Carol Anne Letheren, CEO of the Canadian Olympic Association and an IOC member, said protests and a suicide in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square by followers of Falun Gong will not go unnoticed by the International Olympic Committee.
Letheren told The Toronto Star that as much as the incidents themselves, IOC members look at the response. “Many causes will use the Olympic Games to push their issues, but it’s a question of how they’re handled. I think Canadians have a reputation of looking after people, of showing a tremendous respect for people.”
Toronto is one of the four cities competing against Beijing to host the 2008 Summer Games. Beijing is considered the frontrunner.
And just last week Czech IOC member Jan Zelezny said that Beijing could be hurt by political issues.
“The problem with Beijing is that it still does not have…the sort of freedoms we have in Europe”, he said. “If the Games are awarded to Beijing, the organization will be great, but there is a political problem. After all the difficulties that the IOC has had, it may not be the best thing to do to award them the Olympic Games now.”
