Pro-Tibet disruptions of relay sad reflection on civilized people
The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Re: Olympic torch relay descends into chaos, April 8.
It was with great dismay that I read of the turmoil surrounding the Olympics torch relay.
The pro-Tibetan protesters efforts at disrupting the Beijing torch relay in various cities such as London and Paris is such a disgrace to the spirit of the Olympics. And it is a sad reflection on the behaviour of supposedly civilized people.
View Larger ImageThe disgraceful interruption of the Olympics torch relay through cities cannot be justified on the basis of what is called the 'Chinese crackdown in Tibet,' writes Maureen Fiori.
The disruption of the relay cannot be justified by what is often cited as "Chinese crackdown in Tibet" in which the Chinese authorities strove to prevent more of the damage by the Tibetan mobs that had already caused extensive property damage and the deaths of several Chinese citizens including five girls burned in a fire.
The human rights abuses in China often cited as a reason to boycott the Beijing Games should be looked at in relation of abuses currently occurring in other parts of the world such as by the Americans at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, or the torture that exists in many countries such as Syria and Saudi Arabia.
What is happening in China today would pale in comparison to the abuses of the African slave trade supported by most Western nations that only ended in the mid-1800s.
In Canada, we need to look no further than the abuses of native people at the residential schools to remember that our own record of human rights is not all that clean.
Sure it would be nice if all countries treated its own citizens and others within their control fairly but it is not fair to single out one country for criticism simply because it is about to host the next Olympic Games.
Maureen Fiori,
Ottawa
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Re: Olympic torch relay descends into chaos, April 8.
It was with great dismay that I read of the turmoil surrounding the Olympics torch relay.
The pro-Tibetan protesters efforts at disrupting the Beijing torch relay in various cities such as London and Paris is such a disgrace to the spirit of the Olympics. And it is a sad reflection on the behaviour of supposedly civilized people.
View Larger ImageThe disgraceful interruption of the Olympics torch relay through cities cannot be justified on the basis of what is called the 'Chinese crackdown in Tibet,' writes Maureen Fiori.The disruption of the relay cannot be justified by what is often cited as "Chinese crackdown in Tibet" in which the Chinese authorities strove to prevent more of the damage by the Tibetan mobs that had already caused extensive property damage and the deaths of several Chinese citizens including five girls burned in a fire.
The human rights abuses in China often cited as a reason to boycott the Beijing Games should be looked at in relation of abuses currently occurring in other parts of the world such as by the Americans at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, or the torture that exists in many countries such as Syria and Saudi Arabia.
What is happening in China today would pale in comparison to the abuses of the African slave trade supported by most Western nations that only ended in the mid-1800s.
In Canada, we need to look no further than the abuses of native people at the residential schools to remember that our own record of human rights is not all that clean.
Sure it would be nice if all countries treated its own citizens and others within their control fairly but it is not fair to single out one country for criticism simply because it is about to host the next Olympic Games.
Maureen Fiori,
Ottawa
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
