China demands clarity on Spanish Jiang Zemin arrest order

Tibetan rights groups brought the case against Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and three other Chinese officials responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, torture and terrorism against Tibetans in the 1980s and 1990s.

AFP

Chronology of major political events in Tibet since China seized control of the territory in 1950

An Ethnic Tibetan woman watches as Chinese soldiers keep watch in Chengdu, in southwest Sichuan province, on January 27, 2012

Jiang Zemin raises his hands to vote for a report at the closing of the 18th Communist Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on 14 November 2012

Beijing — China is demanding a "clarification" from Madrid after a Spanish court issued an international arrest warrant for former Chinese president Jiang Zemin over genocide in Tibet, Beijing said Wednesday.
Spain's National Court issued the warrant for the former head of state and Communist Party chief on Tuesday under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction, which allows courts to try some human rights abuses committed in other countries.
Tibetan rights groups brought the case against Jiang, former prime minister Li Peng and three other Chinese officials, alleging they were responsible for "genocide, crimes against humanity, torture and terrorism" against Tibetans in the 1980s and 1990s.
Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that Chinese officials had seen reports on the arrest warrant and had asked Spanish authorities for a "clarification".
Hong blamed "Tibet separatists" for using "rumours and "slander" to make "false accusations" against China.
"Such means are doomed to fail," Hong added. 

The Spanish court accepted the case because one of the plaintiffs, Tibetan exile Thubten Wangchen, has Spanish nationality, and the Chinese courts have not investigated the allegations.
It has also agreed to investigate a charge of repression in Tibet brought against China's former president Hu Jintao, who left office last year.