THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS — The head of the French National Olympic Committee has ruled out allowing his athletes to wear a badge at the Beijing Games that reads "For a Better World," angering athletes and others who want to express their views on human rights.
French athletes came up with the idea of a badge after China’s crackdown on protests in March in Tibet.
The decision to ban the badge "puts into question the fundamental values of the Olympic spirit," French pole vaulter Romain Mesnil said Tuesday on Europe-1 radio.
French Olympic Committee chief Henri Serandour told L’Equipe TV on Monday night that the Olympic Charter must be respected. The decision nixes the athletes’ plan to show their attachment to Olympic values and human rights via the small badge bearing the five Olympic rings.
The Olympic Charter rules out any kind of "demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda" at all "Olympic sites, venues or other areas."
French Sports Minister Bernard Laporte noted that the words "for a better world" are inscribed in the charter, too.
"This badge is not aggressive at all, on the contrary," he told reporters Tuesday. He said he found it "regrettable" that athletes would be forbidden to wear the badge — but appeared resigned to the Olympic committee decision.
French athletes "sent their message." Now, he said on France-3 TV, "they have to concentrate on" the Olympic Games.
Serandour said that with more than 200 countries at the Games, some of whose athletes have their own causes, "We can’t wear a badge for this cause, a badge for that cause."
"We are going to respect the Charter."
Some French athletes have been strongly critical of the crackdown in Tibet and China’s human rights record. They argued that wearing a "Better World" badge would be their way of showing their attachment to world values they accused China of not respecting.
"We are perhaps at a pivotal moment," said Mesnil, the pole vaulter and president of the French athletes’ union. "And if we swing to the side of all marketing, we’ll lose a bit of the fundamentals of the Olympics."
He said it was clear that "everything will be … well done" at the Beijing Games, but "We merit human Olympic Games."
The head of the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said the decision announced by Serandour represented a slap in the face for athletes.
"What a lack of courage," Robert Menard said on France-Info radio.
"We welcomed this initiative, stressing that they could have gone further … but even this minimum isn’t accepted by the Olympic movement," said Menard.
Reporters Without Borders has been pushing for a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Aug. 8-24 Games.
