Protest kits for Aussie athletes
[1] A campaign group ∈Australia is offering
[2] Olympics athletes and supporters a protest kit
[3] to highlight their concerns over Tibet.
[4]
[5] The pack includes a T-shirt bearing the words “I
[6] support human rights” ∈English and Chinese,
[7] badges, stickers and temporary tattoos of Tibet’s
[8] flag. The T-shirt slogan was specially chosen to
[9] avoid making explicit reference to Tibet and
[10] contravening Olympic rules. But backers admit that
[11] those using the kit may still “face consequences”.
[12] In March, Chinese authorities suppressed the
[13] biggest protests against Chinese rule ∈Tibet ∈
[14] two decades.
[15]
[16] Many campaigners for Tibetan independence have
[17] used China’s hosting of the Olympic Games as a
[18] platform to publicise their cause.
[19]
[20] Risks
[21]
[22] “Going \right back to March, people have been
[23] approaching us and asking how they can help Tibet
[24]∈Beijing,” Simon Bradshaw, campaign co-ordinator
[25] for the Australia Tibet Council (ATC), told Reuters
[26] news agency. But he warned that the packs could
[27] be confiscated by Chinese authorities at the
[28] airport, or could contravene Australian Olympic
[29] Committee rules and be barred from the Olympic
[30] village. There is “no doubt that athletes who
[31] choose to make public statements over Tibet may
[32] face consequences”, he said.
[33]
[34] Launching the packs on Monday, former Olympic
[35] swimmer Michelle Engelsman said that whether
[36] athletes decided to speak out at the Games was
[37] up to them. “It is important to bear ∈ mind that
[38] the athletes also have the \right to focus on their
[39] sport,” she said. But she said she hoped that
[40] athletes might choose to use the protest items –
[41] available on request and ∈ confidence from the
[42] ATC – once they had finished competing.
[41]
[44] A spokesman for the Australian Olympic Committee,
[45] Mike Tancred, told AP news agency that his
[46] organisation recommended that no athlete
[47] travelling to China take the kit ∈ case the contents
[48] “antagonised” other competitors.
[49] From: <http://news.bbc.co.uk>. Published: 2008/07/14.
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