Bao Tong urges same transparency for Tiananmen as seen in quake
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – 19 years on from the Tiananmen massacre (June 4 1989),Bao Tong, ex Party leader under house arrest for his opposition to the slaughter, has asked the government to make public events leading up to the decision to use tanks to annihilate the budding democratic movement.
The protests of students, workers and farmers demanding democracy and an end to corruption at the time gathered up to one million people. The night between June 3 and 4 the army burst onto the square with tanks and weapons killing thousands. Thousands more were arrested. At least 130 of these are still languishing in prisons.
Bao Tong, once the top aide to purged party Chief Zhao Ziyang, together with his chief was opposed to the decision. Zhao was sacked and Bao Tong arrested.
China’s younger generations no longer speak of the event. In Chinese media and conversations the subject is still considered taboo and each year as the anniversary approaches Tiananmen Square is covered by police and check points to make sure gestures of remembrance do not take place.
Bao Tong praised the governments handling of the Sichuan quake, the freedom of the press to report on it and the free access of volunteer organisations to lend a hand in the relief effort.
“Through this quake... they have tasted the benefits of openness and should know that openness is better than being closed” Bao told Reuters news agency.
The government and Party have consistently justified the massacre with the accusation that the democratic movement was “counter-revolutionary”. But each year victim’s relatives appeal for a revision of this verdict.
“Instead of hiding [the facts] the government should ask the people for help” said Bao.
“The June 4 of 19 years ago was a man-made disaster, but like natural disasters it should be made known to the people of the entire country and the whole world. In the end, debts will have to be repaid... the earlier they are repaid, the more timely, the more thorough, the more it will be in command, the more dignity and the more face it'll have”.
Beijing-based academic Ding Zilin is a leading activist in the group known as "Tiananmen Mothers." whose 17-year-old son Jiang Jielian was killed by the army that night. Each year she asks for the verdict “counter-revolutionary" to be revised and asks the government to denounce those responsible for the massacre. “As we age, our grief keeps increasing, missing our son," said Ding. “Our request is simple: dialogue. We want a timetable for the solution of the problem. When? ….We don’t expect this problem to be solved in one morning, but we want the dialogue to start now".
Ding also called for the words "One Human Rights" to be added to the official slogan of this year's Beijing-hosted Olympic Games: "One World, One Dream."
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10/11/2022 14:49
