Hong Kong (AFP)
Thousands of protesters formed a human chain snaking Friday night through Hong Kong, thirty years to the day after the famous "Baltic Way" chain that the Baltic countries had organized to regain their independence thirty years ago.
At the foot of skyscrapers adorned with their iridescent lighting and in the shopping districts of the famous Hong Kong Bay, thousands of demonstrators were holding hands or waving the torch of their cell phones, all along this chain formed as a sign opposition to the pro-Beijing government.
The three Baltic countries, today members of the EU - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - are celebrating on Friday the 30th anniversary of what was one of the largest anti-Soviet demonstrations, with more than million people joining hands to form a human chain over 600 km.
The human chain of Hong Kong is the latest creation of the pro-democracy movement in nearly three months of protests that have rocked the territory of more than 7 million people in an unprecedented political crisis.
- "Always united" -
Born in June from the rejection of a bill authorizing extradition to China, the mobilization has since broadened its demands.
"We have tried traditional marches, we have tried more militant acts - although I do not agree with them - this time, we are holding hands to show that we are always united", told AFP, a protester named Wing.
Three decades later, the moving image of the human chain of 1989 continues to inspire activists around the world.
"In doing so, we are showing people around the world the high quality of Hong Kongers," says Cat Law, a logistics employee in her sixties. "What people did 30 years ago, we can do it too."
Protesters, young and old, chanted "Free Hong Kong". They have not forgotten to circulate vials of hand sanitizer, a habit taken since the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in 2003.
The idea of the "Hong Kong Way" was launched by protesters active on social networks, who have been using for several days non-violent tactics to make their voices heard.
Pro-democracy protests have often taken a violent turn, with street clashes between police and hard-core protesters in this city known for its security and stability.
A precarious calm has been maintained this week in the semi-autonomous territory, since the great peaceful rally of last Sunday which brought together 1.7 million people. The organizers who wanted it non-violent managed their bet.
- Vilnius with Hong Kong! -
The pro-democracy movement intends to demonstrate that it still enjoys broad public support.
Protesters called on Saturday to block the roads leading to the city's airport - a risky situation if they descend en masse in the street.
Anger against the government and the police remains strong among the exhausted protesters after nearly three months on the street carrying out almost daily actions.
Eight thousand kilometers from Hong Kong, in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius - one of the sites of the "Baltic Way" - a few hundred people organized a rally in favor of Chinese territory, shaking hands in the central square.
"We must show solidarity with the people of Hong Kong, they are at the forefront of the struggle for freedom and democracy," Lithuanian opposition parliamentarian Mantas Adomenas, who helped organize the rally, told AFP Friday in Vilnius.
In August 1989, the "Baltic Way" showed that the three Baltic nations were firmly committed to achieving independence, which they finally won two years later.
Linking the three capitals - Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn - it marked the 50th anniversary of the German-Soviet pact that had prepared the partition of Eastern Europe between Hitler and Stalin and the occupation of the Baltic states by the USSR.
© 2019 AFP