Boycott of Beijing Olympics is not a diplomatic step

It is an all-around clamour regarding the boycotting the Beijing Olympics which is scheduled to be commenced in the month of August 8, 2008. And the host China is growing nervous day by day with the threat of boycotting from different quarters both within China and the west. Thank God! India has remained successful in protecting Olympic torch by deputing tightest ever security for the Games which kept the potential Tibetans at bay.
In the view of opponents, China is aggressive towards human rights and democracy and fosters its minimalist interests, therefore; it has no right to earn the glory in the presence of entire world. When it perpetuates aggression on human right activists and Tibetan monks, should it deserve respect and reputation? Opponents question. And instead, they are giving the mega event Beijing Olympics different names such as ‘Genocide Olympics’, ‘Firing Squad Olympics’, and ‘Organ Sale Olympics’ etc. Dalai Lama says that Beijing authority is a terror to the Tibetans minority. And in China’s eyes, Dalai Lama is a splittist and devil in monk’s robes.
If we peep into history, the Chinese forces, at the start, invaded Tibet in the year of 1950. And, later, at the time of national uprising in the year of 1959, as many as 4, 0000 Tibetans were killed and Dalai Lama was forced to leave the country.
As per reports, during the next 20 years, 1.2 million Tibetans- then one-fifth of the country's population, died as a result of China's cold-blooded policies towards Tibetans. Chinese troops reportedly pillaged and destroyed nearly 6,000 monasteries and temples. Sexual assault of nuns and torture of religious activists is a commonplace culture in Tibet by Chinese forces to humiliate Tibetans. The assault is unleashing even today when Games are round the corner.
Due to all these reasons and notorious human rights backgrounds, in the year of 2000, China remained failed to get the opportunity of hosting Olympic Games. Its request was outrightly turned down. Then China waged another campaign, competed to the world’s biggest cities, made enormous economic might and then succeeded to catch the opportunity of hosting Olympics 2008. It had promised to the international Olympics committee to improve its human rights records.
Now, the crisis is that China is passing through the time of sensitivity because it has remained failed to restore its previous notoriety regarding human rights violations. The entire world is pressurizing the country to negotiate with Dalai Lama to sort out the autonomy dispute but China knows it is not the proper time when Tibetans’ sympathizers are intending to bargain with the authoritarian power. Previously, China was desperate to get the Games and now the country is desperate to get the Beijing Olympics a success. With the Tibetans outcry, its reputation and glory is highly at risk.
Undoubtedly, the games will not be called off and no country will stay away from participating to the spectacular mega event. Also, there is no chance of athletes being disheartened or beleaguered. International Olympics Committee president Jacques Rogge had also said the boycott of Beijing Games would hurt athletes and it might not solve anything. So, boycotting the Games is not a pragmatic solution et al.
Still more significant, the agitators know, nothing will happen with the game except an embarrassment to China before the entire world. The China too knows what is going to be in the days ahead: the audiences might be far short of what the Chinese authorities look forward to. The China’s fear is that, its reputation will go down to a larger extent. If it fails to consider some quick and massive reforms in relationship with Tibetans, its victory to get opportunity of organizing Olympics 2008 might instead fall it into catastrophe.
So, international analysts are of the opinion that it’s the time to reap the yield for Tibetans. Constant pressure is better option than the boycott. Nobody might say that the boycott of Beijing Olympics is a pragmatic step. The world leaders- USA president George Bush and Britain Gordon Brown are hopefully would register their presence during in the Games. Moreover, it should never be forgotten that the more the Chinese authorities perturb, the more it stubbornly might grows aggressive towards the agitators.
If we talk Tibetans sympathizers they count certain reasons of boycotting the Games. First, massacre of peacefully democracy activists in Burma years back. China funds the Burmese regime but don’t take much interest in reforms in that country. Moreover the start day of Beijing Olympics, August 8 also marks the 20th anniversary of the massacre of peacefully democracy activists in Burma. So, its memory compels the Tibetans for boycotting the Games.
Second, China’s partnership with Sudan and in the year of 2007 China doubled its trade with that country. China needs to fuel its rapid growth and gets almost seven percent of total oil from Sudan every year. Sudan is the same country which is notorious for perpetrating atrocities in Darfur. People in Darfur have faced violence, malnutrition, and disease but China has no time to pay heed towards their basic problem. Rather, it enabled the atrocities to go on. Tibetans have disliking for China’s frozen attitude towards basic human problems.
Third, in the year of 2001, China government had promulgated a policy against herding Mongols community and removed almost eight lakhs herders off their grazing land and resultantly they had lost their property, home, livestock and cultural identity also. Those who showed their interest in promoting Mongolian culture were forcefully sent to jail.
Fourth, atrocities on Christian Community; according to a report, almost two thousand Christians are arrested every year. Religious persecutions are increasing rapidly year after year. In the year of 2005, Zhuohua, a pastor was arrested for printing and distributing Bibles. Why China is so much dogged in extinguishing ancient civilization and destroying culture heritage even a common Chinese too is unable to understand. Such callous country should never be allowed to command Olympic-hosting reputation, the Tibetan leaders say.
Moreover, the Chinese forces had arrested hundreds of thousands practitioners of Falun Gong (a system of mind & body cultivation related to Buddhism) and in the year of 1989, it’s still in our memory that a crowd of more than a million students camping at Beijing’s vast Tiananmen Square, peacefully calling for an end to repression and corruption was also crushed by Chinese military and, on July 13, 2001, at the time of assignment of Beijing Olympics 2008, when the Chinese police were intensifying crackdowns on journalists, internet users and also cyber dissidents, the members of the committee had advised China to restrain but even after six and half years later, nothing has changed despite the member of IOC (International Olympic Committee) turned a deaf ear to the repeated appeals from international organizations.
Despite all what China mercilessly unleashed on human rights, pragmatically, it is not a right decision boycotting the Games right now. If we have the reasons of China’s help to Sudan which is torture to people in Darfur, the instance of USA-Saudi Arabia’s strong tie is before us. Saudi Arabia is well known for its association with terror groups and has funded Islamic terror; the world has ever boycotted America for its ties with Saudi Arabia. We should understand everything sagaciously. Hollywood star Richard Gere, a close follower of Dalai Lama is also of the opinion that the Tibet issue should be handled correctly. Actually, he is not in favour of boycotting the Games, he says also.
This article has been published in GREATER KASHMIR on 24 April, 2008