Politics And Sport Are Set To Mix
The Sunday Age
Sunday May 11, 2008
PROTESTS by athletes on the medals podium at the Beijing Olympics over China's human rights record are a real possibility, Australia's Olympics chief has warned.
Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said there was a good chance some medal-winning athletes would protest in a similar fashion to the black power salute given by two American track athletes on the medals podium at the 1968 Mexico City Games."It's a very real possibility," he said yesterday after the AOC's annual general meeting. "The (International Olympic Committee) doesn't want the competition to be prejudiced in any way by demonstrations. They may happen and they'll have to be dealt with depending on how serious they are."The AOC loosened its guidelines yesterday to give Australian athletes the right to freely express their opinions on issues such as human rights and Tibet in interviews and on internet blogs. But Australia's Olympics squad must also respect the dignity of the host nation China and the Olympic charter, and are banned from placing protest signs on their clothing or equipment. "We don't want banners and T-shirts and things in the village, which is meant to be a place where 10,500 athletes get together," Coates said."You can imagine that if the Iraqi team turned up with T-shirts telling us and Britain and the US to get out of Iraq, there could be some unpleasant things happen in the village. "And similarly I think we have to respect the athletes of all countries, including China, in the village."Any athlete who breached the Olympic charter would be disqualified from the Games.Australian athletes have been largely silent over alleged human rights abuses by China. One exception was Australia's leading cyclist Cadel Evans, who wore a "Free Tibet" T-shirt while competing in Belgium last month.Federal Opposition leader Brendan Nelson yesterday said it was "plain commonsense" to let Australian athletes speak freely on political issues.
© 2008 The Sunday Age