Olympics in ‘crisis’ over torch relay protests

Four months before the opening of what was supposed to be the grandest Olympics in history, the head of the International Olympic Committee is using words that convey anything but a sense of joyous enthusiasm.

The protest-marred Olympic torch relay and international criticism of China’s policies on Tibet, Darfur and human rights have turned the Beijing Games into one of the most politically charged in recent history and presented the IOC with one of its toughest tests since the boycott era of the 1970s and ’80s.

‘It is a crisis, there is no doubt about that,’ IOC President Jacques Rogge said Thursday. ‘But the IOC has weathered many bigger storms.’

At the same time, Rogge called on China to respect its ‘moral engagement’ to improve human rights and to fulfill promises of greater media freedom. He also reaffirmed the right of free speech for athletes at the Beijing Games.

Rogge spoke in Beijing just hours after the completion of the torch relay in San Francisco, where the route was shortened and the flame diverted to prevent disruptions by massive crowds of anti-China protesters.

Rogge’s use of the word ‘crisis’ to describe the torch relay and the Beijing buildup came as a surprise. The Belgian orthopedic surgeon’s comments usually are measured and low-key.

He cited previous crises ‘ the attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics and the boycotts of the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Games.

‘The history of the Olympic Games is fraught by a lot of challenges,’ Rogge said. ‘This is a challenge but you cannot compare to what we had in the past.’

After the chaos caused by pro-Tibet demonstrators during torch relays in London and Paris, IOC officials were relieved the North American leg passed without any injuries.

Earlier in the week, IOC officials had contemplated possibly cutting short the international leg of the relay, but Rogge said Thursday that was not an option. That doesn’t mean, however, that local officials still might not shorten existing routes if security demands it.

Already, the head of the committee organizing the torch run in Indonesia said the route will be significantly shortened because of Chinese concerns it might attract pro-Tibet protests.

The relay, scheduled for April 22, was originally planned to follow a 10-mile course in Jakarta, but now it will only travel in the vicinity of the city’s main sports stadium, said Sumohadi Marsis, the head of the organizing committee.

The flame will be carried through Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Friday, with a dozen other countries still to come. The relay also is expected to face demonstrations in New Delhi, India, which has a substantial Tibetan population, and possibly elsewhere on its 21-stop tour before arriving in mainland China on May 4. The Olympics begin Aug. 8.

The future of international torch relays is in serious doubt, however. Rogge said ‘all options are open’ for future games, including restricting the relays to the territory of the host country, a policy favored by a large number of IOC members. Athens, in 2004, was the first host city to organize a global relay.

Rogge said the issue would be reviewed later in the year ‘ ‘not in the heat of this week’s events.’