Funnily enough for a man whose Government which pushed through a much heralded Human Rights Act, Chief Minister Jon Stanhope has not had much to say about China’s latest bout of repression in Tibet.
But he is worried about the potential effects of protests in Canberra sparked by the Chinese brutality.
“I haven’t slipped to that level of despair yet,” he said on ABC radio.
“I haven’t got to the point of despairing that the relay won’t be a wonderful celebration of the Olympic games, the Olympic spirit.”
Given that the torch relay was instituted by the Nazis for the 1936 Berlin games, perhaps it is a particularly apt tribute to the Olympic spirit, considering the totalitarian state hosting this year’s extravaganza. The idea chimed perfectly with the Nazi belief that classical Greece was an Aryan forerunner of the modern German Reich.
It is interesting that Stanhope would be in “despair” about protesters pointing out gross human rights abuses.
Perhaps its easier to posture when you’re not confronting a major trading partner. Oh, and of course Canberra and Beijing are sister cities. How sweet.
Stanhope: We had very positive feelings about the opportunities to present Canberra to strengthen our ties with Beijing, sister cities and through that, to celebrate the Olympic spirit, and I guess there’s a level of anxiety now in my breast and I think within the hearts of those involved with the organisation about whether we can achieve those objectives.
In the 7.30 Report item Rob de Castella complains: What I learnt from that is that the Olympics and sport is an easy mark. It’s easily exploited and manipulated by organisations or individuals with different agendas.
How disingenuous. The torch procession was instituted as an innately political act to bolster Hitler’s fantasies of an Aryan brotherhood. So it’s a bit rich to whinge about human rights protesters interrupting the smooth flow of its latest incarnation … a distateful piece of propaganda for the brutal Chinese regime.
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