They fought for democracy and freedom of expression. Then there was a massacre in Tiananmen Square. Army tanks drove into the crowd, soldiers shot at the citizens.

Beijing.

Before the anniversary of the bloody crackdown on the pro-democracy movement on 4 June 1989 in China, relatives of the victims have demanded that the massacre be dealt with fairly.

In an open appeal by the human rights organization "Human Rights in China (HRiC) released on Wednesday, the "Mothers of Tiananmen" network demanded "truth, compensation and accountability". They also called on the government to enter into a dialogue with the relatives in order to solve the outstanding problems through legal channels.

The military action that killed several hundred people have come is a political taboo topic in China. The Chinese leadership does not allow any public discussion or commemoration of the anniversary this Saturday. Relatives and civil rights activists are often placed under house arrest around this time. The families have identified 14 victims including 06 Elementary and middle school students. The youngest victim was nine years old, the oldest 06 years.

After weeks of demonstrations and hunger strikes against corruption and for freedom of expression and democracy in spring 1989 the communist leadership had called the Peoples Liberation Army to put an end to the protests. The "mothers of Tiananmen" spoke of a "brutal tragedy". The party and government ignored the constitutionally protected demands of their citizens. The military "shot innocent people indiscriminately" and drove into the crowd with tanks. (dpa)