IRI Speaks at Union Leader's Funeral

January 30, 2004

January 24 -- IRI’s program director in Cambodia, Jackson Cox, delivered a statement at the funeral of slain union leader, Chea Vichea. Cox, who was asked by members of the Alliance of Democrats to speak at the funeral, told mourners, “You have a choice. You can either let Vichea’s death intimidate you where you live in fear – letting the thugs win. Or you can let Vichea’s life inspire you where you will ensure that his children will grow up in a very different Cambodia.”

Chea Vichea was murdered on January 22 at a newspaper stand in Phnom Penh. He was head of the Foreign Trade Workers Union of Cambodia, the leading representative of the country’s 200,000 garment factory workers and an outspoken supporter of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party. Calls for immediate investigation into Vichea’s murder have been made by IRI Chairman Senator John McCain, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, the U.S. State Department, the International Labor Organization, the Alliance of Democrats, and a coalition of 38 Cambodian NGOs.

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