BEIJING, Jan 17 (AFP) - China's dissident community demanded the government hold an open and public funeral and make a fair assessment of the accomplishments of former leader Zhao Ziyang who died Monday at the age of 85.
Zhao was ousted from power after he opposed the brutal military crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen democracy protests that resulted in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of unarmed citizens and protestors.
"The Chinese government, at the very least, should have an open and public funeral for Zhao Ziyang," Jiang Peikun, whose 17-year-old son was gunned down in the streets of Beijing during the 1989 protest, told AFP.
"The government should also have a correct assessment of Zhao's accomplishments. It must be acknowledged, they cannot avoid this.
"They must allow the people to mourn and participate in mourning activities, the government should not suppress these activities."
Jiang, whose wife Ding Zilin has campaigned for an overturning of the "counter-revolutionary" verdict on the 1989 protests with a group called the Tiananmen Mothers, described Zhao as a great leader whose efforts to resolve the protests peacefully would be remembered by China's democrats.
"China wants democracy, he was the hope. He was the democratic force in the party," Jiang said.
Long-time dissident Ren Wanding also mourned Zhao as a "great and enlightened leader" and called on the government to hold a public funeral and assess Zhao's accomplishments fairly.
"We hope Mr. (President) Hu Jintao, and (Premier) Wen Jiabao can prepare a good funeral for Zhao Ziyang, issue a proper opinion of Zhao's work and allow the people to mourn him," Ren told AFP.
"We hope that it is open and that they will allow all the people to attend."
Ren said he believed though that such a funeral would not likely take place as the government was concerned that people dissatisfied with Communist Party rule would use Zhao's death to cause unrest.
"Actually you can't expect them to organize a funeral like this -- most likely it will be very small and it will be secret," Ren said.
"For democrats like myself, they will not allow us to leave our homes for the next few weeks."
Zhao served as prime minister and head of the Communist Party during the 1980s. His policies on economic reform opened the way for China's 25 years of economic reforms.
01/17/2005 02:55 GMT - AFP