euro|topics - Terror in the run-up to the Olympics

08/09/2008

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Main focus of Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Terror in the run-up to the Olympics

Just a few days before the Olympic Games are due to begin in Beijing, 16 policemen have been killed in an attack in China's north-western Xinjiang region. The Chinese authorities blame Uyghur separatists for the attack. Europe's press discusses the repercussions for the games.

Die Presse - Austria

The daily Die Presse fears security measures for the Olympic Games will be further tightened in the wake of the attack in the Chinese province of Xinjiang: "The attack on a group of police officers in the western province of Xinjiang has confirmed the worst fears of the Chinese security forces. For weeks they have been warning that the games in Beijing are threatened by 'unprecedented terror'. The past months have seen a ream of security measures introduced: 100,000 soldiers have been stationed in Beijing and control posts have been set up. ... Following the massacre, the security precautions - which already border on repression - will be further tightened. The chances for peaceful, festive games are dwindling." (05/08/2008)

El País - Spain

The daily El País predicts that the international community will closely monitor China's reaction to the attack: "The fact that this terrorist attack, which is interpreted as a major protest in the run-up to the sports event, occurred ... 4,000 kilometres away from the capital does nothing to lessen its nightmare character for the government, which is doing everything in its power to prevent any distractions from the games. ... Even though it is understandable and justifiable that China wants to use the games to showcase its power and progress, the country's brutal shortcomings are preventing the international community from adopting the benevolent and neutral stance the [Chinese] leadership wants it to take. ... From Friday on China will come under the close scrutiny [of the rest of the world]. It can demand objectivity and a certain positive attitude of its observers, but it cannot expect them to close their eyes to reality." (05/08/2008)

Financial Times Deutschland - Germany

The Financial Times Deutschland warns the international community not to apply double standards regarding China's battle against terrorism: "A state can only react harshly when faced with terrorist attacks, particularly when they occur in the run-up to a major event. China's leadership must do all it can to guarantee security at the games, and there are many indications that violent separatists are trying to use the Olympics as a forum for furthering their own interests. The authorities have pointed to the possibility of attacks on several occasions and claim to have already foiled plans for large-scale attacks. This kind of claim is difficult to corroborate but nor can they simply be brushed off. In China, as in other authoritarian states, the way minorities are treated is a major problem. ... [Therefore] it is right to call attention to the plight of minorities and demand that China grant them more freedom. But by the same token Beijing has the right to combat terrorism." (05/08/2008)

» To the complete press review of Tuesday, August 5, 2008

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