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IOC Head: We Can Weather Torch 'Crisis'

Dalai Lama supports Chinese Olympics —and open protests

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 10, 2008 11:15 AM CDT
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(Newser) – The protests following the Olympic torch around the globe are a “crisis,” but the International Olympic Committee has faced worse, its chief said today. The Games, he said, would “rebound," the BBC reports. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama said China “deserved” to host, CNN reports. "We are not anti-Chinese," the Tibetan spiritual leader said. But he also supports the protesters' right to be heard: "Nobody has the right to tell them to shut up."

Rogge said while this year’s relay would continue, the Committee may not hold future international runs. He added that the Committee had hoped “awarding the games to China would advance the social agenda of China, including human rights." Replied a Chinese official: "We hope that the IOC officials can eliminate the disruptions and stick to the clearly stated principles in the Olympic charter."

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and officials with IOC heads Jacques Rogge, center, and Hei Verbruggen, right, in Beijing, April 9, 2008.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and officials with IOC heads Jacques Rogge, center, and Hei Verbruggen, right, in Beijing, April 9, 2008.   (AP Photo/Color China Photo)
International Olympic Committee Chairman Jacques Rogge speaks at the opening of the IOC executive board meeting in Beijing Thursday April 10, 2008.
International Olympic Committee Chairman Jacques Rogge speaks at the opening of the IOC executive board meeting in Beijing Thursday April 10, 2008.   (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge listens to a question at a press conference in Beijing Thursday, April 10, 2008.
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge listens to a question at a press conference in Beijing Thursday, April 10, 2008.   (AP Photo/Greg Baker)
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama speaks during a press conference at a conference room in a hotel near Narita international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Thursday, April 10, 2008.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama speaks during a press conference at a conference room in a hotel near Narita international airport in Narita, east of Tokyo, Thursday, April 10, 2008.   (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)
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Torch route change doesn't stop SF protesters
San Francisco Chronicle

SF torch runners describe their experiences
San Francisco Chronicle

Dalai Lama: don't tell protesters to 'shut up'
New York Times

 
2008 Beijing Olympics • Tibet • Dalai Lama • Jacques Rogge • International Olympic Committee • Olympic protests • torch relay

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