LAOGAI.EU
Petitioners Stage Mass Suicide in Protest of Forced Evictions
December 18, 2013 by admin
Thirteen petitioners who traveled to Beijing to gain compensation for being forcibly evicted from their land staged a mass suicide attempt after Beijing authorities dismissed their complaints.
The petitioners decided to simultaneously drink pesticide on a public street on Human Rights Day to protest their treatment at the hands of local and central government authorities. As of Thursday, five of the petitioners were incommunicado, but eight of them were confirmed to be no longer in critical condition.
Forced eviction is a growing problem in China, with cash-strapped local governments working with rapacious developers to evict rural residents without compensation. A recent study revealed that nearly half of rural residents have had land forcibly taken from them. Many petitioners who protest forced evictions are beaten and or detained by police in black jails.