how humanitarian access can be granted, and about what the future of Syria
should look like if this conflict can ever be brought to an end, they remain the same. And that's where the fundamental differences occur
between, for instance, Russia and the United States. Russia wants to back or is backing Bashar al-Assad and wants to see the future of Syria with him
in it.
And the United States and its allies don't see it that way. And so the problems in this negotiation are still exactly the same, it seems, as they
were before.
LU STOUT: And separately, there's the issue of hacking. Now we have learned that U.S.
federal investigators believe that Russia hacked a voter registration system in Florida. And this is just the latest accusation of a cyber
breach from the U.S., pointing fingers at Russia.
The reaction there -- I mean, does Moscow continue to just dismiss these charges?
CHANCE: Yes, it does effectively. It says it has no interest in doing this, that's what Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said yesterday.
The Russian foreign minister spoke to CNN earlier as well. And again, said that even though it was flattering that Russia, he said, was being spoken
about in this way, it didn't engage in this hacking.
And that's been the long-stated position of the Russians since these allegations first emerged.
But of course, experts in the United States who have looked at the code that's involved in accessing, for instance, the Democratic National
Committee file server in which all those emails were stolen and then leaked to the press are pretty much convinced that this had a Russian origin,
possibly two organizations, two hacking groups linked to the federal security services and the military security services here in Russia.
And so there is apparently strong circumstantial evidence that Russia is behind this. Again, Russia is standing by its position that it has nothing
to do with it.
LU STOUT: Our Matthew chance reporting live for us from Moscow. Thank you.
You're watching News Stream and up next, a nation in mourning. We will have another update from Bangkok on the death of Thailand's king.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LU STOUT: Now, let's return to our top news story. The king of Thailand has died at the age of 88. King Bhumibol was one of the world's longest
reigning monarchs. He ascended the thrown 70 years ago, and he was widely revered by the Thai people, who are now grieving his passing.
Now, let's go back to Will Ripley in Bangkok. He joins us now live. And Will, an entire nation is now in mourning for their king. Just describe
the emotion that you've been seeing there.
RIPLEY: It is very, very strong emotion here, Kristie, as if they lost somebody in their own family, because that is how the Thai people feel.
They feel that their King Bhumibol is the soul of their nation and a man who they consider not only some of their family but
somebody who even rose above the level of family member to almost a living god.
There are people here, grown adults, who have been praying for a miracle with their full hearts, full hearts, hoping that something would happen and
their king would pull through and that he could still live for another 10 or 20 or 30 years and continue to rule here.
And as you see people standing in the crowd, it is a silent grief. This is not a dramatic wailing
grief, but you can see in people's eyes just this sense of shock and loss and sadness, disbelief. They're watching -- we're outside the hospital.
There are thousands of people gathered directly next to the building where the king has been in hospital for the better part of two
years, since October of 2014.
It got so crowded thre we had to move outside. Now this area just in the last 30 minutes has gotten more and more crowded.
People have been asking is the king still in the hospital, is he going to be brought through these gates. People just want to be close to him, if
they can, one last time.
And I've been chatting with one young woman here. And thank you so much for talking to me, because I know this is such a difficult evening for you.
UNIDENIFIED FEMALE: It's terrible. I must say it's just a terrible night.
RIPLEY: I'm so sorry for your loss. And you and so many people in the crowd are just in grief. So we just want you to know that our hearts are
with you.
Tell me what your king means to you, what he meant to you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a father. He is like a father. I must say he is really a
father. He's not a living god, he's not a (inaudible), he's just a father to everybody, a father who worked every day for the past 70 years without
holiday, without even vacation. Right now he's not a father, he's a grandpa who didn't have any holiday. He's bedridden in the
hospital.
RIPLEY: But you were hoping for a miracle, even this afternoon when you left work to
come here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With all my heart. I hope that miracle will be happen. I want to believe in miracle. I know a miracle it's a new fairy
tale to the children. It's just a bedtime story. It's not happen to him.
RIPLEY: But up until this moment, up until the king went away, a part of you believed that it might be possible to keep him longer and been your
king even longer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I used to believe up until now that this is a lie.
RIPLEY: You don't want to believe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, I don't want to believe.
RIPLEY: And it's important that you mention that, you know, you don't consider him a living god because there was a time here in Thailand where
common people couldn't even look at their king, and yet he was out for years in the rural areas. He was putting his
hands in the soil. He was composing music that was played on the radio. He turned the palace into experiments for dairy farmers
and for fish farming.
I mean, he wanted to take care of the people of this country, and he did that in a way really
unique to almost any other monarch in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. (inaudible) something, when you have a child, what do you want to do for your child? You always want to do best thing
for your child. He's the same. He's not a living god, he's a father. He is a grandpa that wanted to do everything, the best thing for his kids,
around 70 million kids in this country. That's when he want to do. He doesn't have a vacation.
RIPLEY: Population 65 million is a lot of kids to look after, but you think he did it like none other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, he said that, we, all of us, some of us we already suffer. He cannot just take one-day break because we already
suffer. Even one day, if he can (inaudible), that means they can get more happiness.
