Olympic ideal not burning bright in Italy

(CNN) -- The debate about the Olympics in China hasn't had much impact in Italy.
Hot themes such as boycotting the Games never really made it to the front pages here, and there were no protests or episodes of violence that were seen on the streets of Paris and London when the Olympic torch came through those cities.
It is true that this time the Olympic torch didn't touch Italian soil as it did before Athens 2004 but still the main feeling here is of a general disinterest.
This may be because Italians are interested in football more than in any other sport, and the other big event of the summer, Euro 2008, is much more relevant from a media's point of view than the Olympic Games.
Mediaset will be there in Beijing of course with four journalists in the field, but at the moment we're not particularly pushing them with "battage" or any other preliminary coverage.
In Italy, China is still perceived as a very far away place and there is a quite blurred idea of what the Olympics may mean to the Chinese people.
It is hard to predict the effect the Games will have over the commercial relations and geo-political equilibrium between western countries and "the Celestial Empire."
Even so, there is something decadent in the way our sports media has had to concentrate on particular stories related to fencing, swimming, rowing, or any other sport that Italians excel in, in order to maintain their share of viewers from the general public.
Because of this, we have neglected to cover the discussions on the general and historical context of where the Games will take place. In some way, this is a kind of betrayal toward theChinese population.
China is focusing on Beijing 2008 as an event of global interest and the place where the rest of the world will see what China is able to do.
The Chinese people seem to be whole-heartedly supporting the Games, but there is the issue about their freedom to criticize their political system and own personal freedoms.
The Beijing Games then is not just for sport's sake, and it's a difficult task western journalists face to let the rest of the world understand its significance.

Olympic terror fears as China bus bomb kills two

At least two people were killed by bombs placed on board buses in a southern Chinese city this morning, causing consternation three weeks before the Olympics open.REUTERSThe first explosion happened at 7.05am on board a bus at a stop on People's Road West, one of the main thoroughfares of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province. Yunnan borders Vietnam, Burma and Tibet in China's far south.One person was killed and another ten injured, according to local media. Websites showed photographs of the bus with a gaping hole in its side and glass all over the road.The second explosion happened on another bus on the same road about an hour later. Another person was killed and a further four injured.According to some reports, there was a third explosion later in the morning, in which two people were killed and one injured, but this was discounted by some local officials.The motive for the attacks was unclear, but police said they were clearly acts of sabotage."According to preliminary investigations, the explosions were cases of man-made, deliberate sabotage," a spokesman said. Police were using roadblocks and checkpoints in a bid to catch those responsible, according to the state news agency.The authorities have repeatedly warned of the danger posed by terrorism to the Beijing Olympics, using it to justify intense security preparations in the capital.They say there is a particular threat from "Uighur and Tibetan separatism". Uighurs are Muslim, and the main ethnic group in Xinjiang province to the north-west, and police say a Uighur separatist group known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement is linked to al-Qaeda.Yunnan is an ethnically diverse province, home to large numbers of both Tibetans and Muslims. But Chinese cities are also occasionally hit by more mundane acts of terror, in which aggrieved citizens take revenge for lack of legal recourse by random acts of violence.At the weekend, there was a violent riot in a Yunnan town close to the Burmese border about the price a state rubber company was paying local farmers. Two people were shot dead by police as they tried to restore order.

