Ya Weilin Dead: Father Of Slain Tiananmen Protester Commits Suicide

BEIJING ? The father of a man killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown has hanged himself after two decades of failed attempts to seek government redress.

A support group for parents of the crackdown's victims said Monday that 73-year-old Ya Weilin's body was found in an unused underground parking garage below his residential complex.

Zhang Xianling, a member of the group, says Ya killed himself out of despair and to protest the government's long-standing refusal to address the grievances of the victims' relatives.

His death comes about a week ahead of the anniversary of the night of June 3-4, 1989, when the military crushed the weekslong, student-led protests, possibly killing thousands of students, activists and ordinary citizens.

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