CHINA: Tiananmen anniversary amid tight security

07 June 2009

China imposed a security clampdown to stop any event marking the 20th anniversary of the crushing of the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests, as it faced renewed calls to account for the bloodshed, Marianne Barriaux reports for AFP. Tens of thousands of people were expected to rally in cities around the world to remember the military's action on 4 June 1989 against demonstrators - many of them students - in the heart of the Chinese capital.

But the only major commemoration on Chinese soil of the bloodshed - in which hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed - was due to take place nearly 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away in semi-autonomous Hong Kong.

Security was extremely tight on Tiananmen Square early Thursday, as police officers searched bags and even the pockets of Chinese tourists walking on to the giant plaza. Foreign journalists were barred from entering, and an AFP TV journalist was ordered by police to delete footage from his camera.
Full report on the AFP site

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