Responding to reports that Chinese authorities have barred the mothers of protesters killed in the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown from visiting their loved ones’ graves on this week’s anniversary of the atrocity, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said:
“Banning the relatives of people killed in the Tiananmen crackdown from visiting their loved ones’ graves is a heartless act by the Chinese authorities.
“The Tiananmen Mothers were not previously blocked from cemetery visits on the 4 June anniversary, and it is deeply troubling that this year the suppression of Tiananmen commemoration appears to be escalating – reflecting the government’s deep-seated insecurity about people’s demands for accountability.
“For years the Chinese authorities have sought to erase the public’s collective memory of the bloody events of 4 June 1989, but this latest prohibition is an attempt to stamp out even the personal memories of the victims’ families.
“This suggests an approach that is increasingly hardline and devoid of compassion. To continually deny the truth about the Tiananmen crackdown is abhorrent; but to deny relatives the ability to mourn their dead shows another level of cruelty.
“The Chinese authorities must be held accountable for the grave human rights violations perpetrated on 4 June 1989, and families must be allowed to commemorate those killed 37 years ago simply for exercising their right to protest.”
Background
The Tiananmen Mothers group said on 2 June that they had received notice from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau that they will not be permitted to travel to Beijing’s Wan’an Cemetery to mourn their loved ones or hold their customary commemorative activities on 4 June this year, the 37th anniversary of the atrocity. The group said it was the first time authorities had barred them from visiting their loved ones’ graves in more than 30 years.
On 4 June 1989, Chinese troops opened fire on students and workers who had been peacefully protesting for political reforms in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Hundreds – possibly thousands – of people were killed. Tens of thousands more were arrested across China in the suppression that followed.
In the 36 years since the crackdown, all discussion of the incident has been heavily censored in China, as authorities have effectively attempted to erase it from history. Public commemoration or mere mention of the Tiananmen crackdown is banned.
The Tiananmen Mothers group is comprised of relatives of protesters killed during the 1989 crackdown. Every 4 June for more than three decades, the group has travelled to Wan’an Cemetery under police escort to mourn and to read memorial texts and eulogies in remembrance of their loved ones.
The group has repeatedly called on the Chinese government to reveal the truth about the Tiananmen crackdown and demanded that those responsible are held accountable. Members have frequently been subjected to surveillance and other restrictions, particularly ahead of the 4 June anniversary date.