Olympia 2008 führt zu mehr Unterdrückung in China

Neuigkeiten für alle, die das noch nicht ahnen konnten: die Olympiade 2008 in Peking wird ein Meilenstein. Amnesty International betont daran diejenigen Aspekte, über die sich offiziell oftimmer ausgeschwiegen wird: die Olympiade als Vorwand, im inneren auf die härtere Art „aufzuräumen“ und die Menschenwürde zu mißachten. Aus den Taipei Times von vorgestern:

Amnesty, accused by Beijing last year of mounting politically motivated attacks on China, welcomed new measures adopted recently by Chinese authorities concerning the death penalty and media freedoms. But it said they were overshadowed by the state’s obsession with stability and a „strike hard“ policy adopted to counter peaceful dissent.

The London-based group said the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which awarded China the 2008 Games, should use its „significant influence“ on the Chinese authorities to continue to raise human rights issues in the run-up to the Games.

The IOC executive board, meeting in Beijing recently, said it was a sports organization with no political role.

The Amnesty report cited a call by China’s minister of police last month for a crackdown on „hostile forces“ including religious sects and separatists ahead of the Olympics.

Amnesty ist eine gute Quelle für weitere schlechte Nachrichten:

„The new extra layer of judicial review for death sentences and the relaxation of restrictions on foreign journalists are important steps towards better respect for human rights in China. Disappointingly, they have been matched by moves to expand detention without trial and ‘house arrest’ of activists, and by a tightening of controls over domestic media and the Internet,“ said Catherine Baber, Deputy Asia Pacific Director at Amnesty International.

„The failure to ensure equal rights and freedoms for both foreign and domestic journalists smacks of double standards — China has yet to meet its promise to ensure ‚complete media freedom‘ for the Olympics.“

An overriding pre-occupation with ‘stability’ and ‘a good social environment’ for the hosting of the Olympics appears to inform this approach. While such concerns are understandable for any country holding such a major international event, policies and practices must be founded on respect for rule of law and human rights, or they risk fuelling further discontent.

Es wird bis August 2008 noch mehr solcher Nachrichten geben müssen.