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30.07.2008Olympic Watch reacts to continued censorship in BeijingPrague, July 30, 2008 - Olympic Watch, the human rights organization set up in 2001 to help keep the Chinese government accountable for its Olympics-related human rights promises, has issued a statement harshly criticizing the continued censorship of internet access for journalists and athletes in Beijing. Calling the International Olympic Committee’s “silent diplomacy” strategy “demonstrably ineffective”, Olympic Watch urges the IOC to “publicly call for an end to censorship in China, and for the release of all those Chinese citizens who have been persecuted in relation with the Olympics”.The full text of the statement follows below: The fact that many websites continue to be blocked in Beijing flies in the face of the International Olympic Committee and the pledges of “complete media freedom” that Chinese officials publicly made when bidding for the Games in 2001. At minimum, international journalists need to be able to access all information about the context of the Olympics, including the Olympics-related crackdown on Chinese human rights defenders, to be able to fully report on the Olympics. All athletes in the Olympic Village must also have uncensored access to the internet. Generally, free access to information should be guaranteed throughout China in line with the Chinese officials’ pledges and with international legal standards – not only for international journalists, but also for athletes, Chinese media and the Chinese public at large. If the International Olympic Committee wants to save any credibility it has left at this point, it must discontinue its demonstrably ineffective strategy of “silent diplomacy” and publicly call for an end to censorship in China, and for the release of all those Chinese citizens who have been persecuted in relation with the Olympics. Jan Ruml Chairman, Olympic Watch Prague, July 30, 2008 |
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