Obama ‘in two minds’ about Beijing boycott

US SENATOR Barack Obama said he is conflicted about whether the US should be a full participant in this summer’s Olympics in Beijing because of China’s human rights record.

“I am of two minds about this,” the Democratic presidential hopeful said in an interview aired yesterday on CBS’ The Early Show. “On the one hand, I think that what has happened in Tibet, China’s support for the Sudanese government in Darfur, is a real problem.”

Still, Obama said: “I am hesitant to make the Olympics a site of political protest, because I think it’s partly about bringing the world together.”

Obama also expressed concern about Chinese trade practices.

“I am a strong believer in free trade, but I think that we have not been very savvy negotiators when it comes to China,” said Obama. “I think they’ve played us. They definitely are stealing our intellectual property, and that has direct consequences in terms of the bottom line for businesses here in the United States.”

Tibetan unrest called attention to Beijing’s human rights record in the Himalayan region at a time when Chinese leaders had hoped for a peaceful run-up to the Olympics.

On Tuesday, 15 House members urged President Bush to reconsider his decision to attend the Beijing Olympics. Their letter cited the crackdown in Tibet, the Beijing government’s close economic ties with the government of Sudan and recent suppression of religious and human rights advocates.

In February, Hollywood director Steven Spielberg withdrew as an artistic adviser to the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies over China’s support for the Sudan Government.

Meanwhile, former Indiana Representative Lee Hamilton endorsed Obama for president yesterday, praising his ability to transcend partisan division and calling his foreign policy outlook “pragmatic, visionary, and tough”.

Hamilton, who during a 30-year House career rose to be chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees, also was vice-chairman of the September 11 Commission.

His endorsement could boost Obama’s national security standing.

“Barack Obama has the best opportunity to create a new sense of national unity and to transcend divisions within this country, not by ignoring them or smoothing them over, but by working together with candour and civility to meet our challenges,” Hamilton said in a statement released by Obama’s campaign.