Sam Rainsy Party Plans Screening of Chea Vichea Film

A scene from the documentary "Who Killed Chea Vichea?" Chea Vichea, a popular Cambodian union leader, was assassinated on January 22, 2004 in Phnom Penh. (Photo: Courtesy of the Producers of "Who Killed Chea Vichea?")

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Friday, 29 April 2011

“And we must remember his bravery in struggling and demanding the rights of workers."

The Sam Rainsy Party has scheduled a screening of a controversial film about slain labor leader Chea Vichea at its party headquarters for International Labor Day, May 1.

“Who Killed Chea Vichea?” is sharply critical of a police investigation that followed the 2004 murder of the activist and the subsequent jailing of two men widely considered innocent.

Authorities have banned a public screening of the film, calling it illegal.

However, SRP lawmaker Mu Sochua said Friday the screening was an important opportunity for workers to understand the death of Chea Vichea.

Party president Sam Rainsy will also speak to workers via video conference, she said.

“We must find justice for the late Chea Vichea,” she said. “And we must remember his bravery in struggling and demanding the rights of workers.

Chea Vichea was the charismatic leader of the powerful Free Trade Union of Workers before he was gunned down outside a newspaper kiosk in Phnom Penh in 2004. His brother, Chea Mony, assumed his mantel.

“This film screening is a message to workers that we must struggle,” Chea Mony said Friday. “We must sacrifice, and then we will get our legal rights.”

Sam Rainsy Party headquarters are not a public place, but Khieu Sopheak, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said the party “should not make trouble” while Cambodia is engaged in a border conflict with Thailand.