1. Lord Sebastien Coe,the London Olympic Committee chairman, puts own
foot into mouth.
2. 2012 Games may not get to run International Torch Relay.
3. Who cares anyway.
London may forgo 2012 procession after global protests against Beijing
Games· IOC revising organisers' proposal for world relay
· Officials concerned over damage to Olympic brand
Paul Kelso, Vikram Dodd and Tania Branigan
The Guardian, Tuesday April 8 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/08/olympicgames2008.china2
The International Olympic Committee will consider abandoning plans for
an international torch relay in advance of the 2012 Games following
the violent protests that accompanied the Olympic flame's progress
through Paris and London in the past two days.
Olympic sources said yesterday the IOC was likely to review its
position on relays in light of the clashes, a move that would
undermine Britain's plans to stage an international event in the
build-up to 2012. During their successful bid the London Games'
organisers committed to holding a domestic relay, and said they would
consider staging an international "journey of hope and
reconciliation".
After Sunday's troubled event in London, those plans were already
under review. The IOC's move may yet take the decision out of their
hands.
A spokeswoman for the London Games said organisers were committed to a
domestic torch relay but no decision had been taken on the
international leg. Senior IOC members and representatives of all 205
national Olympic committees are meeting in Beijing this week. While
coverage of events in Paris and London has been censored by the
Chinese authorities, it has been fiercely debated by delegates.
Lord Coe, the London Olympic Committee chairman, described the Chinese
security guards escorting the torch as "thugs", it emerged last night.
His comments were overheard by Channel 4 News after a re****ter was
inadvertently connected to a private telephone conversation between
Coe and a press officer.
Discussing the French leg of the relay, Coe said the organisers should
"get rid of those guys". He added: "They tried to push me out of the
way three times. They are horrible. They did not speak English ... I
think they were thugs." A spokeswoman for London 2012 confirmed Coe
had made the remarks.
International coverage of the demonstrations in Paris and London has
been a public relations disaster for Beijing, which conceived the
torch relay as "a journey of harmony". The torch has become a
lightning rod for opponents of the Chinese regime and Beijing is
braced for further embarrassment when the torch arrives in San
Francisco tomorrow.
Protesters in San Francisco climbed the Golden Gate bridge yesterday
as organisers were forced to change the route of the relay. The
original route took the torch across the bridge and included a stop in
Chinatown. All those elements have been removed in favour of a modest
six-mile loop along the city's waterfront.
The IOC is aware of the damage the global protests could do to the
Olympic brand, but insists that issues relating to China have prompted
the protests.
Jacques Rogge, the IOC's president, took the unusual step of publicly
questioning Chinese policy in Tibet when he addressed Olympic
delegates in Beijing. "I am very concerned with the international
situation and what is happening," he said. "The torch relay has been
targeted. The IOC has expressed its serious concern and calls for a
rapid peaceful resolution in Tibet."
At a press conference in Beijing, torch relay organisers condemned the
actions of a "small number of pro-Tibet independence activists" and
said local people in London "strongly condemned the attempt to
sabotage the torch relay".
In London the Metropolitan police defended their policing of the
relay, during which 37 people were arrested, but admitted they had
been surprised by the sustained intensity of the protests. Commander
Bob Broadhurst, who was in charge of policing on Sunday, said: "We
have ended with a spectacle that was not as dignified as I would have
hoped, for the Metropolitan police, the torch or the Olympic
movement." Broadhurst denied claims that police had arrested people
for wearing T-****rts with pro-Tibet slogans.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of the civil rights group Liberty, said:
"Who were the chilling figures in blue running in formation with the
relay and who authorised them to scuffle with protesters and policemen
alike? At a time when even security guards are regulated by law, what
was [their] remit and rules of engagement?"
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