RIPLEY: Do you have a favorite memory of your king or a favorite moment when you look
back?
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: When I grow up, the king, he is already getting old. So when I look at him, I'm just like -- I have never seen the king, every
monarch in the world. He holds a very simple life. He didn't have any much of jewelry. He is not a king in a fairy tale who's asleep in a big
castle sitting on a throne (inaudible)
RIPLEY: And you have to think about the Queen Sirikit. She's 86. She's in the hospital.
UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, and we still hope that she will be getting back, our mother will be getting back, getting better and better every day.
We lost our father today. We don't want to lose our mother again.
RIPLEY: The two of them married since 1950. What an example of love.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trust. This is longer than you can say that love will stay. This is trust. This is believing in each other that people can
be together and support each other for really long time.
RIPLEY: Dia (ph), thank you very much for speaking with me. I know this is such a hard time
for you. And our hearts are with you and everybody here.
It's -- even though maybe this isn't your particular country's king or your country's grief, you cannot stand here in this moment and not feel the
grief that Thailand is feeling here right now.
The fact that so many people would come during their workday, after their workday, come just
to try to stand to be close, closer to the man who led this country for 70 years, a man who on several occasions, including back in 1992, pulled this
country back from the brink of civil war, because no matter what side of the political spectrum you were on in this deeply divided nation, there was
one person, one person who everybody listened to. And that is the king. That was the king. And now the king is gone, Kristie.
LU STOUT: And will, it was just so touching to hear and to listen to that young Thai woman who you were talking to just then, just to hear her
reaction to the death of her king. And she described him as this father figure who wasn't this remote figure up in a castle, as she put it, but a
father figure who was present in the lives of the Thai people and worked every day tirelessly for the people of
Thailand.
Is that why he was so popular? Because the king enjoyed such immense popularity. Was that the source of his popularity and the deep, deep love
and affection for him there?
RIPLEY: Absolutely because in this culture -- and Thailand has had many monarchs, centuries of monarchs -- he's the ninth monarch of this
particular dynasty. And yet, he gained a new level of respect because of the fact that he was so accessible. Every member of the Chakri dynasty was
respected, but the ninth king of the Chakri dynasty really was one that stood out here, special to the people because of the fact that he allowed
people to gaze on him. He interacted. He was interested in things that would make the people's lives better, providing them with educational
opportunities. Even if it was by radio, he wanted to make sure that people could tune in and learn vocational skills. He wanted to make sure every
family in Thailand was food self-sufficient because there was a time in the not too distant past when much of this country was malnourished.
And instead of staying in the palace, he went out to these areas. He saw the situation first hand.
And then he took tangible steps to fix the situation.
And so that kind of trust, that kind of relationship that you build with a monarch over not 10 or 20 but 70 years, you can imagine what a hole that
leaves in this country. The relationship that he has with the Thai people isn't something that was bestowed upon him because he was the king. He
earned it. And he worked very hard as Dia (ph) was saying and as other people have told us in this crowd as well.
LU STOUT: Yeah, he earned this relationship with the Thai people. He also had this immense moral authority. Tell us more about how especially during
some very, very destabilizing times he was a stabilizing figure in Thai society and Thai politics.
RIPLEY: Well, here in Thailand, the king does rule, according to Buddhist principle. And so -- you'll see over the coming days as this country
mourns some of the Buddhist traditions. We saw those traditions today with chanting of the king's name, long live the king, they sang the king's song,
and they were saying prayers for the king to recover.
But King Bhumibol, he, you know, the fact he was married for 66 years, married back in 1950,
that they stayed together, that they in this conservative society have shown that a marriage can endure, that love can endure.
One of the things that we saw today were people posing with a portrait of the two of them
where he was handing her a bouquet of flowers. And everybody wanted to have their picture taken holding that portrait, because it is like a
grandfather and grandmother.
And now their thoughts are with not only their grandmother but also all of the other children who came and had to see their father one last time. But
it's something that is so personal that many people here feel they have lost their country's glue, the glue that has held this country together
during very difficult times.
You can't have more than a dozen military coups and have a single monarch who remains in power, remains respected, and remains influential over both
sides of the conflict repeatedly without this person being someone truly exceptional, and that is the king that
Thailand has lost.
LU STOUT: Yeah, he was a stabilizing figure. He was a father figure and a nation is mourning after his death.
Will Ripley reporting live for us. Thank you so much, Will. Take care.
Now, Thailand's King Bhumibol ascended the throne in June of 1946, and his 70-year reign made him one of the world's longest serving monarchs. Now,
he was born in the United States. He was educated in Switzerland. As a king, he was revered with almost god-like status in Thailand, where he
acted, again, as a stabilizing force through periods of major political upheaval.
Now, the monarch earned the reputation as a king of the people, as you heard from Will
Ripley just then. All this due to his tireless work on projects to improve the lives of the rural poor.
And the king also controlled the crown's vast fortune, which Forbes estimates to be around
$30 billion.
Now, criticism of senior royals is banned under Thailand's strict laws.
Now, CNN will have continuing coverage of the death of the Thai king in the hours ahead. But for now, that is News Stream. And World Sport with
Christina Macfarlane is next.
END
