euro|topics - The Olympic flame wavers in Europe

Main focus of Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Olympic flame wavers in Europe

Sunday, April 6th in London and Monday, April 7th in Paris, the Olympic torch relay was disrupted by human rights protesters criticising the Chinese regime. With four months to go before the Olympic Games in Beijing, the European press questions the impact of these protests.

Süddeutsche Zeitung - Germany

"China's critics have succeeded in the first act of a show that won't stop until the Olympics begin. They have taken advantage of the global torch relay - which is a marketing gag - and are using its impact to achieve the opposite," Stefan Kornelius writes. "First of all, the protest tells us a lot about the Chinese government. Beijing has lost control of images. The stubbornness with which it disregards the protest is testimony to a complete ignorance of the rules of an open society. ... But does it help when the torch goes out in Paris? Not necessarily - so far the protest itself has been more a sign of utter impotence than anything else. And for the demonstrators, too, symbolism is everything - there's not much political substance behind the spectacle. Every protest, every boycott and every outcry is, of course, legitimate. But in the end it must stand up to a simple question: does it achieve its aim, does it change anything?" (08/04/2008)

Gazeta Wyborcza - Poland

Seweryn Blumsztajn was delighted to see the Olympia torch relay disrupted in Paris. "Now we, the citizens of the world, have extinguished the flame of the Chinese superpower. In day-to-day life we are powerless against catastrophic world politics. And then suddenly there comes a moment when our Internet appeal or a poster hung in a window become part of the world power of decent people - a new global power. I was moved when the Olympic torch was put out in Paris. I remember the 14th December 1981. ... Together with trade union leaders, we [living in exile in Paris] staged a demonstration against the imposition of martial law in Poland. Hundreds of thousands of Parisians marched behind us; nowhere else in the world did so many people join the protest. How proud I was of this city back then, and today I am once again proud of it." (08/04/2008)

The Times - United Kingdom

"Who says Sunday's Olympic torch relay in London was a shambles ? Who says the police were 'humiliated' ? A triumph, I call it. What are the Olympics about if not persistence, courage and goodwill towards foreigners (in this case Tibetans)?" asks columnist Libby Purves. "Western democracies had no need to go along with this relay. The international flame-tour is not time-honoured. Hitler invented it in 1936 with the torch coming from Greece to Germany as a pan-Aryan gesture. It did not catch on for 64 years, until Sydney touted it round the Pacific rim, again for political reasons. ... Joining in China's triumphalism is not necessary. Not right now, not with the suffering and injustice rife in Tibet. This torch procession is nakedly political and should not have been encouraged by our leaders... . Luckily, when the guttering flame reached London there were enough spirited protesters to save our national honour." (08/04/2008)

Diario Sur - Spain

The daily considers that the incidents in London and Paris "clash head-on with the values the Olympic Games should have and give us an idea of the protests which might occur during the competition, inside or outside the Olympic compound. ... China has committed an enormous error in under-estimating the conjunction of democratic societies and the fundamental objectives of the Olympic Charter - 'to promote a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity' - and in thinking that the success of this event would be guaranteed by spectacular financial investments. ... [The repression of the protests in Tibet] woke world public opinion up and unleashed a wave of sympathy for the Tibetan population, reminding us that China has too many holes in its democracy to spare the sporting competition." (08/04/2008)

L'Equipe - France

In London on April 6th, then in Paris yesterday, "the same popular message was expressed with the passage of the torch, which has become, due to the incompetence of the International Olympic committee (IOC) and Beijing's unwavering attitude, a spectacular symbol of human rights," writes the sports daily. "The outcry that ran from London to Paris faster than the torch bearers - who've paradoxically become the protesters' targets - is the shock that we will have to wait for the IOC. We hope that its president and its officials, who are terribly forgetful of their mission since they picked Beijing in 2001, assume their role and make some overtures towards the Chinese to remind them of their responsibilities laid out in the Olympic Charter. These are the Olympic games before they're the Beijing games." (08/04/2008)

» To the complete press review of Tuesday, April 8, 2008

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