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Bush pressed to skip Olympic ceremonies

International Olympic Committee Chairman Jacques Rogge, at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday, describes the recent protests during Olympic torch ceremonies as
Lesley Clark McClatchy
International Olympic Committee Chairman Jacques Rogge, at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday, describes the recent protests during Olympic torch ceremonies as

WASHINGTON – Pressure is mounting on President Bush to protest China’s human-rights record by skipping the Olympic Games’ opening ceremonies this summer.

Republican presidential contender Sen. John McCain of Arizona on Thursday stopped just short of siding with his two Democratic rivals, who have called on Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies, though none have called on him to forgo attending the games.

McCain, in a statement, cited British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s decision not to attend the opening ceremonies and said he believes Bush “should evaluate his participation in the ceremonies surrounding the Olympics and, based on Chinese actions, decide whether it is appropriate to attend.”

“If Chinese policies and practices do not change, I would not attend the opening ceremonies,” McCain said.

The White House has said Bush is going to the games but declined to say whether he would attend the opening ceremonies.

Boycotting the opening ceremonies in Beijing would please human-rights activists and demonstrate to Chinese dissenters that they’re not alone, but it also would anger an oncoming world power that the U.S. counts on to help finance America’s growing government debt and contain North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

Asked on Sean Hannity’s radio show Thursday whether Bush would boycott the opening ceremonies, Vice President Dick Cheney said Bush “has made it clear that he’s planning on going, that he thinks this is primarily a sporting event.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has called on Bush to not attend the opening ceremonies.

One Bush ally, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., said she has asked Bush for months to reconsider his decision to attend the games.

“I’ve asked that we take a stand for freedom and not have any U.S. government official participate,” the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs committee said Thursday. “No American official should give their blessing to what is becoming the ‘Genocide Olympics.’ “

The calls for a presidential show of disapproval come as the Olympic torch moved from San Francisco to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where some 1,200 police were on hand to stop the kind of disruptions that marred the relay earlier in the week in London and Paris amid protests over China’s rights record.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge acknowledged Thursday that protests of the Olympic torch during the past week have been tough on the Olympic movement.

“It is a crisis, no doubt about it,” Rogge told other Olympics representatives meeting in Beijing as he urged them to reassure athletes that the games “will be very well-organized.”