Some of the photographs that have marked the Twentieth century. One of Charlie Cole, taken in 1989, has shown the terrible repression being orchestrated by the chinese regime. The photojournalist died in Indonesia at the age of 64 years, confirmed the department of State Saturday, September 14. The man, a native of Texas, had taken up residence on the island of Bali for many years.

“READ ALSO – 30 years ago, the story of the massacre of Tiananmen square, published in Le Figaro

at the Beginning of September, the organizers of the festival of Perpignan” Visa for the image, already warned of the disappearance of Charlie Cole, had made a tribute, which was attended Franck Riester. The minister of Culture, had shared in the wake of his emotion on social networks.

The photograph of Charlie Cole, taken in Tiananmen square on June 5 1989 in Beijing, represents the “man in chariot”, a protester facing a column of tanks chinese. Posted from a hotel adjacent to the square, the reporter thought the man was going to be crushed. And this photograph would serve as proof, reports the BBC. The brave anonymous had finally been pulled by the arms by two other persons to avoid such a fate.

One of the most iconic images of the Twentieth century

Without sound or fury, but with a lot of innuendo, the photo illustrates the suppression of the spring of 1989, when hundreds – a thousand according to some sources – students and intellectuals took to the streets in support of democracy have been murdered. In his edition of the day, The Figaro , was based on a “carnage” in which the soldiers “fired with an automatic weapon, the heavy machine gun, with tanks, with guns, against a mob huge”.

The following year, the photo, taken for the news magazine u.s. Newsweek , was crowned in 1990 with the prize World Press photo of the year, one of the most prestigious awards in the photojournalism. If the image of Charlie Cole remains the most famous, “the man in the chariot” has been immortalized by several other reporters, including Jeff Widener of the Associated Press. It had been in the running to receive the Pulitzer prize.

Become one of the most iconic images of the Twentieth century, the photograph of “the man in the tank” remains largely unknown in China due to censorship. Last June, the chinese minister of Defense had called the event suppressed “turbulence” policy that the government had “successfully” managed. “The communist regime is afraid that people mention on June 4, because he knows that he has committed a crime and he can’t find no excuse,” confided also in June, not without taking care to conceal his name, an intellectual pekingese.