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WASHINGTON : Democratic White House candidate Hillary Clinton on Monday urged President George W. Bush to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, saying he should press China over Tibet and Darfur.
"The violent clashes in Tibet and the failure of the Chinese government to use its full leverage with Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur are opportunities for presidential leadership," Clinton said.
"These events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy towards China," she said.
"At this time, and in light of recent events, I believe President Bush should not plan on attending the opening ceremonies in Beijing, absent major changes by the Chinese government," the former first lady added.
Before Clinton's call, White House spokesman Tony Fratto reiterated the administration's opposition to demands for leaders to boycott the Beijing Olympics.
"I think our views on this have been very clear and the president's views on this have been very clear," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, adding Bush has not been shy about confronting China about its human rights record.
"We have a great deal of concern about human rights in China and the tools that are available to people in free democracies, free speech and freedom of assembly, and we have never been afraid to express those views either directly by the president or the president's senior advisers when they travel to China and publicly," he told reporters.
"The Olympics will take place, and we expect the Olympic - American qualifying Olympic athletes to participate in those games," he said.
Clinton's call came five days after the White House rejected moves in Congress to press the president to skip the ceremony in protest.
"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," National Security Council spokeswoman Katherine Starr said last week.
She said the Olympics were "a time for the United States to support our great, young men and women athletes as they represent the best of this country."
The US leader has said he plans to attend the games in August, in contrast with German Chancellor Angela Merkel's plans to skip the ceremony, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy's revelation that he may follow suit.
"I've made it very clear I'm going to the Olympics because it's a sporting event," Bush said at the end of February, while saying he would not be shy about broaching human rights issues with Chinese leaders.
Bush has already raised concerns over the bloody turmoil in Tibet with China's President Hu Jintao, seeking restraint and calling for the resumption of talks between Beijing and representatives of the Dalai Lama. - AFP/de
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