IOC President says Olympics in "crisis" over torch chaos

[Every Breaking Wave]

I'm kinda surprised that none of the Olympic protests/torch chaos has been posted about yet.

Source

BEIJING - IOC president Jacques Rogge said Thursday the turmoil surrounding the Beijing torch relay and the politically charged buildup to the Summer Games posed a "crisis" for the Olympic movement.

Rogge urged China to respect its "moral engagement" to improve human rights and to fulfil promises of greater media freedom. He reaffirmed the right of free speech for athletes at the Beijing Games.

At the same time, the International Olympic Committee expressed relief that the San Francisco leg of the torch relay passed off without major incident and declared that the rest of the international route would not be cut short or cancelled.

"This scenario is definitely not on the agenda," Rogge said at a news conference. "We are studying together with (Beijing organizers) to improve the torch relay, but there is no scenario of either interrupting or bringing (the torch) back directly to Beijing."

Rogge said the San Francisco relay had "fortunately" avoided much of the turmoil and disruptions that had marred the legs in London and Paris.

"It was, however, not the joyous party that we had wished it to be," he said at the opening of a two-day IOC executive board meeting in Beijing. "Athletes in many countries are in disarray and we need to reassure them. Our major responsibility is to offer them the games they deserve. ... We have 120 days to achieve this."

The San Francisco parade route was changed and shortened to prevent disruptions by massive crowds of anti-China protesters. The planned closing ceremony at the waterfront was cancelled and moved to San Francisco International Airport, where the flame was put directly on a plane and not displayed.

Still, IOC officials were grateful that there had been no violence.

"I'm very, very happy because there was no injuries," IOC executive board member Gerhard Heiberg of Norway said. "We were afraid of that. That didn't happen, so this was a very good result."

The turmoil over the torch relay and the growing international criticism of China's policies on Tibet and Darfur and overall human rights record have turned the Beijing Games into one of the most contentious in recent history and presented the IOC with one its toughest tests.

"It is a crisis, there is no doubt about that," Rogge said. "But the IOC has weathered many bigger storms."

He cited the attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and the boycotts of the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Games.

"The history of the Olympic Games is fraught by a lot of challenges," Rogge said. "This is a challenge but you cannot compare to what we had in the past."

Rogge was asked whether he had second thoughts about awarding the games to Beijing seven years ago.

"I've said that it is very easy with hindsight to criticize the decision," he said. "It's easy to say now that this was not a wise and a sound decision."

But Rogge insisted that Beijing had "clearly the best bid" and offered the strong pull of taking the Olympics to a country with one-fifth of the world's population.

"That was the reasoning for awarding the bid to Beijing."

When Beijing was bidding for the games, Rogge noted, Chinese officials said the Olympics would help advance social change, including human rights. He called it a "moral engagement" and stressed there was no "contractual promise whatsoever" on human rights in the official host city contract.

"I would definitely ask China to respect this moral engagement," Rogge said.

Asked about the comment, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said IOC officials support adhering to the Olympic Charter and "not bringing any irrelevant political factors into the Beijing Olympics."

"I hope the IOC officials will continue to adhere to the principles set by the Olympic charter," Jiang Yu said.

Rogge reported having "very frank and open discussions" with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on a range of Olympic issues Wednesday, but declined to give details.

The IOC leader insisted that "a number of important points have been met" on human rights, including a new Chinese law enacted on Jan. 1, 2007, that removed many restrictions on foreign journalists. But he said the law had not been fully implemented and he was urging Chinese officials to do so "as soon as possible."

Rogge refused to be drawn on the prospect of top world leaders snubbing the Beijing opening ceremony. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will not be attending the opening, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is considering staying away. U.S. Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have called on President Bush to boycott the ceremony.

"Politicians have to make their decisions themselves," Rogge said. "The IOC will not intervene in this matter."

Rogge sought to reassure athletes that they are free to express their political opinions - as long as they do so away from official Olympic venues in Beijing.

Rogge said free expression has been enshrined in the Olympic Charter for more than 40 years as a "basic human right." However, the charter also forbids any "demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda" in any Olympic sites or venues.

"I'm very clear on the fact that athletes have ample opportunities to express themselves without hindrance, but just by respecting the sacred environment of the Olympic village, the Olympic venues the podium and so forth," he said.

Rogge said athletes should use "common sense" in complying with the rules.

"There is absolutely no problem for an athlete to express his or her views in an interview with media people," he said. "This can be done in his or her own country before the games. This can be done in the host country of the Olympics during the games and, of course, after the games. The only thing we ask is there should be no propaganda or demonstrations of political, religious and racial origin."

At the news conference, Rogge suggested that athletes would be free to speak on political issues at news conferences at the main media centre and the "mixed-zone" areas at the venues where reporters have access to athletes as they leave the field of play.

 

[Nekusagi]

What I don't get is why the hell the IOC gave Beijing the Olympics in the first place, and also why all the protests are centered on Tibet.

China's one of the biggest human rights abusers in the world. They have executions without so much as a trial first (and usually auction off the person's organs to the highest bidder first) persecute peaceful religious groups, and censor the Internet like crazy. Tibet, while it's definitely important, should be the least of anyone's worries.

And Bush is a dick for not pulling the US out of the Olympics. Several European countries, as the article noted, have already pulled out and Steven Spielberg refused to direct the opening ceremonies. Even I'm thinking about not watching the opening ceremonies. Usually, I look forward to stuff like that, but being a huge human rights supporter, I'd be such a hypocrite supporting them.

What I find ridiculous is that everyone figured China would clean up their act with the public eye on them for the Olympics. They haven't. In fact, they're getting worse, cracking down harder on protesters, throwing bums in jail, and detaining reporters. Holding Olympics doesn't change a country any, it serves more as a seal of approval in some ways. As far as I'm concerned, Olympics should be a privilege, not something given to any country making the highest bid. Didn't we learn anything from Berlin?

Also, Rogge's comments bothered me. He sounds like he's trying to salvage the biggest PR crisis in IOC history. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if the next summer Olympics were held in Iran.

 

[The Big Al]

Even Iran is an improvement over China. The IOC gave the games to Beijing because they put out the most money. And this isn't the first time they've given China a pass. In '92 anyone could see China's women's swim team were using steroids (they didn't even look like women) yet the IOC didn't throw them out of the games.

IOC like most organizations is afraid of China. They're the 800 pound guerrilla in the room. They have the world's largest army and thanks to Bush own incredible amounts of our debt. No one wants to piss them off because of the damage they could do in their position.

 

[Nekusagi]

Yeah, the blatant kissing up of Bush to oppressive governments never fails to piss me off. What bugs me is Sarkozy said he was considering pulling out, and all the conservatives were celebrating when he was elected because he was allegedly in league with Bush compared to that commie Shirac. That's what I don't get.

And was the spelling of "guerrilla" intentional? Because if not, it's quite fitting too.

 

[Clip Clop]

Didn't we learn anything from Berlin?

No, that's why they run torches around.

 

[rocketfueled1999]

Yeah, isn't Tibet kinda the least of what they should be focusing on? From what I've heard over the years (especially regarding women's rights), China is probably one of the worst countries ever to live in.