Tiananmen mothers urge China to debate 1989 protests

BEIJING, Feb 28 (Reuters) Families of victims of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protests have urged the government to allow open debate on the subject at next week's annual meeting of parliament and ''reveal the truth''.

An open letter by the Tiananmen Mothers, released by the New York-based watchdog Human Rights in China, urged the government to launch a judicial re-evaluation of the events of June 4, 1989.

''A just and reasonable resolution of the June 4 question is an inevitable trend, and is what the people desire,'' said the letter, signed by 128 survivors and victims of family members.

''It has been nearly 18 years since the terrible events of June 4 which happened in the Chinese capital Beijing at the end of the last century, but the real story has yet to see the light of day,'' it said.

''This is a disgrace for the entire Chinese nation and for humankind,'' the letter added.

The Tiananmen Mothers, led by Ding Zilin, a retired professor whose teenage son was killed in the crackdown, have lobbied for years for an official apology over the massacre.

The government decried the events of 1989 as a counter-revolutionary rebellion and has rejected calls to reassess its verdict.

''To get at the truth of June 4, we urge the authorities to immediately declassify all documents of the time related to the use of force for suppression ... and to lift the ban on talk about June 4,'' the letter added.

They added that with the approach of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the government should feel guilty about its handling of the events of 1989.

''As the host of the Olympic Games, how can there be no qualms about letting athletes step foot on a blood-stained piece of land?'' Parliament is due to convene a 12-day meeting on Monday.

REUTERS PDM ND0946