Land activists said it was a spiritual ceremony; authorities described it as the latest attention-grabbing from “professional protesters”.

Whatever the case, once the familiar scuffling between menacing security guards and civilians had passed yesterday, a demonstration calling for the release of 21 workers and activists arrested in January was a different spectacle from the excessive violence of recent months.

The demonstration began with forces blocking protesters from the Boeung Kak, Borei Keila and Thmor Kol communities as they tried to gather outside the Supreme Court in Phnom Penh, seizing a drum and power supply.

Continue reading:Spirited protest at Riverside