The relay of the Olympic torch to China has officially begun and it looks like the road ahead is going to be bumpy.
Protesters were arrested in Greece on Monday for disrupting the president of the Beijing Organizing Committee as he was speaking to a crowd, the New York Times reported.
The protest was broadcast on live television in Greece, but China cut to pre-recorded video footage, according to the Times.
Among the protestors were Tibet nationals who said they were angered the Olympic games will take place in China this summer after the country’s blatant disregard for human life and human rights.
The Chinese government is living in its own world if it thinks it can keep its inhumane treatment of Tibetans out of the limelight. People around the world will continue to recognize the rights those people have and protest a government that mistreats its citizens.
Allowing China to host the Olympics sends a message that human rights and freedom of speech doesn’t matter in the world of athleticism. However, the athletes participate as representatives of their nations, and are in a sense spokespeople for them.
Olympic participants from the UK have signed a contract stating they will not speak on sensitive issues such as the crisis in Tibet while they are in Beijing, according to BBC online. The British Olympic Association has said it will look into the wording of the contract.
As a member of the United Nations it should be mandatory for China to adhere to values like the ones set forth in the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
China has said it would allow journalists to travel freely throughout areas of the country, but since problems in Tibet arose, that area has been under restriction. No one can even find out how many people in Tibet have been killed by the government recently because of such restrictions, according to BBC online.
Quite frankly, it’s hard to believe China will allow journalists who report for the Olympics to have complete freedom this summer, but until denied, they should try to investigate the situation.
A slap on the wrist or rhetoric-laden words of censure are not enough in a case as serious as this. The world needs to act now. Protests should continue until the Chinese government complies with international human-rights standards.
