US urges China to account for those killed in Tiananmen Square / Tiananmen Square democracy protests in 1989 . . .

[Henk Elegeert]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/04/us-calls-on-china-account-for-tiananmen-square
"
US urges China to account for those killed in Tiananmen Square

Hillary Clinton calls on China to release those still imprisoned in
connection with the protests and begin a dialogue with victims'
families
   * guardian.co.uk, Thursday 4 June 2009 07.03 BST

The US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has urged China to publicly
account for those killed in the Tiananmen Square massacre 20 years
ago.

She called on China to release all those still imprisoned in
connection with the protests, to stop harassing those who took part
and to begin a dialogue with the victims' families.

China, as an emerging global power, "should examine openly the darker
events of its past and provide a public accounting of those killed,
detained or missing, both to learn and to heal," she said in a
statement from Washington.

"China can honour the memory of that day by moving to give the rule of
law, protection of internationally recognised human rights and
democratic development the same priority as it has given to economic
reform,'' she added.

A massive police presence ringed China's Tiananmen Square this
morning, on the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on
pro-democracy activists, as the government continued an overwhelming
drive to muzzle dissent and block commemorations.

An exiled protest leader famous for publicly haranguing one of China's
top leaders 20 years ago was also blocked from returning home to
confront officials over what he called the "June 4 massacre."

Foreign journalists were barred from the vast square as uniformed and
plainclothed police stood guard across the vast plaza that was the
epicentre of the student-led movement that was crushed by the military
on 3-4 June 1989.

Security officials checking passports also blocked foreign TV camera
operators and photographers from entering to cover the raising of
China's national flag, which happens at dawn every day. Plainclothed
officers aggressively confronted journalists on the streets
surrounding the square, cursing and threatening violence against them.

The heavy security moves come after government censors shut down
social networking and image-sharing websites such as Twitter and
Flickr and blacked out CNN when it airs stories on Tiananmen.
Dissidents were confined to their homes or forced to leave Beijing,
part of sweeping efforts to prevent online debate or organised
commemorations of the anniversary.

In Washington, Beijing has never allowed an independent investigation
into the military's crushing of the protests, in which possibly
thousands of students, activists and ordinary citizens were killed.
Young Chinese know little about the events, having grown up in a
generation that has largely eschewed politics in favour of nationalism
and economic development.

Authorities have been tightening surveillance of China's dissident
community ahead of the anniversary, with some leading writers already
under close watch or house arrest for months.
"

Zou Balkenende - van zijn vriendjes - ook nog willen weten hoeveel het
leven hebben moeten laten?

Henk Elegeert



Tiananmen crackdown 20 years on - 04 June 09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AXqFoRkxwU
"
The Tiananmen Square democracy protests in 1989 were unprecedented in
Chinese history.

In interviews with three former protest leaders, Al Jazeera looks back
at what sparked the protests and how they were brought to a crushing
end.
"

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