Tiananmen Mothers demand end to government silence over massacre

(June 02,2010) In China, the families of those killed in the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989, are demanding that Beijing break the silence and open a dialogue with them about the government-led violence. Every year, as the anniversary approaches, a group of 128 members of the association Tiananmen Mothers, release an open letter, in which they criticize the leadership for not wanting to listen to their requests for frank and open dialogue about what occurred on the night between 3 and 4 June 1989. Their letter says the communist authorities, should listen to our voice, but there is no response.
From April to June 1989, up to a million young people, students, workers, peasants, gathered in Tiananmen Square demanding democracy and an end to corruption. The night between 3 and 4 June the Chinese military intervened with tanks and guns to clear the square that was occupied for months. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of young people were killed or crushed, others were shot in the streets surrounding the square. For the Communist Party, the movement was a counterrevolutionary rebellion", despite being a non-violent movement. The Association of Tiananmen Mothers also calls for the end of persecution against its members. But now, for much longer periods during the year, families are followed by police, isolated and controlled at home, their phones and Internet connections cut off, and their mail is controlled.