Sarkozy sets goalposts for Beijing visit

[KhmerSpirits]

Saturday April 5, 11:10 PM
Sarkozy sets goalposts for Beijing visit

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics unless China opens talks with the Dalai Lama, France's Human Rights Minister Rama Yade said.

"The end of violence against the people and the release of political prisoners, an investigation into what has been going on in Tibet and the start of a dialogue with the Dalai Lama," said Yade, spelling out the conditions for Sarkozy's attendance.

The French leader will decide whether to visit the Games in August after consulting his European Union partners, Yade told Le Monde newspaper in an interview.

The Olympic torch is due to arrive in Paris on Monday as part of a global relay ahead of the Summer Games and pro-Tibet protests are expected to snarl its progress through the city.

Fresh rioting broke out in a Tibetan area of China this week despite a security crackdown and threats of tough punishment for anyone involved in the unrest, which first blew up last month.

Many western countries have called on Beijing to hold talks with Tibetan Buddhism's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

China has dismissed the idea and accused him of orchestrating the violence from his exile in India.

Yade said she understood the emotions sparked by Tibet and urged China to live up to its promises to promote human rights.

"If China does not rise to the challenge of human rights, the Games will be symbolised by events in Tibet," she said.

She also criticised China for condemning dissident Hu Jia to three and a half years in prison last week for inciting subversion and criticising the ruling Communist party.

"We are asking for the immediate release of Hu Jia," she said. "A China without human rights will never become a truly great country."