Olympic games - human rights

Speaking at a press conference on the morning of Nicolas Sarkozy's confirmation he will attend the Olympic opening ceremony, Greens/EFA Group co-president Daniel Cohn-Bendit said: "It is scandalous that Nicolas Sarkozy will not boycott the Olympic opening ceremony. He said that his attendance was conditional on an improvement in the human rights situation and progress resulting from talks between the Chinese authorities and Tibetan envoys. No progress has been made. On the contrary, the Chinese have issued a thinly veiled threat to the Tibetans not to cause trouble during the Games and political prisoners continued to be detained. Even the wife and child of political prisoner Hu Jia have now been placed under house arrest. The opening ceremony is a grandiose political showcase, not a sporting event. By attending, Nicolas Sarkozy gives his endorsement and seal of approval for China's flagrant disregard of its own promises on human rights. Sarkozy also shows that his priority is the sale of nuclear power stations and Airbuses, not the rights and welfare of countless millions of people."