BEIJING (Reuters) -- China's most senior official to be jailed over a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1989 has called for communist leaders to at last make amends.
Bao Tong, in a letter to be sent to the nation's top leaders, called for China to reverse its "wrongful assessment" of the pro-democracy movement, suppressed 10 years ago when troops fired on mass student protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square."The history of bloodshed remains in people's hearts; they will not forget," wrote Bao, an ex-aide to former Communist Party general secretary Zhao Ziyang, who was ousted by hardliners in 1989 for sympathizing with the students.
"No one can ever successfully cover up such an event," added Bao who has been under tight police surveillance since his release from seven years in jail in 1996.
Chinese leaders have ruled out a reassessment of the 1989 protests, officially labeled a counter-revolutionary rebellion aimed at toppling the government.
Troops backed by machine guns and tanks crushed the protests on June 4, 1989. Hundreds died and many more were jailed.
The State Council, or cabinet, declined to comment on the letter, a copy of which was made available to Reuters on Wednesday.