“Launch an open and independent inquiry into the 1989 military crackdown” and “publicly acknowledge the human rights violations which occurred,” said Amnesty International in a public statement entitled Tiananmen: 27 years on, time for justice for families is slipping away. The statement was published on Wednesday ahead of the June 4 anniversary of the massacre.
It asked the Chinese government to “cease harassment and prosecution of individuals and immediately release all those detained for exercising their rights”. It said that the authorities should provide compensation to victims of the crackdown and their families.
The NGO said that Chinese authorities “continue to suppress history and prosecute citizens who commemorate the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown,” noting that references to the events of June 4 are censored both in print and online.
China has cracked down on activists ahead of the anniversary this year. On Tuesday, at least three activists were detained in Beijing after holding a meeting to commemorate the events of 1989. A man, Fu Hailu, was also arrested on Saturday for allegedly producing bottles of liquor labelled with allusions to the massacre, according to Ming Pao.
Tiananmen Mothers, a group comprising family members of victims of the massacre said in an open letter on Wednesday that families had been followed, detained and watched by the police for the past three decades.
