World politicians express support for Beijing Olympics
Updated: 2008-04-15 09:55
BEIJING -- A number of world politicians have recently expressed their support for the Beijing Olympic Games.
South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said Monday that he hopes the upcoming torch relay in Seoul would be an opportunity to promote the spirit of the Olympic Games.
South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said Friday that his country's government fully supports the ongoing Olympic torch relay and is making all efforts to ensure the relay in Seoul a success.
Jigjee Sereejav, press officer of Mongolia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Monday that he believes the Beijing Olympic Games will be held successfully and will be the best opportunity for Mongolian athletes to win their first Olympic gold medal.
The secretary-general of the Switzerland-China Committee of the Swiss Federal Assembly, Pierre Kohler, said Sunday that he believes the Beijing Olympics will be a success, as will the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.
The Olympics should not be made a political tool, and it is a blunder to boycott the sports event, Kohler told Xinhua, adding that he was strongly opposed to the demonstrations against the Olympic torch relay in London and Paris.
A former military attache of the Brazilian embassy in China has pointed out in a published article that the Dalai Lama may be a religious leader nominally but is a politician by nature.
In his article titled "Reflections on Tibet," he noted that boycotting the games would serve no purpose and have no influence on China's territorial integrity.
Aboubacar Cisse, a spokesman for Guinea's Foreign Ministry, said the government of Guinea supports the Chinese government in hosting a successful Summer Olympics, and opposes politicizing the games.
He said his government understands and supports the stand of the Chinese government to safeguard peace and stability in Tibet.
At the 118th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Cape Town, South Africa, legislators of many countries voiced their support on Sunday for the Beijing Olympics.
Kazakh parliamentarian Zhumabayev Yermek said the Olympics should be independent of politics.
The Olympic torch is divine and is the symbol of the peaceful co-existence of the world's people, Yermek said.
The Olympic spirit, which upholds peace, friendly love and tolerance, ought to be respected by all, he said, adding that any act aimed at disrupting the Olympic torch relay is unlawful.
Kozlovsky Alexander, a member of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament), said Western countries often underline that all men are born equal, so human rights and freedom should not be exercised by violating the rights of others.
Tibet separatists who attempted to sabotage the torch relay and jeopardize the safety of torchbearers should be condemned by all, he emphasized.
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