ADHRRF – With the approach of the 29th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Chinese government to accept responsibility for the massacre on June 4, 1989, release activists arrested for commemorating the occasion and lift the ban on discussion of the bloody crackdown.
On May 31, HRW issued a statement saying, “The Chinese government should acknowledge and take responsibility for the massacre of pro-democracy protesters in June 1989.” Moreover, HRW called for the release of activists detained for commemorating the June 4 bloodshed and uncensored discussions of the Tiananmen protests, and accused Chinese authorities of covering up the killings, failing to bring perpetrators to justice, and persecuting family members of victims.
It is documented that from the evening of June 3, 1989 to the following early morning, Chinese military converged on Beijing and massacred thousands of protesters in Tiananmen Square. Until now, Chinese government has never taken responsibility for the human rights violations during the military suppression, nor held any perpetrators accountable.
Ms. Sophie Richardson, China director at HRW, said: “The only way to remove this stain on China is to own up to it.”
Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that as June 4 approaches, Chinese authorities are still adopting strict prevention and ban on all activities to mark Tiananmen Massacre. On June 1, Chen Siming, a human rights activist in Zhuzhou, Hunan, posted a photo of him standing in front of a tank exhibited in the park and commemorating June Fourth Crackdown. Then the local police immediately came to talk to him and required him not to leave Zhuzhou before June 10.
