Heated protests at Chinese consulate in Australia
CANBERRA, March 18 (Reuters) - About 100 pro-Tibet protesters clashed with police outside the Chinese consulate in Sydney on Tuesday as an Australian politician called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics over the China's crackdown in Tibet.
The protesters in Sydney burned Chinese flags and called for an end to violence in Tibet. Police restrained several people who charged towards the consulate gates.
Exiled representatives of Tibet in India said 80 people were killed in Lhasa last week during protests against Chinese rule, but Chinese authorities said they had exercised restraint in their response to burning and looting, and only 13 people had died.
In Canberra, Andrew Bartlett, a senator from the minor Australian Democrats party, urged athletes and sport fans to shun the Olympics due to the events in Tibet.
"We can't just turn a blind eye just because we all love our sport," Bartlett said. "We've all got a role to play here, and we've all got a role to play in speaking out about these things."
But the Australia-Tibet Council said it did not support an Olympics boycott, while the Australian government, which supports China's sovereignty over Tibet, has also played down suggestions the latest incidents will have an impact on the Olympics.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, who has urged China to show restraint, said the Olympics and more open exchanges between China and the rest of the world, wall helped China improve its human rights record.
"I very strongly believe that we should not in any way bring the Olympics or call the Olympics into question," Smith told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television. (Reporting by James Grubel; Editing by Michael Perry)
The protesters in Sydney burned Chinese flags and called for an end to violence in Tibet. Police restrained several people who charged towards the consulate gates.
Exiled representatives of Tibet in India said 80 people were killed in Lhasa last week during protests against Chinese rule, but Chinese authorities said they had exercised restraint in their response to burning and looting, and only 13 people had died.
In Canberra, Andrew Bartlett, a senator from the minor Australian Democrats party, urged athletes and sport fans to shun the Olympics due to the events in Tibet.
"We can't just turn a blind eye just because we all love our sport," Bartlett said. "We've all got a role to play here, and we've all got a role to play in speaking out about these things."
But the Australia-Tibet Council said it did not support an Olympics boycott, while the Australian government, which supports China's sovereignty over Tibet, has also played down suggestions the latest incidents will have an impact on the Olympics.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, who has urged China to show restraint, said the Olympics and more open exchanges between China and the rest of the world, wall helped China improve its human rights record.
"I very strongly believe that we should not in any way bring the Olympics or call the Olympics into question," Smith told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television. (Reporting by James Grubel; Editing by Michael Perry)
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