IOC hits out over protest zone use

tauringhuang.

By Roger Blitz

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
  

Olympic officials have for the first time openly criticised their Beijing hosts for China's intolerance of public protests, questioning their desire to allow citizens the right to raise grievances during the games.

The International Olympic Committee is also understood to believe that lower than expected attendances at games venues is the result of Beijing's poor distribution of tickets for the general public, including the failure to reallocate unwanted tickets.

The two criticisms represent the first splits to emerge between the IOC and the Beijing organising committee (Bocog).

tauringhuang.

IOC bonhomie was missing in its response to the admission from Beijing authorities on Monday that they had received 77 applications from would-be demonstrators to use special protest zones set up in city parks, but had approved none of them.

The IOC told the Financial Times: “The IOC is not in a position to dictate to city authorities how to run their affairs, however, protest zones are a best practice from previous Olympic host cities for dealing with peaceful protesters who use the platform of the Olympic Games.

“We continue to ask for greater transparency from Beijing city authorities concerning the official protest zones in parks near Olympic venues and would like to see them genuinely used in Beijing.”

Bocog has been repeatedly asked by journalists to provide figures for protest park applications, and several prospective demonstrators have been detained by police. Activist groups have dismissed the Beijing authorities' claim that the applications were withdrawn because the nature of the grievances had been settled.

The IOC also said it was reviewing the distribution of the 6.8m games tickets. Beijing organisers announced prior to the games that all venues were sold out.