BRUSSELS, Belgium — The Belgian government was not ruling out a boycott of the Beijing Olympics if the situation in Tibet worsens.
Vice-Premier Didier Reynders told Le Soir newspaper Wednesday that staying away from China "is not an option that we reserve today. But we can never exclude the worst." His comments came a day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested he could boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
The sports minister of the northern Belgian region of Flanders said he will not attend the opening ceremony in Beijing, as it could be used for propaganda purposes.
And in the European Parliament, some members wore T-shirts with the five Olympic rings shaped as handcuffs during Wednesday's session in Brussels. Some also had Tibetan flags draped over their seats.
Related Articles
But the leader of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile said the Olympics should take place "so that China conforms to the international rules and laws."
"It is left to the individual countries to decide, according to their conscience" whether or not they will boycott the Games, Karma Chophel said at the EU assembly.
He said the Tibetan government-in-exile was calling on the international community to intervene and stop the violence in Tibet. He also demanded the release of political prisoners and medical care for protesters injured during the Chinese clampdown.
Recent unrest in the Chinese province of Tibet has killed at least 22 people. The uprising was the broadest and most sustained against Chinese rule of the region in almost two decades.
It was against this backdrop that the Belgian government was holding out the possibility of a boycott.
"The government remains very attentive how the situation develops," Reynders said.
As things stood though, he stuck to the government line: "A boycott is not a good solution."
Bert Anciaux, the sports minister of the regional government of Flanders, said he would not go to the opening ceremony.
"If public opinion wants to give a signal about human rights violations and cultural rights, then the use of the opening ceremony is not bad," Anciaux said, adding he would "not try to be part of the Chinese propaganda machine."
He called on International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, who is also Belgian, to respond to the Tibetan events.
"It is high time that the IOC proves that granting the Games was not a blank check," Anciaux wrote on his website. "Now the IOC has to speak and say what it expects. To be silent now is to be complicit in the terror against Tibet and thousands of dissidents."
European governments had largely rejected any snub of the Olympics for political reasons.
Last week, European Union nations and Olympic committees opposed a boycott of the Beijing Games over the Tibet protests.
The EU sports ministers and Olympic committees said sports should not be linked to political issues and that previous Olympic boycotts had limited efficacy.
"A boycott will only destroy the dreams of thousands of athletes," Anciaux said.