John Nichols: Obama, McCain & Tibet

The Capital Times[Monday, July 21, 2008 00:21]President Bush has announced that, despite China's violent crackdowns on dissent in Tibet and its support for the brutal dictatorships of Sudan and Burma, he will attend next month's opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.In response, Barack Obama distinguished himself from the man he seeks to replace.Asked whether he, as president, would convey legitimacy on the Chinese government's recent actions by attending the opening ceremonies, Obama said, "In the absence of some sense of progress, in the absence of some sense from the Dalai Lama that there was progress, I would not have gone."This was not Obama's first statement regarding Tibet or the Dalai Lama, who this week is in Wisconsin as part of a visit to the United States.In a foreign policy address delivered in March, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee member said that the advancement of human rights must be a central U.S. priority. And he pointedly declared, "We can start now by speaking out for the human rights and religious freedom of the people of Tibet."Around the same time, Obama announced, "If Tibetans are to live in harmony with the rest of China's people, their religion and culture must be respected and protected. Tibet should enjoy genuine and meaningful autonomy."While Obama's election would represent a clear break with the compromised commitments of the Bush administration -- and of the Clinton administration before it -- the jury is still out on Republican John McCain.Without a doubt, McCain is more sensitive to concerns regarding China's human rights abuses than Bush. This spring, when the Chinese crackdown in Tibet turned particularly violent, the senator from Arizona issued an excellent statement."I deplore the violent crackdown by Chinese authorities and the continuing oppression in Tibet of those merely wishing to practice their faith and preserve their culture and heritage. I have listened carefully to the Dalai Lama and am convinced he is a man of peace who reflects the hopes and aspirations of Tibetans. I urge the government of the People's Republic of China to address the root causes of unrest in Tibet by opening a genuine dialogue with his holiness, the Dalai Lama, aimed at granting greater autonomy."At the time, McCain suggested that he might also boycott the opening ceremonies as a protest against Beijing's policies.In recent months, however, McCain has been increasingly critical of Obama's emphasis on diplomacy and respecting human rights when it comes to international affairs. When Bush announced he would attend the opening ceremonies, McCain made no formal move to condemn the decision.While Obama has been firmer in his embrace of human rights, McCain's past statements suggest a consciousness of what is at stake in the dispute over China's treatment of Tibet that runs far broader than that evidenced by George Bush or Bill Clinton during their presidencies.As such, though Bush's decision to attend the opening ceremonies is both disappointing and embarrassing, 2008 might yet be the year when America moves from the shadow of complicity into the sunlight of a more genuine commitment to human rights.

TYC to launch second “Tibetan People’s Mass Movement”, vows protests during Beijing Olympics

Tibetan Youth Congress readies to launch its second phase of the Tibetan People’s Mass Movement ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and vows series of protests before and during the Games and reiterated its call on International community to “Boycott Beijing 2008 Olympics”, saying “No Olympics in China until Tibet is Independent”Dharamsala, July 21: With 2008 Summer Olympics due to begin in Beijing in less than three weeks, Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) today announced it would launch the second phase of its “Tibetan People’s Mass Movement” ahead of the Games to highlight the issue of Tibet and its people’s plight.The Tibetan youth body, which struggles for the restoration of Tibet’s independence and decisively opposes Beijing’s right to host the prestigious international sporting event because of its “appalling Human rights record” and its ongoing oppression on Tibetan people in their homeland, also vowed to stage series of protests worldwide before and during the Beijing Games.“We have consistently stood by ‘No Olympics in China until Tibet is Free’ right from the start when China was given the right to host the Games in 2001,” TYC president Mr Tsewang Rigzin said during a press conference at the organisation’s head office here.The organisation, which claims over 30,000 members worldwide, plans to first launch an “Indefinite Fast for Tibet – without Food and Water” on July 28 in New Delhi before formally launching the second phase of the “Tibetan People’s Mass Movement” on August 7, on the eve of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.“To protest against the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the continuing colonial occupation of Tibet by China, Tibetan Youth Congress will launch and “Indefinite Fast for Tibet – without Food and Water” on 28th July, 2008 at New Delhi as part of the Tibetan People’s Mass Movement”, Mr Rigzin said.The youth congress leader, however, insisted that his organisation’s activities would be based on the “principles of nonviolence and Gandhi’s tradition of ‘satyagraha’ (Insistence on Truth)”.“TYC will begin Tibetan People’s Mass Demonstration on 7 August, 2008 based on the principles of nonviolence and Gandhi’s tradition of ‘satyagraha’ (Insistence on Truth)” Mr Tsewang said, however, declining to give specific details of the number of participants and the exact venue for the entire protests. He said the details would be revealed later at an “appropriate time” for specific campaigns..“TYC will also organise many other campaigns throughout the Olympics”, Rigzin said, adding “With the start of ‘Indefinite Fast for Tibet – without Food and Water’ in New Delhi, all regional chapters of TYC will organize campaign against Beijing Olympics in their respective regions throughout the world”.According to Rigzin, TYC’s decision to carry out the second Phase of the movement before the Beijing Olympic Games was made according to the resolutions passed during the organisation’s General Body Meeting held in September 2007 at Dharamsala and the Annual Working Committee Meeting in July 2008 at Manali.TYC’s first Tibetan People’s Mass Movement against China was launched in the Indian capital, New Delhi, on August 8 last year to mark a one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympics. Over 25,000 Tibetans from India, Nepal and other countries are said to have taken part in it. The movement somehow turned out to be the single biggest protest gathering of Tibetans in exile and largest since the Tibetan uprising in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital city, in 1959.The first phase of the Movement, marked by a day-long peaceful demonstration, was disrupted, however, with the then TYC president calling on Tibetan demonstrators for its immediate end. With it an indefinite hunger strike by 14 Tibetans that began earlier on July 8 and continuing on its 33rd day was also ended.The then TYC leaders described the People's Mass Movement as an "effort to bring about a renewed vigour and vitality in the Tibetan movement” and called it a “departure from the traditional approach of appealing to the international community for support” by “putting direct pressure on the Government of People's Republic of China (PRC) by creating a situation where they have no choice but to respond” to their stated demands. The organisation’s executive members also vowed to resume the mass movement’s second phase at a later appropriate time.Reacting to China’s allegations calling TYC a Terrorist organisation engaged in violent activities, Mr Rigizn said the accusations are baseless devoid of any evidence. “In our almost 40 years of struggle for Tibet’s independence since TYC was formed in 1970, we have always adopted peaceful and non-violent strategic methods to achieve our goal,” he said.“The Chinese people deserve to host the Olympic Games but what the Tibetans and the Chinese people deserve more now is freedom; freedom of speech, of religion, of association, of equal opportunity, or electing their own government, of feeling safe in their own homes,” Mr Tsewang said of the Beijing’s right to host the games.“The day might not be far when Tibet will again be an independent nation and the Chinese people would be free from the inhuman communist regime, only then it will be the right time for Beijing to host the prestigious Olympic Games. But not now,” he said. “Not while the butchers of 1.2 million Tibetans remain in power. Not while the communist butchers of 70 million Chinese remain in power,” Tsewang added.For him Olympics are a “symbol of freedom and peace, an international event where friendship and brotherhood are celebrated” through sport. He accused the International Olympic Committee of breaching the ideals of the Olympics by honouring China with the right to host the games.Tibetan Youth Congress is the largest Tibetan non-governmental organisation outside Tibet and seeks to restore Tibet’s independence, a stand opposed to the “middle-way approach” seeking “real and meaningful autonomy” for Tibet as advocated by the exiled Tibetan Leader the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-exile.

