Some 100 activists from 16 opposition-aligned trade unions gathered at a shrine near the Royal Palace on Monday to pray for the release of 21 protesters who were detained following violent clashes last month.

The prayer was held just a day ahead of their bail hearing.

"We prayer for the release of the detainees since they are innocent," Rong Chhun, president of Cambodian Confederation of Unions, told reporters at the event.

Ath Thun, president of Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union, said after the prayers that the activists would submit a petition to foreign embassies to Cambodia including the United States, the European Union and China in order to seek their help in securing the release of the detainees.

The petition also called for a 160-U.S.-dollar- minimum wage for garment workers and an end to the government's temporary ban on demonstrations, he said.

Police did not disperse the activists who are also Buddhist monks even though they had defied a ban on rallies imposed since early last month after violent clashes in garment protests on Jan. 2 and 3, leaving 4 protesters dead and 23 arrested.

Two of the detainees were released on Saturday, and the rest of them have been charged with intentionally causing violence and destroying property.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony on Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterated that the demand for 160-U.S.-dollar minimum wage for garment workers was too high to be afforded by manufacturers and called on workers not to fall into the political trap of the pro-opposition trade unionists.

The garment and shoe industry comprise more than 900 factories with about 600,000 workers. The current minimum wage is 100 U.S. dollars a month.

The sector is the kingdom's largest foreign exchange earner that generated about 5.53 billion U.S. dollars in revenues last year. Endi

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