(TibetanReview.net, Jun16, 2018) – The Danish government has said Jun 14 that it will widen a Parliament-appointed probe to determine how police handled pro-Tibet protesters during a 2012 Chinese presidential visit to include all official visits from China over the past 23 years, reported the AP Jun 14. This followed a recent decision by the Copenhagen Police to compensate eight Tibet protesters, admitting serious mistake in subjecting them to rough and illegal treatment during Chinese state visits in 2012 and 2013.
The report cited Justice Minister Soeren Pape Poulsen as saying questions had surfaced over how police tackled similar protesters during visits by Chinese leaders in 1995, 2002 and 2011.
The report noted that during the then Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit in 2012, police had used its vans to block demonstrators’ view of the Chinese delegation and taken away Tibetan flags from demonstrators.
A 2015 investigation of the events related to it concluded in Dec 2017 that police leaders had violated demonstrators’ right to free speech. Two leading officers, who were in charge of the security, were transferred to other jobs while eight protesters were awarded compensations of 20,000 kroner (USD 3,160) each.
And earlier this month, Pape Poulsen received broad backing in Parliament for a new probe to affix responsibilities among those in the government and higher level police authority who gave orders to block demonstrators in 2012 after officials found backup copies of deleted emails that could shed new light on them.
“For years we have said that we were pushed away (when demonstrating) but we never had any evidence backing it up. It’s good that we have it in writing now,” the report quoted Anders Hoejmark Andersen of the Danish Tibet Support Committee as saying.
