CALLS FOR BOYCOTT OF BEIJING OLYMPICS IN UK AND US OVER HUMAN RIGHTS AND MEDIA ISSUES
December 20th 2007 00:41
The European parliament adopted a resolution on December 13 on the state of relations between the European Union and China and their dialogue on human rights.
The resolution said concerns about human rights should get more attention in the preparations for the Beijing Olympics and it called on the International Olympic Committee to evaluate China's respect for the promises it made in 2001 when it won the 2008 games for Beijing.
The European parliament said it was also worried about online censorship in China and urged the Chinese authorities to release imprisoned cyber-dissidents and to render the thousands of blocked websites accessible again. The resolution finally urged China to take effective measures to guarantee free speech and press freedom and voiced concern about the failure to enforce the new rules for foreign journalists working in China.
European parliament vice-president Edward McMillan-Scott wrote to International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge on December 10 urging him to remind the Chinese authorities of the promises they made to improve human rights in 2001 in order to win the 2008 games. He added that the European parliament would consider boycotting the games if the situation had not improved by Christmas.
Meanwhile, a petition signed by more that 11,000 Chinese citizens demanding respect for human rights in China before the games was handed in yesterday at IOC headquarters in Lausanne by dissident Wei Jingsheng. Wei was received for about 10 minutes by the IOC's head of communications, who told him that the IOC was not in a position to solve problems that had been around for many years. Wei warned that the games were becoming more and more unpopular with many Chinese.
- From MediaBlab
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