Release of Tiananmen Prisoners Urged Ahead of Olympics

In advance of the Beijing Olympic Games this summer, China should show its commitment to human rights by releasing dozens of prisoners serving sentences in connection with the 1989 democracy protests that culminated in the so-called Tiananmen Square massacre, a prominent advocacy group urged yesterday.

"The Chinese government should show the global Olympic audience it's serious about human rights by releasing the Tiananmen detainees," a specialist in Asian issues for Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson, said in a statement. "Beijing's use of Tiananmen Square as a macabre prop for China's Olympic 'coming-out-party' adds insult to injury."

Tomorrow is the 19th anniversary of the June 4, 1989, violence, in which Chinese troops killed about 2,000 protesters in and around the historic square, which contains the tomb of Mao Zedong and is watched over by a large portrait of the late Chinese leader.

The human rights group noted that Chinese authorities initially proposed holding beach volleyball matches in Tiananmen Square, but they switched the location a few months before Beijing was awarded the games in 2001.