Political rows over Olympics not IOC concern

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not put pressure on China about human rights or political issues in the run up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Hein Verbruggen, chief of the IOC's coordination committee for the Beijing Olympics said yesterday that the IOC is not in a position to tell governments "how to behave," a Sports Illustrated report said.

Verbruggen was responding to questions about calls for a boycott of the Beijing Games to pressure China to better respond to the Darfur crisis. Verbruggen said that as an organization, the IOC did not want to involve itself over political issues.

Last month, French presidential candidate Francois Bayrou called for French athletes to boycott the Games to make China put pressure on the Sudan government. This call was echoed today by another French presidential candidate, Segolene Royal. American actress Mia Farrow has also asked corporate sponsors of the Games to pressure China to do more to resolve the Darfur issue.

IOC officials also refused to answer questions about the route that the torch relay will take, which will be announced officially today. Areas of contention include the planned route to the top of Zhumulangma (Mount Everest) and Taiwan.

Yesterday, four activists were detained on Mount Everest after they called for Tibetan independence and a boycott of the Games.

Taiwan refuses to be considered part of the domestic route through China that the torch will take. Tung Chen-yuan, deputy head of the mainland affairs in Taiwan, was quoted by The Telegraph as saying that any solution to the torch relay issue must not "belittle" Taiwan.

IOC President Jacques Rogge called the Olympics a "force for good" in China, and insisted that the Games will have a positive, lasting effect on Chinese society.