The truth behind Tiananmen Square
Dear friend,
The "tank man", © Jeff Widener/AP/PA Photos Twenty years ago today a group of mothers in Beijing experienced the worst thing a mother could endure – the brutal death of their own children, at the hands of their own government.
They call themselves the Tiananmen Mothers. They are a group of Chinese women who never wanted to become activists. But when their children were killed in the violent military crackdown on the Chinese pro-democracy movement 20 years ago, everything changed.
Since that dark day in Tiananmen Square the Mothers have been denied the freedom to publicly mourn the loss of their children – while the Chinese authorities have suppressed the official death toll, estimated at more than 200 people.
Please sign our petition in support of the Tiananmen Mothers and demand an independent investigation into the Tiananmen crackdown
Led by Nobel-peace prize nominee Ding Zilin, they face great personal risk every time they speak out. To date they’ve suffered detentions, repeated interrogations and prolonged house arrest. All they want is the freedom to publicly mourn their children without harassment and an independent inquiry into what happened on that dark day 20 years ago.
Please take just 2 minutes to add your voice to the global call for justice for the Tiananmen Mothers
It’s a long, dangerous and lonely campaign -- and their suffering continues to be compounded. Unbelievably, the Chinese authorities have gone to such lengths to conceal the truth behind Tiananmen that the next generation of students don’t even recognise the iconic picture of the ‘tank man’ that dominated coverage of that fateful day. [1]
We can never restore what the Tiananmen Mothers lost that day, but we can show them that they are not forgotten.
Yours in solidarity with the Tiananmen Mothers,
Rose Kulak
Individuals at Risk Program Coordinator
Amnesty International Australia
PS: This week Hotmail and social networking services such as Twitter were blocked across mainland China, in an apparent move to silence protests before the Tiananmen Square anniversary. If you’ve already signed our petition, it’s more important than ever to forward this email to at least two friends and claim justice for the Tiananmen Mothers. [2]
[1] Watch video “Chinese students unaware of the Tank Man”
[2] China blocks Twitter, Hotmail on anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre, The Australian, 3 June 2009.
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