Protesters demand universal suffrage in Hong Kong

By Emre Aytekin

ANKARA (AA) - Protesters in Hong Kong gathered on Sunday to demand universal suffrage in the next year's legislative elections.

According to the South China Morning Post, approximately 1,000 people joined the demonstration that took place at the Edinburgh Place in the Central region of the city.

Ventus Lau Wing-hong, spokesman of the protest organizer Hong Kong Civil Assembly Team, called on international community to impose sanctions on Hong Kong officials if there was no universal suffrage in the Legislative Council elections in September.

“If Hong Kong has a Legislative Council that represents the voices of the people, that defends the interests of Hong Kong, the extradition bill would have been vetoed long ago. We would not have needed seven months of bloodshed,” he said.

Protests in Hong Kong -- an autonomous region under China since 1997 -- were triggered by the government's move to legalize extradition to mainland China. The proposed law was later withdrawn.

However, the protests have spiraled into calls for an investigation into alleged police brutality, release of detained activists and retraction of the official term "riots" for the ongoing demonstrations.

“In the coming year, Hongkongers must continue to make our voices heard by the international community, to tell them that our fight against authoritarianism is not over yet,” the spokesman of the protest organizer said.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin