OTTAWA—On the eve of the Beijing Olympics, Liberal MP Irwin Cotler released a report that highly criticizes China’s ongoing human rights abuses despite promising to make improvements when awarded the Games in 2001.
“What we are witnessing today in China is a persistent and pervasive assault on human rights — a betrayal of the Olympic Charter, the modern Olympic movement, and China’s pledge to respect both,” said Mr. Cotler at a press conference on Parliament Hill.
The report identifies 11 key areas of human rights violations by the Chinese regime. They include Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners and other persecuted groups; the crackdown on press freedom; mistreatment of prisoners; the death penalty; and complicity in genocide and rights abuses in countries such as Darfur, Zimbabwe, Burma, and Nepal.
“China undertook, in their words, to respect human rights, to respect media freedom, and then they added, ‘we will translate these words into deeds,’” Mr. Cotler said at an interview following the press conference. “Yet seven years later, the deeds mock the words.”
Mr. Cotler urged foreign governments to “speak up and speak out” and in particular asked world leaders attending the Beijing Olympics to call publicly for the release of political prisoners.
His report includes names of specific prisoners and makes recommendations with respect to each category.
“What we are witnessing today in China is a persistent and pervasive assault on human rights — a betrayal of the Olympic Charter, the modern Olympic movement, and China’s pledge to respect both,” said Mr. Cotler at a press conference on Parliament Hill.
The report identifies 11 key areas of human rights violations by the Chinese regime. They include Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners and other persecuted groups; the crackdown on press freedom; mistreatment of prisoners; the death penalty; and complicity in genocide and rights abuses in countries such as Darfur, Zimbabwe, Burma, and Nepal.
“China undertook, in their words, to respect human rights, to respect media freedom, and then they added, ‘we will translate these words into deeds,’” Mr. Cotler said at an interview following the press conference. “Yet seven years later, the deeds mock the words.”
Mr. Cotler urged foreign governments to “speak up and speak out” and in particular asked world leaders attending the Beijing Olympics to call publicly for the release of political prisoners.
His report includes names of specific prisoners and makes recommendations with respect to each category.
