|
Olympic Torch Draws Buenos
Aires Protests for Boycott
Bill Faries
Bloomberg
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Olympic torch world tour moves to the streets of Buenos
Aires today and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon became the latest
world leader to say he'll miss the opening ceremony of the games
in Beijing.
Protesters against China's alleged human rights abuses vowed
to peacefully press world leaders for a boycott of the ceremonies.
Mayor Mauricio Macri said 5,000 police officers and volunteers
will help protect the torch's 13-kilometer (8.1-mile) relay route
through the Argentine capital. The torch's arrival in Buenos Aires,
its only stop in South America, is a ``moment of pride'' for the
entire country, he said.
China's crackdown on unrest in Tibet and its links to the government
of Sudan led protesters in London, Paris and San Francisco to
seek to disrupt the flame's 137,000-kilometer, 21- city tour.
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge called
the protests a crisis, adding that the IOC had weathered bigger
storms. He said the 1972 Munich games, in which he was an athlete,
were ``the biggest crisis ever'' for the IOC.
(Article continues below)
``We're going to undertake some `surprise' actions across Buenos
Aires, but these will be done peacefully,'' said Jorge Carcavallo,
an organizer with the Free Tibet group, which will join a counter
``Human Rights Torch'' relay. ``We will not try to snuff out the
torch.''
Scheduling Conflict
Ban won't attend the opening ceremony because of a scheduling
conflict, conveyed to the Chinese some months ago, spokeswoman
Marie Okabe said yesterday in New York. The European Parliament
has urged EU leaders not to attend. Polish Prime Minister Donald
Tusk has already decided not to go and Czech Foreign Affairs Minister
Karel Schwarzenberg said he would be ``glad'' if European politicians
don't go. U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown will attend the closing
ceremony.
Hillary Clinton has urged President George W. Bush not to attend
the games and Barack Obama, Senator Clinton's rival to become
the Democrats' presidential nominee, said the president should
consider skipping the opening ceremonies.
Full
article here.
|
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
|
