BEIJING -- A number of foreign governments and senior officials have expressed support for the Beijing Olympic Games, condemning those deeds of disrupting the Olympic torch relay and politicizing the sports event.
Baleka Mbete, Speaker of South Africa's National Assembly, said Friday at a press conference for the 118th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) that appeals for boycotting the Olympics and disrupting the torch relay will never gain popular support.
She said any person with conscience will condemn such deeds of obstructing the Olympic Games which is a grand sports occasion for the entire human being.
She also stressed that Tibet is an inalienable part of China. "Any sovereign country would not allow the separation of its territories," said Mbete.
IPU Secretary General Anders B. Johnsson also told the press conference that the IPU is strongly opposed to violent deeds and is against any act of obstructing the Olympic Games.
He said such a grand sports occasion should not be politicized and any word or act of boycotting the Olympics is erroneous.
South Korea's Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry said Friday that the country fully supports the Olympic torch relay and the government is making preparations to welcome the torch for its Seoul leg of the relay.
Thailand's Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama on Friday voiced his government's support for the Beijing Olympics and condemned attempts and activities to disrupt and sabotage the Olympic torch relay in some countries.
