Når Kina i 2001 ble tildelt olympiske leker i 2008, var det under lovnader om utvikling av menneskerettigheter i Kina. Det heter i det Olympiske charter:
“Formålet med OL er å la idretten være et instrument for harmonisk utvikling av menneskeheten, til fremme for et fredelig samfunn som verner om menneskeverdet”.
Også den norske regjering støttet Kinas kandidatur, med flere begrunnelser, men også fordi Kina da ville måtte gjøre noe med menneskerettighetene i landet. Kulturminister Ellen Horn uttaler til VG at “Jeg er veldig klar på at det er IOC som alene foretar dette valget. Like fullt har jeg et syn på Kina som søkerland. Og i møtet med Heiberg la jeg ikke skjul på at jeg mener verdenssamfunnets mulighet til bedre dialog med Kina er en stor og interessant utfordring”, og i en pressemelding utdypes begrunnelsen fra regjeringen noe mer: “Hvis IOC ut fra en totalvurdering velger Beijing, vil det gi verdenssamfunnet en mulighet til en styrket dialog med Kina om demokrati, ytringsfrihet og menneskerettigheter. Dette vil det bli viktig for Norge å følge opp, dersom Kina skulle bli arrangørland”. Også Amnesty i Norge ser dette som en positiv mulighet.

A Glimse of the World (flickr 2006)
Kineserne selv bekrefter at menneskerettighetene vil få fokus i forbindelse med sommer OL, men her burde varselbjellene begynt å ringe fordi talsmenn for Kina uttrykte at både pressefrihet og hensynet menneskerettigheter måtte skje på et bakteppe av at Kina var et spesielt land, med spesielle problemer, og med spesiell kultur. Det siste er forsåvidt også bearbeidet i siste nummer av LeMonde, der det pekes på at våre vestlige tanker om autonomi og frihet aldri har hatt fotfeste i kinesisk filosofi og kultur.
På tross av at Kina kom med svært betingede lovnader, ble altså Beijing valgt. Skaseth antydet i forkant at det kom til å bli resultatet, ikke av sportslige hensyn, men av økonomiske: Ved å tildele Kina de olympiske leker åpner det seg store markeder for vesten. Den offisielle begrunnelsen, ved siden av at kineserne teknisk sett sikkert er i stand til å gjennomføre lekene, er at ved å tildele Kina lekene, ville menneskeretttighetssituasjonen i landet bli bedre.
Hva er så situasjonen to år før lekene starter? La oss se på årsrapporten fra Amnesty for 2005. Amnesty sier:
There was progress towards reform in some areas, but this failed to have a significant impact on serious and widespread human rights violations perpetrated across the country. Tens of thousands of people continued to be detained or imprisoned in violation of their fundamental human rights and were at high risk of torture or ill-treatment. Thousands of people were sentenced to death or executed, many after unfair trials. Public protests increased against forcible evictions and land requisition without adequate compensation. China continued to use the global “war on terrorism” to justify its crackdown on the Uighur community in Xinjiang. Freedom of expression and religion continued to be severely restricted in Tibet and other Tibetan areas of China.
Mer spesifikt nevnes:
Human rights defenders
The authorities continued to use provisions of the Criminal Law relating to “subversion”, “state secrets” and other vaguely defined national security offences to prosecute peaceful activists and advocates of reform. Lawyers, journalists, HIV/AIDS activists and housing rights advocates were among those harassed, detained or imprisoned for documenting human rights abuses, campaigning for reform, or attempting to obtain redress for victims of violations.
Violations in the context of economic reform
The rights of freedom of expression and association of workers’ representatives continued to be severely curtailed and independent trade unions remained illegal. In the context of economic restructuring, large numbers of people were reportedly denied adequate reparations for forcible eviction, land requisition and job layoffs. Public and largely peaceful protests against such practices increased, leading to numerous detentions and other abuses.
