Image Credit: Nic Walker

In recent months the international community has been gripped with indecision over whether or not we should boycott the Olympic games in Beijing this summer.

Should our politicians go? Should athletes pull out? Should we watch it on TV? Is trying to extinguish the Olympic flame justifiable?

Before attempting to answer these questions, it is important to consider why there is such a demand for a boycott of the 2008 Olympics.

The main greivances are Tibet, the ‘Roof of the World’, and China’s Human Rights violations.

It was in 1950 when the People’s Republic of China invaded Tibet. Since this time, “Free Tibet” placards have joined the symbolic tools found in the campaigners box, alongside the Peace Badge and a copy of Marx.

However to better understand the Tibetan issue, you need to understand how the Chinese government regularly flout the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Political Prisoners in China, especially those opposed to China’s control of Tibet, are those most likely to be exposed to torture, according to the Free Tibet Campaign (FTC).

The FTC website says, “political prisoners are more vulnerable as they are specifically classified, isolated and targeted by the prisons’ authorities.”

For a more official insight, Dr Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, notes how “beatings, use of electric shock batons, submersion in pits of sewage, exposure to conditions of extreme heat or cold, deprivation of sleep, food or water, prolonged solitary confinement, denial of medical treatment and hard labour” are widely used within Chinese prisons.

Nowak continued, stating how “the situation in Tibet is aggravated by discriminatory treatment of Tibetans and the targeting of political prisoners.”

Furthermore, the FTC notes how Nowak was “particularly concerned with sanctions placed on Tibetan monks, including prohibition on prayers and religious worship.”

Just from this we can list the number of Human Right articles that appear to have been broken: Articles 1 - 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15, and 18 - 21 (out of 30 in total).

Campaigners also point to the attack on freedoms of speech through the arrests and censorship of journalists, the ban on foreign journalists in some Tibetan areas and also, the censorship of the internet, including China and Google’s deal to ban search results that could be politically damaging to the Chinese government.

Now compare this with the Olympic Charter, which Wikipedia defines as “a set of rules and guidelines for the organization of the Olympic Games and for governing the Olympic Movement”, and it says “throughout the history of the Olympics, the Olympic Charter has often decided the outcome of Olympic controversy.”

Three of the six Fundamental Principles are broken: “Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”

“Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.”

“Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC”

Therefore the awarding of the Olympics to Beijing not only mocks the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also, the Olympic Charter and Olympic tradition.