02 April 2008
Olympics ban "not best way" on Tibet: White House
(AFP) US Congressional moves to prevent President Bush from going to the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony are "not the best way" to deal with the Tibet crisis, the White House has said. A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives compelling the US leader to skip the ceremony while 15 lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats, asked Bush to "renounce" his decision to attend games. The legislation wanted "to prohibit federal government officials and employees" from attending the Olympics opening session based upon China's "brutalizing protesters in Tibet". "We share concerns on Tibet and other issues, but efforts to prohibit US attendance at this international sporting event are not the best way to address them", said National Security Council spokeswoman Katherine Starr. The US leader has said he plans to attend the Olympic Games in August.