Act fast to save Olympics

Bangkok Post

It is now apparent that unless the Chinese government makes some drastic moves in the next few weeks, the global protests against its human rights performance may well overshadow the Beijing Olympics.

On Monday Jacques Rogge, head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said he was "very concerned" about unrest in Tibet and called on Beijing to seek a "rapid" and peaceful resolution. Heretofore the IOC has done its utmost to keep politics out of the Games. Clearly that is not possible.

Mr Rogge is most concerned about the protests targetting the Olympic torch as it makes its journey around the world. His comments were made before protests in Paris later in the day that probably exceeded his worst fears. Torch-bearing athletes encountered protesters aggressively attempting to put out the flame all along their course through the city. The Associated Press reported that security officials extinguished the torch themselves at least four times and placed it inside a bus to keep protesters from symbolically snuffing the Olympic spirit. There were also protests in London, and it is probable that as the procession makes its 21-nation trip, there will be much larger protests in other cities.

If China is to have the genuine "Olympic moment" that all Chinese clearly want, the only real option is to follow Mr Rogge's suggestion and make some quick concessions on human rights.

To save the Olympics, there are several immediate steps China could take which would cost it very little in terms of real power - economic, political or otherwise.

The first of these is to pledge semi-autonomy for Tibet, along the lines of Hong Kong. This would go a long way toward defusing the situation. Even the Dalai Lama is calling for semi-autonomy, not complete independence.

The second is to abruptly suspend all arms deals with Sudan. A recent Human Rights First report identified China as the single largest provider of small arms to Sudan. Any income China derives from this is paltry compared to the knocks it is taking on human rights.

A third step would be to bring real pressure on the military government in Burma. The issue of human rights in Burma has scarcely been mentioned in the run-up to the Olympics, but what has been going on inside the country is, in fact, far worse than anything that has happened in Tibet. Human rights groups believe that the UN's official death toll of 31 for the October crackdown is far too low, and that thousands of demonstrators and their families remain in squalid detention.

China, of course, is not directly responsible for the situation in Burma, and the Chinese leadership can be credited with some behind-the-scenes manoeuvring to open lines of communication during the crackdown.

However, by holding out against sanctions on the UN Security Council, China is preventing effective action by the world community and providing cover for other countries - Thailand, India, as well as China itself - which supply the economic aid that keeps the Burmese military's hold on power unassailable.

In its defence, China has argued with some validity that it is being judged by a different standard, pointing out the widespread human rights violations stemming from the war on Iraq.

Be that as it may, what is at stake here is really more important than even the Olympics. For China to begin to take a more responsible position on human rights as it assumes an ever greater role on the world stage, would have tremendous repercussions around the world.