Phnom Penh: On Sunday morning, January 22, Mr Preap Munysovann, Secretary General of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, CUMW, led officials of CUMW to pay their respects to Mr. Chea Vichea, President of the Free Trade Union who was shot dead 19 years ago.

Mr Preap Munysovann, on the occasion of paying his respects, said, "We all respect Mr. Chea Vichea, a labor hero who sacrificed his physical and mental strength to protect the rights, freedoms and interests of workers in Cambodia."

"We want to show his courage that he always urges all parties to do the right thing, and that is why he has paved the way for us to have our rights and freedoms," he said.

Leaders, officials and members of the CUMW, as well as other unions and other civil society organizations pay tribute to Chea Vichea every year, on January 22, the day he was shot dead.

Chea Vichea, president of the Free Trade Union of Cambodia, was shot dead by unknown gunmen and died on the spot while reading a newspaper at a newsstand next to the fence of Wat Lanka.  Phnom Penh, on January 22, 2004.