McAleese urged to protect activists

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese was urged yesterday to raise the plight of human rights defenders being persecuted in China, during her State visit to the country.

As President McAleese begins a nine day trip to China, one of Ireland's foremost human rights campaigners called on her to address the Communist State's human rights record.

Frontline director Mary Lawlor highlighted the case of several campaigners who are suffering at the hands of the Chinese authorities. Frontline, set up three years ago, works to protect and defend human rights workers in danger across the world.

In particular Ms Lawlor asked President McAleese to raise the case of Beijing mother Ding Zilin, whose son was killed in the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989.

Following her son's death Ms Zilin founded a mothers for justice group and has been persistently persecuted by the Chinese authorities ever since, according to Ms Lawlor.

Ms Lawlor also asked President McAleese to raise the imprisonment earlier this year of two labour activists and the continued crackdown by the Chinese authorities on Falun Gong practitioners.

According to a spokesperson, President McAleese will obviously be mindful of the human rights issue but it would be outside her remit to get involved in specific cases or incidents.