Arrest order issued for Jiang Zemin. Chinese politician: "Come and get me if you are bold enough! "
Madrid (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A Spanish judge has
asked Interpol to execute an international arrest warrant for former Chinese
President Jiang Zemin and other four high ranking Chinese politicians, accused
of the genocide of the Tibetan population .
The
case was brought before the High Court by a pro-Tibet Spanish group and some
local Tibetan refugees residing in Spain. Last
November, the High Court recognized "crimes against humanity" and the
abuse of human rights. According
to a principle of "universal jurisdiction" that applies in the
country, Jiang Zemin may be arrested and prosecuted.
Others
charged include the "Tiananmen butcher", the former prime minister Li
Peng , the former police chief Qiao Shi, former Party Secretary in Tibet Chen
Kuiyan and the former Minister for Population Control, Peng Pelyun.
Perhaps
to avoid making a fool of itself with China, last month the ruling People's
Party introduced a law that would empower judges to investigate crimes against
humanity, war crimes and genocide only if the suspect is
a Spaniard or a foreigner who works in Spain or a foreigner in Spain whose
extradition has been denied.
The
practice of "universal jurisdiction" had already been restricted in
2009 after a diplomatic incident with Israel: some groups in Spain had accused
Israel of deadly bombings in Gaza in 2002.
The
Spanish Parliament's vote on the new changes should take place on February 18.
Thubten
Wangchen, the Tibetan Monk who helped the groups to present the charges before
the court is convinced that the move is due to Beijing pressuring the People's
Party.
Speaking
to journalists yesterday he said: "
The
Chinese government is putting a great deal of pressure on Rajoy's government
and therefore poor Rajoy choice
[
the leader of the People's Party - ed]has
to take note and obey China, there is no other".
In
fact, in recent months the Chinese leaders and spokespeople have commented on
the story with veiled threats and profanity.
Among
all the comments, those of Zhu Weiqun, head of ethnic minorities and religious
affairs in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, stand out. Responding
to some journalists in Brussels on October 17, 2013 , he said contemptuously :
"Pursuing a lawsuit against China shows nothing but the weakening of some
countries nowadays. It does not surprise me if this malicious prosecution was
plotted by the Dalai clique. If any country accepted the lawsuit, it would only
be faced with a terrible embarrassment. I would like to use a cliché of Chinese
people, "Come if you are bold enough".
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