Irish Daily Mirror, 2nd April 2008

GOAL chief John O’Shea calls for Irish Olympic protest to send China a human rights message

It is almost certain that the international community is not going to take any meaningful action which will result in the abandonment of the Beijing Olympics - and that in itself is sad.

What this tells us is that the international community is not remotely concerned about the lives of the millions of people who are threatened by the behaviour of the Chinese regime.

As a sportsman myself, the last thing I would want to do is interfere with an athlete’s chance to shine on the world stage. Sport brings out the best in all of us - but unfortunately these Olympics will only serve as a celebration for humanities worst traits. In this case, there are considerations bigger than sport at play.

If there was another way of convincing China to honour its obligations to its fellow human beings then I would be looking towards that. If there was an economic solution, a military solution or a diplomatic solution I would much rather see the international community take that road.  The fact is that China has in the last number of years established itself as a burgeoning economic giant that the world cannot afford to ignore. No member of the international community wants to upset them for fear of losing Chinese business.

The only arrow left in the quiver of the international community is the Olympic Games. Since the building of the Great Wall nothing has mattered more to the Chinese. They want to use these Games as a showcase of the phenomenal power China has become. If something was to interfere with that, then there is a possibility – just a possibility - that they would look differently at the brutalisation of Tibet and their unwavering support for the brutal Sudanese regime.

That is why I have been asking for the Irish government to threaten - and I stress threaten – to pull out of the Games. There was no point in a small nation like Ireland committing ourselves to a boycott and then finding that we were left as a sole voice of reason in the world. But we could have been the catalyst for other countries to voice their protest against the actions of China.

While it is now obvious from Minister Ahern’s comments yesterday that the Government will not threaten a boycott, I know that there are many rank and file Irish people who are rightly concerned that China is hosting these Games. A simple act of protest would be to turn off the television while the Games are taking place. 

By refusing to watch the Beijing Olympics we can show the Chinese that Irish people will not tolerate their blatant disregard for human rights. Much like the Dunnes Stores workers who refused to handle South African oranges during Apartheid, this relatively small gesture could carry a huge message all the way to Beijing.  

By allowing China to continue abusing the people Tibet – as seen in the powerful Dispatches programme on Channel 4 on Monday night – and by letting them prop up the Sudanese government while they commit genocide in Darfur, the international community are effectively saying that they can do what they like to the world’s most vulnerable people and not stand in their way.

It is sending out a shocking message for vulnerable millions who will require assistance in the years ahead.