About 100 parents of children killed in schools by China’s recent earthquake have been turned back from a protest at a court in the Sichuan province.
Approximately 7,000 classrooms collapsed in the 7.9 magnitude temblor, The Guardian reports, and in some cases were the only buildings to crumble in a given district.
Some of the protesting parents called for a lawsuit, and angry questions about inadequate construction and corruption persist.
Chinese officials, however, ordered news media to soften any criticism of school construction.
Journalists were “dragged away” from the protest, and Zao Ming, an official in China’s foreign affairs office, told The Guardian: “This is not a good place to do interviews. In a disaster like this, there will be a lot of opinions. The government will solve their problems.”
Source:
“Police break up protest by parents of China earthquake victims”
The Guardian (U.K.), June 3, 2008