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IOC chiefs to end talks after week of protests
11/04/2008 12h36
Jacques Rogge has urged China to improve its human rights record
©AFP - Liu JinBEIJING (AFP) - International Olympic Committee chiefs on Friday wrapped up a week of meetings in Beijing that have been overshadowed by controversy surrounding China and disruptions to the Olympic torch relay.
With the flame now in Buenos Aires, the IOC executive board was to discuss whether future relays should be curtailed to avert the kind of protests that have marred this torch's previous stops in London, Paris and San Francisco.
Demonstrations, as well as Chinese allegations that terrorists planned to kidnap Olympic athletes and a global debate over a possible boycott of the Beijing Games, were just some of the issues to distract the IOC.
IOC president Jacques Rogge on Thursday urged China's communist rulers to honour their Olympic commitments and improve their human rights record.
China responded by telling the IOC to keep politics out of the Games, but its continued crackdown on unrest in Tibet and other human rights issues have ensured controversy will remain in the run-up to the August event.
Pro-Tibet demonstrators display a banner in Buenos Aires
©AFP - Daniel GarciaTibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, however, reiterated his support for the Games as he headed to the United States on his first foreign trip since China's crackdown.
"I support the Chinese host for the world game because China is the most populous nation, ancient nation," said the Dalai Lama, whom the Chinese government accuses of instigating the violence in his homeland.
"They really deserve" the Olympics, he said during a stopover in Japan en route to Seattle where he was Friday due to speak at a conference.
"In spite of the unfortunate event in Tibet, my position has not changed."
Pro-Tibet demonstrators have disrupted the torch relay throughout the week and Buenos Aires was braced for trouble Friday as the torch arrived on the latest leg of its international relay.
Security was intense with thousands of police and coast guard officers to be deployed during the torch parade but the IOC said it was confident the worst was over.
IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said board members had received assurances about torch relay security from the Beijing Olympic organising committee.
Pro-China demonstrators shout at Tibetan activists during the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco
©AFP - Ryan Anson"The organisers did explain today... that they will strengthen their work around mitigating any potential risks that may come in future stops," said Davies.
Meanwhile, with pressure growing on US President George W. Bush to boycott the opening ceremony of the Games, aides to UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he would not attend because of scheduling issues.
Kenyan Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai added her voice to those of the protesters, saying she had pulled out of the Olympic torch relay leg in Tanzania.
Maathai said she withdrew to give support to activists over many rights issues, including China's crackdown on Tibetan unrest over the past month that Tibet's exiled leaders say has left more than 150 people dead.
"I have decided to show solidarity with other people on the issues of human rights in Sudan's Darfur region, Tibet and Burma," she told AFP.
Protests by Tibetan and other activists in earlier legs during the week have also sparked a debate in the IOC over whether the flame's global journey should be cut short.
Rogge said the relay would go on, but the controversy could mean the flame will only be taken from Greece to the host country for future Games.
The IOC executive, a 15-member elite that governs the Olympic movement, was also seeking information Friday about an announcement by Chinese police that they had cracked two terrorist groups allegedly plotting to kidnap foreign journalists, tourists and athletes during the Games.
The groups were allegedly based in northwest China's Xinjiang region, which borders Central Asia and has a strong Muslim population of ethnic Uighurs.
IOC spokeswoman Davies said they had not received any information from China on the alleged plots.
But she said the IOC had full confidence in China providing a secure environment for the August 8-24 Games.
"It goes without saying that... our trust in the Chinese authorities to make sure the Games are secure as humanely possible is 100 percent," she said.
Rights groups and Uighurs have regularly accused China of exaggerating a terrorist threat in Xinjiang as an excuse to crack down on dissent.
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