After a year of intense lobbying and campaigning by thousands of Free Tibet Campaign supporters and the International Tibet Support Network, Dr Jacques Rogge has finally agreed to meet to discuss our concerns with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) planning process for Beijing 2008. Rogge finally accepted Free Tibet Campaign's request to meet whilst he was on a whirlwind visit to the UK for the Commonwealth Games in August. 

However, the IOC continues to appear reluctant to engage in a full dialogue on the issue of human rights with Hein Verbruggen, the chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Beijing making a claim for "political neutrality". Following our uncovering of the IOC's zero tolerance licence for protest with its stipulation to host cities that they were not to allow political demonstrations or meetings to take place in the Olympic city during the Games, the web page containing this information was removed from the IOC site.

The opportunity to help improve China's deteriorating human rights record is currently being lost in the face of a public relations offensive by Beijing and the IOC to convince the world that the Olympic Games are on track and that human rights do not fall under their umbrella. Indeed, Hein Verbruggen commented on his third visit to Beijing in August 2002 that, "It is abundantly clear that Beijing is extremely proud to be hosting the 2008 Olympic Games, and that the city and the people of China enthusiastically welcome the opportunities which hosting the world's greatest sporting event brings". (IOC Press Release, 9 August 2002). The fact that dissent is ruthlessly suppressed appears to have escaped the IOC's attention so far.

However, we remain cautiously hopeful that Jacques Rogge will take on board our concerns on human rights at the 21 October meeting at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne. In addition, Free Tibet Campaign will join forces with other Tibet groups to ensure that all IOC delegates at the 114th Congress in Mexico are left in no doubt that human rights need to come at the top of its agenda.

To find out what happened at the meeting, click here.