Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said she has visited China five or six times in as many years and “on every occasion I have sought to raise issues of specific human rights concern”. (Getty Images)Boycott not a Useful Tool, says Minister
British Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell insists any calls for a boycott of the Beijing Games would be counter-productive.
“A call for a boycott doesn't serve any purpose and it would be a great pity,” she told the Times newspaper.
“This doesn't mean, however, we should be distracted from the urgency of Darfur,” she added.
Jowell's comments came in the wake of Steven Spielberg's withdrawal as artistic advisor of the Beijing Olympics. The Hollywood filmmaker says he is abandoning his role in the Games because China is not doing enough to pressure Sudan to end human rights atrocities in Darfur.
Speaking on BBC Radio Thursday, the minister with responsibility for the London Olympics said it was reasonable to apply international pressure on China to change its stance on Darfur.
“I certainly think it's reasonable to use this window between now and the start of the Olympic Games in August when the eyes of the world will be on China to increase pressure for China to act as a responsible global citizen in relation to Darfur and its relationship with Sudan,” she said.
Admitting that China has a “very poor, disturbing record on human rights”, she claims the British government is engaged in ongoing diplomatic efforts to help improve the humanitarian crisis.
Jowell also says she has pressed Olympic organizers to ensure that freedoms extended to journalists in the run-up to this summer's Games will be maintained after the event.
“These freedoms, once they have been given, should not and cannot be taken back. We have to see how successful that is,” she said in the BBC Radio 4 interview.
“I think it's important to understand that results can be secured within a context of activism both by public diplomacy and publicly stated positions and also private negotiation,” she continued.
“If we are serious about seeing a real change in China, that China lives up to its promise to open itself to the world, then both approaches are necessary.”
Craig Reedie, IOC member and vice-president of the British Olympic Association, also dismissed any calls for a boycott of the Beijing Games over the Darfur issue, backing the International Olympic Committee's stance.
“Darfur is a civil war... and people will have strong views but the IOC is a sports organization and its contract is with the host city,” he was quoted in the Times.
“It does not become involved in politics of the host nation. Politics will not affect the organization of the Games.” “We are looking for solid support and for their best teams,” says ODA chair John Armitt of the Olympic stadium construction. (Getty Images)
ODA Wants 'Best Teams' for 2012 Projects
Three months before building work starts on London's Olympic Stadium, the chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority urges contractors to put their best teams on 2012 construction projects.
“This job is too high profile for B and C teams. If you put yourself in the contractors' position this is not the job where you want your reputation to suffer,” says John Armitt.
Construction firm Robert McAlpine is scheduled to start piling work on the $1 billion centerpiece of the Olympic Park at the end of May.
Armitt, who was appointed to the role in September, admitted in the interview with Construction News that the Olympics' high profile had led to a smaller number of bidders for the 80,000-seat stadium.
The Team McAlpine consortium – comprised of McAlpine, HOK Sport and Buro Happold -- was selected in October 2006 as the preferred bidder. It was the only consortium to meet all prequalification criteria. McAlpine built the main stadium for the Sydney 2000 Games.
Armitt claims 2012 faces competition from other big projects, which means some Olympics contracts have drawn fewer bidders.
Work on the stadium is beginning two months earlier than planned, with Armitt aiming for completion in spring 2011.
Armitt is speaking at ODA-sponsored conferences in Scotland and Wales in the coming weeks under efforts to get companies from across the UK involved in 2012 projects.
Next Wednesday he will be at the Constructing Excellence business conference in Perth, Scotland. Morag Stuart, the ODA head of procurement, is also a keynote speaker.
Scientists Involved in Park Clean-up
A high-tech lab at the Olympic Park is being used to help clean up the 2.5 sq km site, which has been contaminated with oil, petrol, tar, arsenic and lead following decades of industrial use.
Some 60 scientists, technicians and other specialist staff are testing thousands of tons of contaminated soil. They are also monitoring ground and surface water and air across the site to check for contamination and track clean-up progress on a weekly basis.
Construction Links at Olympic Park
A fourth temporary construction bridge is now in place at the Olympic Park. One kilometer of temporary roads also have been installed to allow for the movement of construction vehicles across the site. They will help to minimize disruption to public roads and bridges.
Along with the temporary infrastructure to aid construction activity, the ODA will build more than 30 permanent bridges and 20km of permanent roads in and around the Olympic Park to create an open and accessible area in Games time and legacy.
Piling works are also underway on the first permanent bridge to be built in the west of the Olympic Park.
Paralympian Heads Anti-doping Review
Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain’s top gold-medal winning Paralympian, will lead a UK Athletics review into anti-doping policy in the build-up to London 2012. Tanni Grey-Thompson retired from competition after the Visa Paralympic World Cup in 2007. (Getty Images)
The move follows this week's selection of Dwain Chambers to the British team for the International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships despite major concerns about his previous doping violations.
Grey-Thompson said the review panel would consider “every available option open to us” including the possibility of extended or lifetime bans from representing Britain, the right to control entry into UKA events and how future selection policies were framed.
“My mandate is clear and I believe the time is right for UKA to play a leading role in driving change through athletics to ensure that drug offenders cannot walk back into our sport unchallenged and untested,” she said.
Homepage photo by Getty Images
With reporting from Mark Bisson.
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