Tiananmen massacre, father of student killed in '89 commits suicide
Beijing (AsiaNews) - A few days before the 23rd anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen Square, the father of a student killed by the army on the streets of Beijing hanged himself in protest against the attitude of the communist government, which continues to consider the student revolt as "anti-revolutionary" and has never provided details of the massacre.
The suicide is confirmed by the "Tiananmen Mothers", the organization that brings together the families of the victims. According to a statement posted on their site man, Ya Weilin, aged 73, was found dead in the unused garage of an apartment complex where he lived. According to the victim's family, Ya left a note in which he explains the details of the death of his son and said he wanted to die "in protest because the issue has not been addressed for over 20 years."
The "Tiananmen Mothers" is a group of 128 relatives of victims of the massacre in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, when army personnel, backed by tanks, massacred unarmed protesters in the streets of the capital who had been calling for democracy and an end to corruption for Chinese society for more than a month. The group is led by Ding Zilin, a retired university professor who lost her 17 year old son, Jiang Jielian in the fighting.
The suicide comes about a week from the Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary, the night that falls between 3 and 4 June, when the communist army intervened to put an end to the students' protests and killed thousands of activists and ordinary citizens . Estimates of the victims of the massacre vary according to sources. The Chinese government has never fully disclosed what happened when the army intervened. Beijing has also never provided a credible account nor authorized an independent investigation into events.
Each year, to commemorate the victims and demand justice from the communist government, the people of Hong Kong join in a march in the centre of the Territory. Local Catholics, led by Cardinal Zen, also hold prayer vigils for the victims and their families.
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