In an outspoken statement, Amnesty International has condemned the arrest in China of three mothers of victims of Tiananmen Square in 1989. The arrests came just days before China released with much fanfare its “white paper” on the great progress the country has made in recent years on human rights.
In Amnesty International’s view the arbitrary detention of three women closely associated with the events of 4 June 1989 is indicative that the Chinese government is still to fully address the concerns in China and abroad over the events of 4 June 1989. This is underlined by the fact that dozens of people remain in prison for participating in those protests. Reports that Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling and Huang Jinping were arbitrarily detained having recorded interviews to be shown at the on-going meeting of the Unites Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, confirms the Chinese government’s continuing reluctance to address these concerns.
Amnesty International urges the Chinese government to abide by the recent constitutional amendment to “respect and protect human rights” and to release Ding Zilin, Zhang Xianling and Huang Jinping.
For years the women have campaigned peacefully on behalf of victims of the 1989 crackdown, and their arrest appears to be arbitrary.
The more things change…?
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By Tom
Without cause, yes. But I don’t think it is completely arbitrary. This weekend is Ching Ming… time to sweep the graves and praise the dead relatives. No photo ops this year of mothers and wives cleaning the graves of those killed on 6/4.
And in other news China Jails Woman Over Web Post from ap/yahoo news. For posting articles documenting the futility of trying to petition the government over the destruction of her Shanghai home. Again… issues that might be embarrassing to the elite with a Shanghai power base silenced.
April 2, 2004 @ 3:41 am | Comment
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By Tom
NewsFlash! Just turned on Star News and they’ve reported that China has released two of the three.
April 2, 2004 @ 4:07 am | Comment
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By Richard
Thanks Tom; just posted about it.
April 2, 2004 @ 8:52 am | Comment
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By Xor: The Musings of Martey Dodoo
Human Rights
A number of the blogs that I read (including Peking Duck and North Korea Zone) have recently focused on what seemed to be an increase in repression in China. The actions include increased censorship (including what is almost certainly a block on all Ty…
April 3, 2004 @ 3:22 pm | Comment