【大纪元6月23日讯】女士们、先生们：
本年五月十二日在中国四川地区发生的大地震是一场骇人听闻的大悲剧。七万中国人失去了生命，数千人至今仍下落不明。导致这场灾难严重扩大的人祸因素已广为世人所道。据权威媒体报导，死伤的人数实际上远不止此数。多家媒体披露，与四川省毗邻的甘肃省地震局在震前就预测到了这次地震，而且预测到了这次地震的震中，但中国当局没有向公众发出预报。
雪上加霜的是，大量的学校楼房在这场地震中整体性崩塌，造成数万学生冤死。充分的证据证明，这些学校建筑整体性崩塌的原因是偷工减料和质量低劣。据称，这些劣质校房是中国官员贪污腐败的产物。被震坏最严重的楼房是近年才建的校舍和多层的民居楼。学校的教学大楼整体崩塌，而旁边的楼房却屹立不倒。成千上万的学生就是被这些质量低劣的学校教学楼压死。
国际媒体观察员报导，在这场地震灾难中失去孩子的父母近日抗议请愿，要当地政府官员和建筑商对学生的死难负责。BBC记者Michael Bristow报导：“死难学生的家长担心，官方不会对如此多校房倒塌的原因作实质性的调查。”，“很多家长抱怨，尽管当地政府答应调查，但迟迟没有给出实质性的调查方案。这些家长们担心，应对劣质校房负责的地方官员和建筑承包商最终不会受到追究。”（BBC 2008年6月6日报导】。 Mr Bristow 补充说，一名美国建筑工程师，Kit Miyamoto 在四川为客户检测楼房时顺便视察了聚源中学。这所中学在这次大地震中有 270名学生丧命。在一个网页上，Kit Miyamoto 发贴说，学校教学楼的混凝土地板根本没有支撑。他写道：“这些校舍是垒高（Lego）楼房，但使用的预制水泥板边缘根本没有突出的钢筋来与另块板相连，板与板没有互相连接。”。他说：“这样的垒高（Lego）楼房根本经不起任何的横向震摇。这些学校楼房就是这样一些抗震性很差的楼房。”。根据中国《南方周末报》的报导，中国建设部的一名专家也做出类似的结论。《南方周末报》报导，这名专家说，这些学校楼房修建的地点、结构和用料都存在问题。
尽管遇难学生的家长怨声载道，但当地政府却漠然不应。BBC记者提出要采访当地高级官员，但所有领导个个都说没有时间。不过，一些官员却不时出来故作姿态，试图缓和公众的悲哀和愤怒。本周初，警察已封锁了这所学校，把守校门，严防外人进入。目前，中国当局又加强了对中国媒体的控制，不准媒体对这场灾难作更进一步的报导，利用警察驱散抗议示威学生家长。这些学生家长想对那些他们认为要对校房倒塌负责的人员采取法律行动。
洛杉矶时报记者Mark Magnier 报导说：“中共宣传部、国务院、人大已给中国国有媒体下指令性文件，指明严禁报导内容。被禁止报导的内容包括：追问学校楼房倒塌问题、政府延迟救灾问题及北京当局隐瞒地震预报问题。对隐瞒地震预报的事，尽管当局以技术性为借口来辩解，但事实真相已被数千万的中国网民揭穿。”。（洛杉矶时报 2008年6月5日报导。）。
还有，灾区的记者仅报导些“正面”的事件，如政府抢救山体滑坡造成的河流险情等，不揭露报导扩大地震灾难的原因。
所有这些都应得到世人的高度关注，应该有开放性的公众问责。这个开放性的公众问责不是局限在中国，应该是国际性的。只有这样，人祸灾难才不会重演。渎职者都要受到法律的制裁。
澳大利亚政府应为这次中国大地震灾难发起成立国际问责团，为四川人民讨回公道，伸张正义。在北京奥运会即将举行之际，澳大利亚政府也应敦促中国政府确保到北京的宾客和记者的言论自由。
这场悲剧告诉了我们，自我标榜为“人民民主”的北京当局是什么样的政权呢？这个政权不把人民放在眼里，完全不对人民负责。它不是民主。它保护的是那些造成数万人民死亡的官员和商人，而不是地震遇难者的家属。隐瞒四川地震预报只是中共政权广泛而系统地践踏人权的冰山一角。
维护人权是本组织的重要使命之一。我们将游说澳洲的政治领袖们发起成立国际性的问责团，对中国四川大地震灾难进行全面问责。
谢谢各位，特别感谢本会的组织者和邀请人阮杰先生。
澳大利亚全国公民委员会主席 Mr.Peter Westmore
二00八年六月九日于澳大利亚墨
（阮杰译，512追查委员会提供）
附：Mr. peter Westmore 讲话英文原文
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,
The earthquake which devastated parts of Sichuan Province in China was an appalling tragedy, taking over 70,000 lives, with thousands more still missing. What has made the tragedy even worse are repeated and authoritative reports that the number of lives lost should have been substantially higher.
