Olympics boycott 'justified', says EU Parliament chief[fr][de] 

"If there continue to be no signals of compromise, I consider boycott measures to be justified," Pöttering told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag in an interview on 23 March.

"We should not exclude the possibility of a boycott of the Beijing Olympics. We want a successful Games, but not at the price of the cultural genocide of the Tibetans," he added.

Pöttering's remarks come ahead of a plenary session in the European Parliament where foreign policy is expected to be high on the agenda, with a debate on the Middle East set to take place today (25 March). The debate will involve Quartet representative Tony Blair, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

The suggestion of a boycott has attracted little support in Europe, with Kouchner the only senior politician to express initial sympathy for the idea before backing away from it. 

In a statement last week, EU sports ministers unanimously declared themselves against the idea, saying the Beijing Games could instead contribute to "establishing an environment in which human rights are respected" in China. 

In Germany, the Olympic Games committee (DOSB) has expressed concern about the ongoing violence in Tibet but decided against calling for a boycott. In a statement issued on Monday (24 March), DOSB President Thomas Bach said "sport is not a suitable tool to be used to apply political pressure".

"Sport is not in a position to solve the problems that neither the United Nations nor individual governments were able to resolve despite decades of effort."

Furthermore, the DOSB said history proves boycotts simply do not work. "The 1980 Olympics boycott in Moscow did not have any positive impact whatsoever on the Soviet Union's military invasion of Afghanistan," said the DOSB statement signed by Bach.

In Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, clashes between protesters and anti-riot police have reportedly claimed the lives of several activists over the past fortnight. The numbers could not be confirmed independently due to travel restrictions imposed on foreigners and the media.

In a statement issued last week, Pöttering asked the Chinese authorities to give journalists free access to all parts of Tibet in order to report on the current situation on the ground. "Human rights standards include freedom of expression," he said.

China has accused the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, of masterminding the protests and attempting to sabotage the Games.