More than 50 members of the Dartmouth Chinese Association gathered in front of the Hopkins Center yesterday afternoon to protest last Friday's NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia that killed three Chinese journalists and injured more than 20 others.
During the peaceful, hour-long protest, protesters echoed sentiments similar to those expressed by the Chinese government on Monday, calling for an investigation into the bombing and demanded that those responsible be brought to court.
"We wanted to show our indignant and strong condemnation of the bombings," DCA Chair Zhouhui Zhang said after the protest.
In a flyer that protesters distributed to passersby, the DCA called the NATO bombing of the Chinese Embassy "a naked act of hegemonism and a breach of Chinese sovereignty."
"[The bombing of the Chinese Embassy] was not a mistake as casually claimed by NATO but an atrocity," according to the flyer.
Zhang said NATO should have made sure that the Chinese Embassy was clear of their targets before launching the bombs.
"I would like to believe that it was unintentional," Zhang said, but added that "it's very hard to believe that it's a mistake," particularly because of the accuracy of the bombs used in the attacks.
Both President Clinton and NATO offered apologies shortly after the bombing and said the attack on the embassy was a military error.
However, Zhang said the apologies offered by Clinton and NATO were not enough, saying the apologies should be followed up with action.
"If I bombed the White House, and I apologized and said, 'Oh, I'm sorry,' I believe no American would be accepting of that," Zhang said. "Just 'I'm sorry' would not be enough."
In the flyer, DCA demanded NATO compensate China for the lives lost in the bombing of the embassy.
DCA also called for the immediate end to the bombings and urged for a more peaceful method to solving the ethnic conflict in Kosovo.
"The bombing has produced more human disaster than it has solved the problems between the ethnic groups," Zhang said. "In my opinion, the bombing undermines the building of peace."
