Beijing
10 April 2008
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge is reaffirming that athletes at the Beijing Olympics will have free speech. But, at the same time, he says the IOC is issuing guidelines against demonstrations or displays of propaganda. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing.
Freedom of speech has become a hot topic, as Olympic athletes around the world question how much they can express their personal political views while taking part in the Beijing Olympics in August.
The IOC president says he was sad to see protests against the Olympic torch relay in London and Paris, especially any that resulted in violence against torch bearers. Despite the chaos, he says there are no plans to curtail this torch relay. But he says, after the Beijing Olympics are over, the IOC will examine whether future torch relays should be global.
"All options are open," he said. "I just want to remind you that the novelty of going international started with Athens (Olympics in 2000). And, it was a resounding success. Now, of course, we have more difficulties, so we will have to assess what we do later on."
He acknowledges there is what he calls a "crisis," in the run-up to the current Olympics. But he is asking people to put it in perspective, saying "the IOC has weathered many bigger storms," including past boycotts and a deadly terrorist attack at the Munich games in 1972.