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I'm still trying to figure out what possessed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bestow upon China the honour of hosting the 2008 Olympic Games. A country that continuously, and flagrantly, violates the rights of its own citizens.
The following statement graces the home page of the IOC :
The Games have always brought people together in peace to respect universal moral principles. The upcoming Games will feature athletes from all over the world and help promote the Olympic spirit.
Peace? Respect? Moral principles? Shouldn't the host country adhere to some, if not all, of those principles? Though China has evolved, somewhat, by joining the global economic community (and it did so out of necessity) it has not changed a whit, when it comes to the darker issues of human rights abuses. China does not respect its citizens, and it certainly has no concept of universal moral principles. I've written about their execution buses, their forced abortions. And witness what's occurring right now in Tibet, a country they have no legitimate rights to, but have been occupying for ages. First-hand accounts (as reported to Radio free Asia -RFA) chronicle the unwarranted brutality perpetrated by Chinese security forces against Tibetans:
They tried to pull down the Tibetan flag that had been raised by protestors at the town headquarters building on the 17th, and when the protestors peacefully resisted, the security forces opened fire, killing two protestors. Their names were Kyari and Tsedo. Both were from Tseshul village. Another eight persons, including Yeshe Dorje and Tabke, were seriously wounded and were taken to Serthar county hospital.
Many Chinese security forces have arrived in the Serkar monastery in the Kham Gapa area to impart re-education programs among the monks. But all the monks refused to participate in the program and instead raised slogans demanding religious freedom and human rights. There are around 500 monks. The Chinese army before leaving the monastery threatened the monks that they were going to come back the next day to deal with them. I have not received any further information after that.
These are not isolated incidents. I posted, back in September, about the shooting of innocent Tibetan refugee/pilgrims crossing the Nepalese border with Tibet. They were headed, in the snow, to India. Caught on tape by some foreign filmmakers, one emotion-filled witness declared, "They are shooting them like... like dogs". And so they were. 2 people were killed, including a young Tibetan nun.
Since the recent anti-China protests in Tibet, there have been crackdowns on Tibetans in China, as well. One Tibetan writer, Tsering Woeser, and her Chinese husband have both been placed under house arrest. And, apparently, her blogs were blocked (last year) after merely publishing a photo of the Dalai Lama.
And, not surprisingly, there is talk of the banning of live broadcasts of the games, and there have been warnings to tourists about Chinese government monitoring of hotels and other public and private areas. I'm not sure who would want to attend the Olympics, given the current circumstances and China's inability to temper its grievous behaviour; but there will obviously be attendees, and China will continue on its merry way.
Frankly, China does not deserve hosting what, in my mind, represents the spirit of friendly competition and universal brotherhood. At least, until they clean up their act.
