#LANGO: The Last 72 Hours

Good morning and welcome to LICADHO's live coverage of today's anti-LANGO events. This morning, two events are planned:

• At 9am, around 500 people will gather near the Russian Embassy and prepare to march to the National Assembly along the route shown above. The group will include representatives from youth groups, NGOs, unions and land communities. As well as marching, the groups plan to dance, sing, and paint their faces. The march will culminate with a protest outside the National Assembly.
• Starting from around 8.30 this morning a group of national NGOs including Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC), NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGO Forum), the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC)will hold a civil society consultation event at the Cambodiana Hotel. Among other agenda items they will discuss legal analyses of the draft law.

Updated at 08:39 ICT

Protesters have been gathering along the eastern wall of the Russian embassy since around 8 o'clock this morning. They have been met by a heavy presence of security guards and are being told to leave the area. The security guards say that the protesters have no permission from the city authorities to gather. To the north of the National Assembly, barricades have been placed at the ready.

Updated at 08:42 ICT

Around 250 protesters are currently at the starting point of the march next to the Russian embassy with more arriving all the time. Before they march they are painting their faces with the "Say No to LANGO" logo.

Today's march is part of an ongoing campaign by grassroots groups and local and international NGOs to stop the passage of LANGO. In particular, between June 28 and 30 a series of protests took place in Phnom Penh and the provinces. The protests involved dancing, singing, marching and coordinated balloon releases. On June 30, marchers from around Phnom Penh found themselves blocked by authorities on a number of roads but eventually managed to gather in front of the National Assembly. The photo album below shows events from all three days and LICADHO's previous livestream covered the events of June 30th as they unfolded.

Updated at 08:59 ICT

Monks distribute banners in preparation for the march

Around 500 people are now on site and more are continuing to gather. The group is made up of more than 50 communities from around Phnom Penh and the provinces of Takeo, Kandal and Kampong Speu as well as unions, youth groups, NGOs and monks.

Updated at 09:14 ICT

Protesters rehearse their dance routine

The campaign against LANGO has been a creative and energetic one, often involving singing and dancing. As part of the campaign, youth activists and protesters from Boeung Kak community rewrote the lyrics to a classic Cambodian pop song. Originally titled "I Don't Accept it", the song is now called "We Don't Need These Laws". The lyrics assert the right of civil society groups to gather and express themselves. The song has been sung at the many protests and campaigners have choreographed a special dance to accompany the song. LICADHO and LICADHO Canada have produced a video of the song featuring clips from anti-LANGO protests. The video has been widely shared on social media. Here, Maina Kiai, the UN Special Rapporteur on Assembly and Association, who has followed and supported the campaign, shares the video on his Facebook page.

In what is the largest anti-LANGO protest so far, at least 650 marchers have now begun to walk in the direction of the National Assembly.

Updated at 09:28 ICT

To the north of the National Assembly, authorities have blocked the road with barricades. The marchers are approaching and calling for the barricades to be removed.

Protesters have now arrived at the barricades. Some have climbed over and placed banners on top of the barricades. Some marchers are negotiating with authorities to let them pass while others towards the back of the march are singing and dancing.

Updated at 09:58 ICT

At the front of the march Ee Sarom, Executive Director of Cambodian NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT) (pictured above) is voicing his objection to LANGO. In 2011 the Ministry of Interior forced STT to suspend its work with urban poor communities regarding land and housing right for five months. No legitimate reason was given but the suspension came after STT jointly released a report critical of an Asian Development Bank's railway project. This joint statement gives details of the suspension.

Updated at 09:56 ICT

At the civil society consultation event at the Cambodiana Hotel participants are expressing strong views against LANGO. NGO forum is tweeting from inside.

Nhel Pheap, Take0 Community Rept: We do not accept this current #NGOLaw & we urge the government to drop this law #SayNoNowKH #Cambodia

— The NGO Forum (@thengoforum) July 7, 2015

The authorities outside the National Assembly have refused to move the barricades meaning that marchers cannot take their planned route. Instead they are marching in a circle in front of the National Assembly building. Some have bound themselves together by the neck as they walk as a symbolic representation of how the NGO law will shackle Cambodian civil society.

Updated at 10:18 ICT