Cambodian shrine dispute sparks clashes

Several protesters were injured as police moved in

By East Asia Reporter Clare Arthurs

Police in Cambodia have used water cannon and batons to disperse about 20 opposition activists in the capital, Phnom Penh.

The move is the latest in a series of confrontations over plans by opposition leader Sam Rainsy to erect a stupa - a Buddhist shrine - in memory of victims of a grenade attack on a political rally in 1997.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy wants a memorial to victims of the 1997 attack

Several people were injured in the clash with police, which happened a few hours after they removed the latest shrine to be erected.

Mr Rainsy says he will file a complaint to the International Parliamentary Union and local authorities over the police action, in which several people were injured.

Previous monuments have been removed, broken or thrown in the river by police, with city officials arguing Mr Rainsy doesn't have a permit.

Sam Rainsy wants permission to erect the monument on the exact place of the attack, a crime which has never been solved.

Cat and mouse

Since the first stupa was erected in March, commemorating the third anniversary of the attack, he and his supporters have been engaged in a game of cat and mouse with police to remove and replace the memorials.

But on Monday night, what had been persistence on both sides turned to violence.

Several hours after the latest shrine was taken away on a truck, police with water cannon and batons moved in to disperse the remaining activists. Several people were injured, including a member of parliament.

Early on Tuesday Mr Rainsy met the governor of Phnom Penh at the US ambassadors' residence in the city, hoping to calm the situation.

Both sides have appealed to King Noradom Sihanouk to intervene in the dispute.