The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) today urged the Chinese government to “acknowledge its responsibility for the mass murder of pro-democracy protesters” in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, on June 4, 1989.
In a statement, the human rights group also argued that the Chinese Communist Party should pay compensation to the families of the victims of the massacre and the crackdown that followed.
HRW also said that the Chinese authorities are increasing efforts to erase the memory of the massacre, having restricted the movement and communication of activists and members of the Tiananmen Mothers.
The group of relatives of the victims of the incident issued a public statement in which they reiterated a call for “truth, reparation and responsibility” regarding the massacre, which according to estimates left around ten thousand victims.
Police have also detained human rights activists for posts commemorating June 4 on social media, including Twitter, which is banned in mainland China, and for threatening other activists not to commemorate the event, the organization said.
HRW China senior researcher Wang Yaqiu said the lack of accountability “emboldened” Beijing to impose “arbitrary detention of millions, harsh censorship and surveillance, and efforts to undermine human rights.” [humanos] internationally”.
In early May, Hong Kong police seized a statue titled ‘Pillar of Shame’, in memory of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, which was dismantled in 2021 and was in the custody of the University of Hong Kong.
In Macau, the Macau Union for the Development of Democracy (UMDD), which has organized a vigil for more than 30 years to honor the victims of the Tiananmen massacre, has been extinguished for fear of the new national security law, he said. one of its members. responsible lusa.
“I was worried that after the law was revised, if one person said something, other members [da associação] could be affected. In that case, if we were to be held accountable in the future, we would hope that other members would not be implicated,” said Au Kam San, a former MP and one of the founders of UMDD.
On June 4, 1989, the Chinese army advanced with tanks to disperse peaceful student-led protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square calling for democratic reforms for the country, causing a death toll that is still the subject of discussion today. Estimates reach 10,000 victims, although Beijing maintains that the repression of “counterrevolutionary riots” caused the death of two hundred civilians.
Source: TSF
