Protests held in Bangladesh against China's Tiananmen massacre
Jun 05, 2022
Dhaka [Bangladesh], June 5 : Protesting the crackdown by the Chinese government on civilians and their indiscriminate genocide by the country's military at Tiananmen Square 33 years ago, human chain protests were held in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka.
Various socio-cultural organizations staged the demonstrations in Dhaka as well as Narayanganj city in Bangladesh. Notably, on June 3-4, the soldiers of the Chinese military -- People's Liberation Army (PLA) -- fired upon and killed untold numbers of peaceful protesters and bystanders at Tiananmen Square.
One of the protestors carried a banner with the famous picture of "Tank Man" on it. The photo of the "Tank Man" was taken on June 5, 1989. He was one of the many protestors who stood face-to-face with the soldiers and refused the Communist Party's orders at Tiananmen Square.
The protesting organizations condemned and demanded justice for the genocide carried out by the Chinese communist government on pro-democracy students in their country. The human chain was held on Saturday morning, June 4 in front of Walton Plaza, Pagla Bazar, Old Road, Narayanganj, Dhaka.
On behalf of civil society-conscious civil society, speakers said that on June 4, 1969, in Tiananmen Square, China, when the country's democracy and peace-loving people protested against the Chinese government's repression, the Chinese army carried out indiscriminate genocide against civilians. 
In that massacre, 10 to 15 thousand people were killed by the army of the Chinese government. The Chinese government strangled the democracy through that massacre.
Moreover, Muktijoddha Mancha held a demonstration and human chain program in front of the National Museum in Shahbag, Bangladesh on Saturday. During the demonstrations, about 400 people were present.
The program started at 3 in the afternoon and continued till 6:30 in the evening. About a thousand visitors were aware of the program and condemned China's actions.
Meanwhile, Swadhinata Sangram Parishad held a demonstration at Jatrabari near the Dhaka-Chittagong highway. This program by the Parishad was started at 5 pm.
Notably, the Tiananmen Massacre took place after the peaceful gatherings of students, workers, and others in Beijing's Tiananmen Square and other Chinese cities in April 1989, calling for freedom of expression, accountability, and an end to corruption. The government responded to the intensifying protests in late May 1989 by declaring martial law.
On June 3 and 4, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers fired upon and killed untold numbers of peaceful protesters and bystanders. In Beijing, some citizens attacked army convoys and burned vehicles in response to the military's violence.
Following the killings, the government carried out a nationwide crackdown and arrested thousands of people on "counter-revolution" and other criminal charges, including arson and disrupting social order.
The government has never accepted responsibility for the massacre or held any officials legally accountable for the killings.
Chinese authorities, over the last year, have increased the harassment and persecution of activists for commemorating the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Massacre, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. The Chinese government should acknowledge and take responsibility for the mass killing of pro-democracy demonstrators, it added.
A few months ago, Hong Kong's universities removed the Tiananmen memorials. In December 2021, the University of Hong Kong removed "Pillar of Shame," a large sculpture commemorating the massacre victims, from the university premises. The Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot tried to reclaim the artwork but no shipping companies wanted to be involved, citing fear of retaliation by the authorities. University students protested the removal by holding an "invisible" flash mob at the sculpture's original site.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the City University of Hong Kong removed the "Goddess of Democracy" statues, which were modeled after the original statue erected by students at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Lingnan University also removed a Tiananmen wall relief.
In the mainland, as in previous years, the authorities in the weeks before the anniversary have preempted commemorations of the massacre.
