04 June 2010

Statement on 21st Anniversary of Tiananmen Square

U.S. urges China to release those serving sentences for peaceful protests

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
June 4, 2010

STATEMENT BY PHILIP J. CROWLEY, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Message on the Twenty-first Anniversary of Tiananmen Square

It is now twenty one years since the tragic events occurred on June 4, 1989 in and around Tiananmen Square. We join others in the international community to urge China to release all those still serving sentences for participating in peaceful protests at that time and since. We ask the Chinese government to provide the fullest possible public accounting of those killed, detained or missing, and to cease harassment of those who participated in the demonstrations and the families of the victims. We also encourage China to protect the universal human rights of all its citizens, including those who peacefully dissent.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)