Hong Kong protests: government should hold dialogue with demonstrators without preconditions, international peacemaking experts say
- Goodwill gestures will open space for dialogue, experts from overseas tell closed-door forum attended by about 400 prominent social and political figures
- City has been gripped by more than five months of unrest and the level of violence has been escalating
At a closed-door forum attended by about 400 prominent social and political figures on Saturday, they said goodwill gestures such as satisfying the protesters’ five demands – which include an amnesty for arrestees and revoking the classification of protests as riots – would open space for dialogue.
“You should try to avoid preconditions, in my view, as a way to get the parties to the table because that’s the way to get the dialogue on your terms as opposed to the other party’s terms,” said Clem McCartney, an independent consultant on conflict and community issues from Northern Ireland.
Hannes Siebert, a peace process facilitator and senior adviser to the UN who was involved in national dialogues in Lebanon, Yemen and Myanmar, said: “Ripeness [for dialogue] is not something that happens, you create it.
“You need to understand what is behind the precondition so you can address what is under the table rather than on the table.”