Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, in Beijing on a trade mission, says it’s not his concern whether a country’s human rights’ record is a factor in deciding if it wins the right to host the Olympic Games.
Toronto and Beijing are two of five cities bidding to host the 2008 Summer Games. A decision is to be made in July by the International Olympic Committee.
Chretien said Canada can’t tell other member countries how to judge the host city. He added that since Canada fully supports Toronto’s bid on its own merits to host the Games, human rights’ considerations are simply not an issue. “Many countries will vote” on the host city, he said. “For us, there’s no problem (with weighing human rights issues); we’re voting for Canada, and for the others, it’s up to them to make up their minds.
“I do think that Toronto has the best bid and … we will make the argument in front of the committee and, of course, the Chinese will make their own argument but I believe that Canada is in a very good position to win”, said Chretien.
