Olympic torch inflames protesters

BY PAUL MUELLER
STAFF WRITER

The Olympic torch continues its arduous path to Beijing this week. It is in Malaysia today and will arrive in Japan on Saturday.

Protesters disrupted the torch lighting ceremony last month in Olympia, Greece, foreshadowing a relay swarmed by political demonstrations against China for their poor human rights record. In light of the worldwide protests, President Bush is under pressure to boycott the Summer Games’ opening ceremonies.

In what is becoming an annoying trend, the separation between sport and state in America has again become foggy.

There is little to gain by boycotting the opening ceremonies. It sends no powerful message; it conveys no significant disapproval. If President Bush decides to sit out the opening ceremonies, nobody is going to blow out the torch and send the athletes home.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Barack Obama favor the boycott, as does Sen. Hillary Clinton, who said Bush should not attend unless “major changes” occur in the Chinese government.

Bush is also feeling the pressure from human rights activists. Protests forced the torch relay to change its intended route through San Francisco, turning the relay into a hide-and-seek contest to keep the torch and the athletes carrying it safe.

Clinton said China does not deserve to host the Olympics, and she is probably right. But that does not mean the President should not be there.

It’s like the father-in-law with whom you don’t see eye to eye: His actions are often questionable and you rarely get along. But on holidays when he has the barbecue and the touch football game in the backyard, you compliment his hamburgers, beat him on the field and shake his hand afterwards.

You do it for pride, in spite of differences, and you do it to demonstrate good will.

That’s what the Olympics are all about.

To spoil the world’s greatest sporting tradition with protests, boycotts and political statements not only erodes the integrity of the games, it also contradicts the Olympic ideology of bringing nations together in a forum of non-political competition.

It is a sad day for sports and politics alike when world leaders use a sporting forum to advance political interests. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said there are better ways to handle the conflict and that boycotting the games is a cop-out by world leaders. Bush calls the Olympics a sporting event and not a political one, and so far he stands by his decision to attend the ceremonies.

The Olympic torch is scheduled to arrive for the opening ceremonies on Aug. 8 in Beijing, China, after an 85,000-mile tour through 20 countries on five continents. When it arrives in China, all world leaders should be there—not to support China, but to support the Olympic tradition and the athletes who spend their entire lives training for the opportunity to represent their country in the world’s greatest games.