French minister rows back on Olympic conditions

By Crispian Balmer

PARIS (Reuters) - France's human rights minister denied on Saturday saying that President Nicolas Sarkozy had laid out specific conditions to his attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

Earlier, Le Monde had quoted Rama Yade as saying that Sarkozy would boycott the ceremony unless China opened talks with the Dalai Lama, released political prisoners and investigated recent unrest in Tibet.

Hours after the publication of the interview, Yade issued a brief statement denying the remarks attributed to her.

"I want to point out that during the interview I gave to a journalist with Le Monde ... the term 'conditions' was not used," her statement said.

"The president has said all options remain open and that he will make a decision on whether to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games when the time is right, depending on how the situation in Tibet develops," she added.

Le Monde said it stood by its interview.

France has struggled to find a coherent response to the violence in Tibetan regions of China and the subsequent crackdown on protesters ordered by Beijing.

It was one of the first countries to suggest shunning the opening ceremony of the games on August 8 but later rowed back on this, suggesting its economic ties with China were too important to risk jeopardising with a boycott.

Sarkozy later said he might yet skip the opening of the games and insisted he would only take a decision after consulting with his European Union allies.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown made clear on Saturday he would be in Beijing for August 8.

"The Dalai Lama himself has said he does not want to see a boycott of the Olympics and that is why I have said that as host of the 2012 Olympics, I will attend the (Beijing) Olympics, as I know others will do," he said, speaking in England.

London is set to stage the 2012 games.

Yade told Le Monde she understood the emotions sparked by Tibet and urged China to live up to its promises to promote human rights. "Without human rights, China will never become a truly great country," she said.

The Olympic torch is due to arrive in Paris on Monday as part of a global relay ahead of the summer games and pro-Tibet protests are expected to snarl its progress through the city.

Police sources said security forces would provide the sort of cover normally awarded to a visiting head of state to ensure the passage of the flame was not disrupted.

(Additional reporting by Sebastian Tong in London; Editing by Caroline Drees)