There are reports that the Seismological Bureau in Gansu, a province adjoining Sichuan, had predicted the earthquake, even nominating where its epicentre might be, but the warnings were ignored.
Even more seriously, there is very strong evidence that schools were disproportionately affected by the earthquake, and that thousands of children lost their lives unnecessarily because of shoddy workmanship, which was reportedly the result of corruption.
The buildings worst affected were recently-built schools and multi-story apartment buildings.
There is no doubt that many schools were completely destroyed while neighbouring buildings escaped unscathed. Many thousands of school children lost their lives in these buildings, while others in the immediate vicinity were barely affected.
International media observers have reported demonstrations by parents of children killed in the tragedy, demanding that local government officials and construction companies be held accountable.
Michael Bristow of the BBC News, reported: “Parents fear there will not be a proper investigation into why so many schools collapsed in last month’s earthquake in China.
“Many complain that although local authorities have promised to investigate, they are slow to give out information and worried that contractors and officials responsible for shoddily-built classrooms will not be held accountable.” (BBC News, June 6, 2008)
Mr Bristow added that an American structural engineer, Kit Miyamoto, had inspected the Juyuan Middle School where 270 children died, while he was in Sichuan checking other buildings for clients.
On a website posting, he concluded that the school’s concrete floors collapsed because they were not supported properly.
“Just imagine building a Lego house, but using Lego blocks that have no protruding nubs to tie the Legos together,” he wrote. “This Lego house would not be able to resist lateral shaking. The school building is like these weak Lego houses.”
An expert from China’s Ministry of Construction also came to a similar conclusion, according to China’s Southern Weekend newspaper.
He said there were problems with the school’s location, structure and with the materials used to build it, it was reported.
But despite the complaints, Juyuan’s local authority is saying little. No-one was available when the BBC asked for an interview with a senior official.
And officials appear to be attempting to tone down public displays of grief and anger. The school was sealed off earlier this week with a police guard to prevent people from going in.
In recent days the regime is now clamping down on the Chinese media, to prevent further reporting of this tragedy, and that police have been used to disperse demonstrations by parents who want to take legal action against those they consider responsible for the collapse.
Mark Magnier, a reporter from the Los Angeles Times said, “The propaganda ministry and the State Council, China’s Cabinet, have issued directives to state-run news media outlining forbidden topics. Among them: questions about school construction, whether government rescue efforts lagged and whether Beijing knew in advance that the earthquake would happen but failed to warn people. Although the latter issue is scientifically questionable, it has been nonetheless transfixed by millions of Chinese Internet users.” (Los Angeles Times, June 5, 2008)
Further, journalists in the region report only “positive” stories such as the handling of the artificial dams caused by rockfalls into rivers, and not the causes of the extensive damage caused by the earthquake.
All this is a matter of deep concern. There should be an open public inquiry, if not in China, then internationally, so that the mistakes of the past are not repeated, and where there has been criminal negligence, that those responsible should be held to account.
The Australian Government should be demanding justice for the people of Sichuan, and should sponsor an international inquiry into the response to the earthquake.
With the Olympic Games imminent, it should also call on the Chinese Government to ensure freedom of speech for visitors and journalists visiting China.
What does this tragedy tell us about the Beijing regime, which calls itself a “people’s democracy”?
The regime is utterly unaccountable to the people, and it is not democratic.
It protects those who have contributed to the huge loss of life, and not the victims’ families.
The cover-up following the Sichuan earthquake is part of a wider, more systematic abuse of human rights by the Beijing regime.
My organisation is committed to promoting human rights, and will approach Australian political leaders to seek a full international inquiry into the Sichuan earthquake.
Thank you and special thanks to Mr.Ruan Jie, the organizer of this meeting and my inviter.
Peter Westmore, President of the National Civic Council.
(http://www.dajiyuan.com)
