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Olympic official: athletes mulling Beijing boycott
Sun Mar 16, 4:04 PM ET
BERLIN (AFP) - International Olympic Committee vice-president Thomas Bach said a number of top athletes were considering boycotting the games in China over the bloody crackdown on protesters in Tibet.
Bach told Bild am Sonntag newspaper he understood the athletes' concerns about the situation in Tibet but said he was advising them to participate.
"They will realise when they assess the situation that it is better to make an appearance than to stay away. That is a symbol that will be noticed by the public," he said.
Asked if human rights had been a concern when Beijing was selected to host the August Games, Bach said the IOC believed the intense focus on China would have a positive effect.
"We are of the opinion that the Games will help China open up. But we cannot solve the problems that UN secretaries general have not been able to solve for generations," he said.
"The Olympic Games can foster change and be a catalyst for a solution but they are not a panacea."
Bach said the current debate over China reminded him of the discussions before the US-led boycott of the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
He urged an end to the violence in Tibet.
"We call on both sides to reject violence," he said. "I hope there will be a peaceful solution."
The newspaper quoted German athletes expressing doubts about China as the host for the Games.
"I have considered whether I can compete in China under these conditions," equestrian Ludger Beerbaum said. "We will surely discuss the issue amongst ourselves here at the tournament in Dortmund (running until Sunday)."
Javelin thrower Christian Obergfoell said the Games were her first priority but that her impression of China had worsened with the latest developments.
"I had been asking myself the whole time why they gave the Olympic Games to China," she said.
"After Tibet, my feeling will not be any better."
The unrest in Tibet followed three days of protests by hundreds of monks in Lhasa, India and elsewhere around the world marking the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
The Tibetan government-in-exile has said 80 have been confirmed dead in the Himalayan region, contradicting the Chinese official report of 10 fatalities.
Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday condemned the violence but said the Beijing Olympics should go ahead, rejecting calls for a boycott by Tibetan exiles.
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The equestrian athlete should rest easy, because he's going to compete in Hong Kong, not Beijing.
