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BEIJING 2008: Sports ministers oppose Beijing Olympics boycott
AP, BRDO PRI KRANJU, SLOVENIA, AND SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Tuesday, Mar 18, 2008, Page 20
EU sports ministers and Olympic committees say they oppose a boycott of the Beijing Games over the handling of the Tibet protests.
The ministers, holding talks yesterday, say sports should not be linked to such a political issue and that previous Olympic boycotts have already shown what limited impact they have.
Slovenian Sports Minister Milan Zver, who is chairing a meeting of top EU sports officials from the 27 member states and Olympic committees, said ``I am against a boycott of the Olympic Games in China.''
His sentiments were echoed by other Olympic committees.
Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said in a statement yesterday that Australia endorses the International Olympic Committee (IOC) position that boycotting the Beijing Games would achieve nothing -- apart from disadvantaging athletes.
"The Olympic Games have shown by example the benefits of bringing together people from all races and religions to practice sport in a spirit of friendship and fair play," Coates said. "It is not the role of the IOC to take the lead in addressing such issues as human rights or political matters."
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