Monday June 1, 08:52 AM
Anti-Chinalco activists evoke Tiananmen in ad
MELBOURNE (AFP) - Australian opponents of Chinalco's link-up with mining giant Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO.L - news) used images of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in a television advertisement calling on Canberra to block the deal.
The advert uses footage of Chinese troops moving into Tiananmen and chastises the Australian government over plans to sell the nation's mineral resources to a country where hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protesters died when Beijing quashed the 1989 pro-democracy protest.
Pointing out that the 20th anniversary of the crackdown falls on Thursday, the advert contrasts Mandarin-speaking Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's attitude to China with the stance taken by his predecessor Bob Hawke when the killings occurred.
"One Labor prime minister, Bob Hawke, was moved to tears and granted asylum to Chinese students in Australia," it says.
"Another Labor government, Rudd's, now bears gifts to the Chinese military regime by allowing control of strategic mineral resources in Australia -- this is wrong."
Under the proposed 19.5-billion US dollar deal, Chinalco will double its stake in Rio Tinto from nine to 18 percent and take two seats on the miner's board.
The proposal has come under fire in Australia amid increasing sensitivity about China's quest to secure a firmer hold on natural resources around the globe.
The anti-Chinalco advertisement, which follows one featuring two Australian politicians, was bankrolled by Perth-based millionaire Ian Melrose, who has been involved in a number of human rights issues in recent years.
He said while the images were confrontational, "they're not anywhere near as hard-hitting as the democracy supporters were hit in Tiananmen Square."
He said selling important assets to Chinese state-owned firms such as Chinalco was potentially disastrous.
"If something goes wrong, it's not just a company you're in dispute with, it's a whole country," he said.
Australia is due to make a decision on whether the deal can proceed by mid-June. Rio Tinto shareholders will also have to give final approval for it to go ahead.
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