Update on Tibet Demonstrations, 21 July 2008

Monday, July 21 2008 @ 11:55 pm BST10 July 2008
Ngaba (Ch: Aba) County, Ngaba "TAP", Amdo (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) - Three given arbitrary sentencesOn around 10 July, three people, who allegedly participated in a protest held in Ngaba county on 16 March, were given arbitrary sentences by the People's Intermediate Court of Ngaba "Tibetan Autonomous Region".Kelbar (23) from Lota township in the lower division of Ngaba county was sentenced to life prison. Terzoe (25) from Drongtoe Tsang family in Ngaba county was sentenced to 15 years and Tsegor (27) from Gongma Tsang family to 13 years of imprisonment.
18 June 2008
Nyagchu (Ch: Yajiang) County, Karze "TAP", Kham (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) - A monk commits suicide due to "patriotic re-education"Trangma, a monk from Minyak Drapa Yangdhen monastery in Nyagchu county, committed suicide on 18 June for not being able to undergo the "patriotic re-education" which mainly includes denouncing His Holiness the Dalai Lama.His aged mother Ache and other monks were warned and intimidated against disclosing information about this incident to the outside world. The work-teams have temporarily withdrawn from the monastery following his suicide.A school within the above-mentioned monastery with around 30 monk-students were closed down by the Chinese authorities as a part of their "patriotic re-education".
No Specific Date
Bathang (Ch: Batang) County, Karze "TAP", Kham (incorporated into the Chinese province of Sichuan) -Numerous men from Lingkha-Sho and Gangri villages flee to mountainsA few days back in July, Jampa Gyaltsen, a leader of Gheymo village with an influential personality, successfully mediated to resolve the long-standing land dispute between the Lingkha-Sho and Gangri areas.However, the Public Security Bureau (PSB) and officials from Bathang county arrived at the village, and decided to give the disputed land to Lingkha-Sho village saying that none other than the Chinese government has the authority to resolve the land disputes.The people of Gangri village were outraged by their decision. They opposed the authorities saying that their decision was an unfair and they were intentionally creating rift among the Tibetans. Therefore, the people can't listen to the Chinese authorities, and they should leave the village.However, the people were instead intimidated at a gun point by the PSB which has further infuriated them. As a result, the people started shouting slogans such as "Tibet belongs to Tibetans. Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Tibet is an independent county." This has led the PSB and the officials to run away from the scene.Later, two truck full of Chinese forces and work-teams led by the county head arrived at the Gangri village to suppress its people. However, all the men from the village have already fled to the mountains. The Chinese forces continue to guard the village and have already ordered those to surrender. Till now, no one has surrendered. There are over 100 families in Gangri village.