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Mayor To Boycott Beijing


Sir Rols

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PRAGUE, March 25, 2008 (AFP) - The mayor of Prague, Pavel Bem, said Tuesday he is refusing to attend the Beijing Olympics despite the Czech capital being a candidate to host the summer 2016 games.

``I've already taken my decision. I won't go to Beijing. The question of oppression of human rights, the issue of China-Tibet relations, this is not at all China's domestic affair,'' Bem said.

Bem -- who says he was refused entry at the China-Tibet frontier when climbing Mount Everest last year -- insists his decision is personal, adding that a boycott would harm a generation of athletes.

I applaud the mayor's stand ....

it's not going to do the Prague bid much good, though.

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Now the Czech president, and the PM, have joined in:

By Marek Miler and Katya Andrusz

March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk declined invitations to the Olympic Games in Beijing following clashes between Tibetan protesters and Chinese security forces.

``Those who sometime in the 1990s voted for the Olympics to go to China should not now be pretending they're surprised that China is what it is,'' Klaus said on his Web site. Tusk will skip the opening ceremony, Agnieszka Liszka, his spokeswoman, said by phone, confirming a report in Poland's Dziennik newspaper.

Poland will also try to convince other European Union countries that the bloc should speak out more strongly on the issue of Tibet, Dziennik reported, citing Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Ryszard Schnepf as saying.

In the Czech Republic, which like Poland overthrew communism in 1989, politicians including former President Vaclav Havel, who helped bring down the former system as a dissident playwright, have called for the EU to press for greater human rights in countries including Cuba and Belarus.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said this week he wouldn't rule out a boycott of the opening ceremony, and appealed ``to the Chinese leaders' sense of responsibility'' to stop the crackdown in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

Ministers, Mayor

Czech Education Minister Ondrej Liska, Environment Minister Martin Bursik and Prague Mayor Pavel Bem also turned down the Czech Olympic Committee's invitation to the games, newspaper Hospodarske Noviny reported. It is still not known whether Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek will attend, the newspaper said.

``If a country's dignitaries decline an invitation to the Olympics, it's between the dignitary and the local Olympic committee of the country,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a phone interview when asked about Klaus's decision. ``China invites dignitaries, royal families and ministers via local Olympic committees in each country.''

China blames the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for instigating the biggest protests in almost 20 years, which began March 10 in Lhasa and spread to neighboring provinces. Security forces have killed about 140 protesters since the demonstrations began, the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, northern India, said in a statement on March 24.

Western nations including the U.S., Germany and Britain have urged the Chinese authorities to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

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I applaud the mayor's stand ....

it's not going to do the Prague bid much good, though.

Oh it will do Prague great good by getting out of something that is unpopular with people in the local area.

Prague has as much chance for 2016 are Baku or Doha .

Jim jones

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I think Prague is pushing the whole "I don't want to appear to be the favourite" strategy to a new level:

  1. First, publicly state that although you are bidding for 2016, the real goal is 2020/2024
  2. Then, have your President states that he thought that the bid is a waste of time and money
  3. Then have your Prime Mister declare that he hasn't provided any financial guarantee and he doesn't intend to
  4. Then publish less than flatering public support figure
  5. Then, just to play it safe, announce that you will snub all the official party at the upcoming Games

I wonder what's coming next: "Jacque Rogge is a bad dresser", "IOC Members are either senile or dumb or both"...

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I think Prague is pushing the whole "I don't want to appear to be the favourite" strategy to a new level:
  1. First, publicly state that although you are bidding for 2016, the real goal is 2020/2024
  2. Then, have your President states that he thought that the bid is a waste of time and money
  3. Then have your Prime Mister declare that he hasn't provided any financial guarantee and he doesn't intend to
  4. Then publish less than flatering public support figure
  5. Then, just to play it safe, announce that you will snub all the official party at the upcoming Games

I wonder what's coming next: "Jacque Rogge is a bad dresser", "IOC Members are either senile or dumb or both"...

How about 'We really think the Olympics are a complete waste of time & money but we got so fed up with people from Gamesbids telling us that Prague would make a splendid host that we thought we'd put in a bid just to shut them all up!" :lol:

At this rate,Prague must be so far from being seen as the favourite that they are now probably a shoo-in to pip all the others to the post! Sorry Chicago,Tokyo,Rio et al.....Prague has outwitted you all strategywise!! :P

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Oh it will do Prague great good by getting out of something that is unpopular with people in the local area.

Prague has as much chance for 2016 are Baku or Doha .

Jim jones

Sorry JJ, you're wrong on that one. Baku and Doha both have a much better chance of getting that Prague...

(And I'm actually not kidding...)

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  • 2 weeks later...
Why in the case of Baku, has better chance to get OG than Praga?

Because Prague's bids doesn't have any financial guaranteed.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Mayor to boycott Beijing. Gamesbids members to boycott Prague 2016 thread. IOC Executive Board to boycott Prague bid?

That`s interesting!Lol... :lol:

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  • 1 year later...

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