Essay on the European protests to the Bejing Olympics in March...

Hello all. As part of my work for IU, I have been writing lengthy field reports of IU. I have decided to post parts of these that seem interesting and worthwhile to me. Below is an essay I wrote on the protests that took place in London and Berlin in early April when the Olympic flag passed through Europe. Cheers.

Human Rights and the 2008 Olympics.

Written April 10, 2008

As I sat down in the teacher’s lounge Monday morning, the local newspaper headlines caught my eye: Prueba de fuego para la antorcha a su paso por Londres. I proceeded to read the article, and when I got home I searched the BBC website for more information about the upcoming Olympic games and the world’s reaction to China’s human rights record, specifically relating to their history with Tibet and freedom of press/speech abuses. The amount of information that I found about this issue was overwhelming and gave evidence to the global nature of this matter. As I read through the articles online, I found more information about last Sunday’s protests in London and also found more recent news feeds about the Monday’s protest in Paris as the torch continued its journey. In London, at least 35 protestors were detained while the torch was put onto a double-decker bus to keep it safe; over 100 protestors tried to overtake the bus without success. In Paris, protestors succeeded in extinguishing the flame several times (Olympic Official Calls Protests a Crisis, 2008). In London and Paris, individuals put themselves on the line to demonstrate their alliance with Tibetans and other minority groups facing violence and repression from China’s government.



On March 24, 2008, the Olympic torch was lit in Greece where it traveled the country for 5 days before being taken to Beijing, China on the 31st to begin an 85,000-mile journey around the globe (China Defends Tibetan Crackdown, 2008). As a symbol for solidarity across all political lines, the torch has become a point of contention and conversation for people of all nations. Last month was the 49th year anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation. China’s presence in Tibet has marked a dark period of religious and cultural repression in the country including the sterilization of women, one-child policy enforcement, the death of the Tibetan language and numerous efforts to undermine Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dali Lama who has been in exile in India since 1959 (Human Rights in Tibet, 2008). A resurgence of violence against Tibetans was seen last month, and as Beijing gears up to host this summer’s Olympic games, human rights activists across the world have taken this opportunity to focus on these injustices, which have been steeping for many years. Tactics including police barricades and changes in the Olympic torch’s route have been taken to avoid protestors who are trying to extinguish the torch and force China to change its position on a free Tibet (along with other groups advocating for oppressed minorities within China). (Protests cut short Olympic relay, 2008)
The protests in Paris and London have been the most drastic displays. In both cities, protesters were arrested after various attempts to put out the torch’s flame. Many banners reading “Free Tibet” and supporting the freedom of various minorities repressed under China’s current government were dropped from buildings across the cities. While the relay in San Francisco, California went off without such large demonstrations, protestors were present and the route was changed at the last minute leading to a more muted sense of celebration than what usually comes with the appearance of the Olympic torch. (Olympic Official Calls Protests a Crisis, 2008) The torch will continue on its tour around the world until reaching China at the end of June. Before reaching Beijing once more, the route carries the flame through Tibet. Given this past week’s resistance to this ceremony, I am sure the world will be watching during these months leading up to the Beijing Olympics.
Here in Spain, I have had several conversations with friends and colleagues about the coming Olympics and the protests in Europe. Many seem to feel pride that people within the EU are willing to a take stand against the human rights abuses of the Chinese government. One teacher at school told me that he thought that Britain and Germany’s governments were on the right track by declaring that their heads of state will not be attending the game’s opening ceremonies on August 8th unless China changes its current position on human rights. Another teacher told me that she believed internally that the Spanish government felt the same way but would not make it public. Within the United States, all three presidential hopefuls are urging President Bush to refuse attendance on the same grounds as the leaders of the European countries have done (Clinton Urges Bush Olympic Action, 2008). Jaques Rogge, head of the International Olympic Committee, has said, “The torch does not belong to Beijing or China. It is the torch of humanity” (Olympics to Rebound from Crisis, 2008). In other interviews, Rogge has been quoted saying that the IOC has no right to tell China how to handle “sovereign issues” such as Tibet and other human rights allegations that stand before them (Olympics to Rebound from Crisis, 2008).
This issue interests me because the Olympic games, and the torch’s journey to Beijing, are symbols for global human solidarity. However the fact that the games are being held within a Communist China (with a less than favorable human rights record) brings the reality of the world’s injustices into the limelight of global media. As the torch continues on its way to Beijing for August’s games, the flame will pass through Tibet. This choice has been criticized, and some have said that the plan to carry the Olympic torch through Tibet aims to paint a picture of peace and harmony in this region that does not exist in reality. This year’s Olympic games are urging countries (and individuals) around the world to take a stand on human rights issues in a manner that does not come about often. Being in a different part of the world while all of this is happening has given me an even wider perspective on this issue and the interconnected nature of this planet and its nations.


Through researching the Beijing Olympics and the world’s reaction to the beginning of the torch’s route, it has become clear to me that the world’s eye is on China and the way in which the 2008 Olympics will unfold in this infamous country. It has also brought to my attention the fact that it is impossible to divorce current world politics from any kind of relationship and contact between the nations of the world. Because China has been closed off to global media for so long and because they are a rising Communist superpower with a marred public human rights record, this year’s games carry even more symbolic weight. In researching China, Tibet and the other groups who feel oppressed by China’s regime, it seems to me that the world needs to use the Olympic games as a way to urge China to rethink its policies regarding human rights. All of this learning is important to me because I now have a wider perspective on the relationship between Western countries such as Britain, France, Spain and the USA and China. I can now more fully see what a tenuous relationship exists between the West and the East, and I understand that for constructive change to be made sensitive, intelligent communication between all the world’s nations must be initiated.