VOA News
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge says he is concerned about the situation in Tibet. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing that protesters are demonstrating against China along the Olympic torch route overseas.
The IOC president said he is very concerned about the international situation and what is happening in Tibet. He said the International Olympic Committee is calling for a "rapid, peaceful resolution in Tibet." But he downplayed talk of any concrete international gesture during the Olympics, saying there is no momentum for a generalized boycott.
His comments at a meeting of the Association of National Olympic Committees in Beijing, were his strongest yet on the growing political storm surrounding the Games.
The week-long Beijing meetings of officials from national Olympic Committees and the International Olympic Committee are being held while protesters demonstrate against the Olympic torch relay in countries like Turkey, Britain, and France.
A spokeswoman for the Beijing Olympics organizing committee, Wang Hui, said China strongly condemns what she described as the attempts by a small group of Tibetan separatists to disrupt the torch relay. She acknowledged disturbances in London, but said China believes that all people who love peace will support the torch relay.
Wang says nothing can stop the Olympic torch relay, which she says will be a success.
British IOC member Craig Reedy made similar comments, saying he believes protests are the exception, not the rule.
"The media reports are of the flashpoints, not of all the people enjoying the occasion," he said.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Beijing, Ms. Su says she does not agree with the protesters. She says she believes a small group of people are trying to attack the unity of the Chinese people and are using the Olympics to grab world attention.
The Olympic torch is on a global tour, the longest in Olympic history. It is part of China's efforts to showcase its growing economic and political power.
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