MPs boycott China visit in Tiananmen Square anniversary protest
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
29.05.2013 13:10
Two MPs from the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party are boycotting a Polish parliamentary delegation to China as it will coincide with the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
Tiananmen Sq.: photo - Peter Morgan/Wikimedia Commons
“I have spoken to [MPs Maks Kraczkowski and Tomasz Latos] and asked them to withdraw from participation in the delegation,” head of the Law and Justice parliamentary party Mariusz Błaszczak has said.
The parliamentary delegation is scheduled to be in Beijing on June 4, the anniversary of the brutal crackdown by Chinese troops against protestors in Tiananmen Square, which resulted in hundreds being killed.
Parliament Speaker Ewa Kopacz has said, however, that though the MPs' visit is mainly concerned with trade, human rights issues will be addressed.
"Even a whisper of human rights in that symbolic day in China will be more important than the cry of human rights anywhere else,” Kopacz said.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry has added that the visit will be an opportunity to show "how important a role respect for rights and liberties has played in constructing a democratic Poland”. (pg)
Source: IAR