‘Boycott Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies’
p2pnet news | Freedom:- Don’t boycott the Beijing Olympics.
But do boycott the openings.
French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner says that’s a way the European Union could punish China’s latest Tibet invasion.
Twenty Tibetans were killed by Chinese forces during a protest sparked when monasteries in the Ngaba TAP (Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture) were ordered to raise the Chinese flag, p2pnet reported today.
Kouchner’s comments, “followed an appeal by the press advocacy group Reporters Without Borders to governments across the world to shun the highly symbolic ceremony during which the Olympic flame is lighted,” says the International Herald Tribune, going on:
“European leaders have been conspicuously quiet since protesters and the Chinese police first clashed in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, a week ago.
“How to exert pressure on Beijing touches a broader debate in the European Union about how the bloc should manage its relationships with important economic partners such as China and Russia, whose governments are accused of violating democratic standards.”
Senior European officials, including Kouchner, “have ruled out an outright boycott of the Olympics, arguing that not even the Dalai Lama had demanded one,” says the IHT, but, “in the latest sign that the Games remain the most powerful lever Western powers have, the foreign minister called the idea of a more symbolic partial boycott ‘interesting’.”
Kouchner, a former human rights activist and co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, “urged Beijing on Tuesday to give journalists access to Tibet so that the number of people killed and wounded in clashes could be determined,” says the story, adding:
“Tibet’s government in exile says it believes 99 people have been killed in the violence, a figure disputed by the Chinese authorities.”
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Also See:
p2pnet – 20 Tibetans killed in new outrage, March 19, 2008
International Herald Tribune – France raises idea of boycotting Olympics ceremony over Tibet, March 18, 2008
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March 19th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Lame. Boycotting the ceremony means dick. Typical French, doing things half-assed.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Do these people actually think that will help?. He is only damaging his own name in front of China.
March 19th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Brilliant! Putting up a fraction of the effort to get an even smaller fraction of the results. Why didn’t I think of that?
March 19th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Boycotting these games is like boycotting Moscow and Los Angeles games.
March 19th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Why not boycott “made in f&*^king china” products instead? This hits bottom line more than games.
As for Olympic Games in general, they are now discredited as place for cheating, bribes, etc.
March 20th, 2008 at 8:07 am
I can’t join this boycott as I had already decided to boycott the games based on a number of other factors.
a) Canadian Bill C-47: The Olympic and Paralympic Marks Act
b) Attempts by Beijing to modify weather patterns to avoid rain during key ceremonies http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/31/weather-modification.html
This is a type of technology that should be internationally illegal, given weather manipulation can (and will) be abused as a weapon as harmful as nuclear weapons.
.. Well.. I should probably not list all the reasons I’m boycotting all Olympics (Not just the Beijing Olympics), given those two alone are enough.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:31 am
Here’s the translation from French in case some of you aren’t clear on the meaning. “Do nothing.”
March 25th, 2008 at 9:15 am
How much do you know about Tibet history or Chinese history?
Have you ever been to china or tibet?
How many Chinese people have you ever talked to?
What make you believe whatever Dalai Lama say is true, even he lies a lot?
Why do you think it’s Chinese government crackdown so called “peace protester”, who are actually Tibetan mobs?
Why can’t dalai lama be a liar, a hypocritical, cunning actor?
Why? Why? Why?
That’s because the bias in your media and your heart!
This rebellion is not what your media told you, not Chinese government crackdown Tibetan peace protester. They are not protester! they are cruel mobs! They killed , smashed, robbed!!! They killed han, and other nationalities, including women and children who are civilians! They smashed and burned schools, hospitals and shops, everything! They burn people to death! In one shop five young girls were burned to death! Their average age is 20. they robbed banks and shops. They are spoiled mobs, just because they are Tibetan, they are protected by western media and society. They can killed other nationalities . who supported them? You western media with bias.!!!!
Tibet is part of china !!!
It can not be seperated from china!!!
If
April 8th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
QUESTION!: Do any of these people involved in the conflict have peace in their hearts?…..Do any of you commenting have peace in your own hearts?…..Are we not all the same?…..Are we not all attracted to and judgemental of drama in the world?…..Don’t all of us forget the gift of life given to us by the provider (whatever you want to call that entity)?…..Do we not all thirst for peace?…..The Dalai Lama knows that peace comes from within us all, individually…..The Budhist compassion is for those who don’t realize that…..we are all sufferers because we devote so much energy to our perception of the outside world and pay little attention to the garden of life within us all…..its one faction against another…..who is right, who is wrong?…… seems to me that we are all lost…..doesn’t that make us alike?…..doesn’t the fact that we all want peace, in some form or another make us alike?…..I urge you all to find that peace within….. when we find that peace within, then we will refrain from acting out in this world…..than all will be left to their own customs and ways to experience life…..then all life will be venerated…..it is my assertion that this is how the Dalai Lama understands the world…..even though he has the world’s eye on his life…..whether the viewpoints be positive or negative he knows and practices daily letting go…..allowing peace to enfold his life…..he holds compassion for all other forms of life, including those that “appear” to be his adversaries…..he realizes that they too have allowed worldly concerns invade their inherent gift of inner peace…..all of you embrace inner peace, like the Dalai Lama…..this is what ONE WAY means…..peace comes from allowing, accepting not from controlling…..NAMASTE
April 9th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
As a Foreign Minister of France, it is a shame of him to see the international affairs in such a way – what a psychosocial mental retardation.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
It is natural for everything to have two sides. You have someone for and against, just like the Beijing Olympic Games. Don’t be fussy about the Tibetan riot and weaken the atmosphere of the Great Games. It is ONLY for sports, NOT for politics.