New Delhi: France may boycott the Beijing Olympics over the unrest and the subsequent crackdown in Tibet, according to reports. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said all options were open and that he would be closely watching China’s next move, which would eventually dictate his response.
Sarkozy has taken France beyond any other nation in its criticism of Beijing. Australia, Germany, Japan and the US have all ruled out a boycott while advocating restraint and urging dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama. Britain, too, has been very critical of China's poor human rights record.
China, meanwhile, showed no sign of letting up on its crackdown. At least two people were killed in a clash between protesters and police in an area of western China that borders on Tibet, state media and human rights groups reported on Tuesday.
The clashes were the latest in most sustained uprising against Chinese rule in almost two decades — a challenge that has put China's human rights record in the international spotlight, embarrassing and frustrating a Communist leadership that had hoped for a smooth run-up to the Olympic Games.
China's response has also pushed human rights campaigners and governments to re-examine their approach to the Olympics.
Sarkozy, who had faced rising criticism in France for his relative silence on the issue, couched his comments cautiously. He made it clear that skipping the ceremony was one of several possible French responses to the violence in Tibet.
"Our Chinese friends must understand the worldwide concern that there is about the question of Tibet, and I will adapt my response to the evolutions in the situation that will come, I hope, as rapidly as possible," he was quoted by AP as saying.
Asked whether he supported a boycott, Sarkozy said he could "not close the door to any possibility."
His aides confirmed that Sarkozy was talking only about the opening ceremony. His ministers have repeatedly said France does not support a boycott of the games.
(With inputs from AP)
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