Violence against women
Serious violations against women and girls continued to be reported as a result of the enforcement of the family planning policy, including forced abortions and sterilizations. In July the authorities publicly reinforced a ban on the selective abortion of female foetuses in an attempt to reverse a growing gap in the boy-girl birth ratio.
Women in detention, including large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners, remained at risk of torture, including rape and sexual abuse.
Political activists and Internet users
Political activists, including supporters of banned political groups, or those calling for political change or greater democracy continued to be arbitrarily detained and in some cases sentenced and imprisoned. By the end of the year, AI had records of more than 50 people who had been detained or imprisoned after accessing or circulating politically sensitive information on the Internet.
Death penalty
The death penalty continued to be used extensively and arbitrarily, at times as a result of political interference. People were executed for non-violent crimes such as tax fraud and embezzlement as well as drug offences and violent crimes. The authorities continued to keep national statistics on death sentences and executions secret. Based on public reports available, AI estimated that at least 3,400 people had been executed and at least 6,000 sentenced to death by the end of the year, although the true figures were believed to be much higher. In March, a senior member of the National People’s Congress announced that China executes around 10,000 people per year.
A lack of basic safeguards protecting the rights of defendants meant that large numbers of people continued to be sentenced to death and executed after unfair trials. In October, the authorities announced an intention to reinstate Supreme Court review of death penalty cases and to introduce other legal reforms aimed at safeguarding the rights of criminal suspects and defendants. It remained unclear, however, when these measures would be introduced.
Torture, arbitrary detention and unfair trials
Torture and ill-treatment continued to be reported in a wide variety of state institutions despite the introduction of several new regulations aimed at curbing the practice. Common methods included kicking, beating, electric shocks, suspension by the arms, shackling in painful positions, and sleep and food deprivation. Political interference in the rule of law, restricted access to the outside world for detainees, and a failure to establish effective mechanisms for complaint and investigation continued to be key factors allowing the practice to flourish.
The authorities officially announced an intention to reform “Re-education through Labour”, a system of administrative detention used to detain hundreds of thousands of people for up to four years without charge or trial. However, the exact nature and scope of reform remained unclear.
Og jeg kunne fortsatt å sitere fra årsrapporten. Den siste oppdateringen fra Amnesty er fra en rapport 21. september i år, der konklusjonen er: Det er bare to år igjen til OL skal gå av stabelen i Beijing, og kinesiske myndigheter svikter de løftene de ga om menneskerettighetene da de fikk tildelt lekene i april 2001. Fra hele landet fortsetter det å komme rapporter om alvorlige menneskerettighetsbrudd, og dette nører opp under ustabilitet og misnøye.
Selve lekene har også medført forhold som at mennesker tvangsflyttes uten skikkelig kompensasjon fra de områder der lekene skal finne sted. Og det er flere henrettelser i Kina enn i den øvrige verden til sammen, fortsatt etter tilfeldig rettergang.
Og da kommer jeg til mitt hovedpoeng: IOC ser gjennom fingrene med dette, den overvåkingen av menneskerettighetssituasjonen som IOC la til grunn for tildelingen, har blitt et papirvedtak. Dette er en så stor unnfallenhet at menneskerettighetsorganisasjoner ser helt bort fra både vilje og evne hos IOC, og har henvendt seg til de nasjonale olympiske komiteer, til utøvere og sponsorer, men fortsatt uten å se noen interesse for menneskerettighetene i Kina.
August 7, 2006 – Two years before the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games are to begin, an international coalition of human rights organizations has issued a joint statement, saying the International Olympic Committee has failed to protect Olympic ideals and calling on national Olympic committees, athletes and sponsors to take action. Citing continuing human rights violations and political propaganda abuse of the Games by the Chinese authoritarian government, they say boycott is one of possible options of protest.
Olympic Watch, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), International Society for Human Rights (ISHR/IGFM), Solidarité Chine and Laogai Research Foundation say that despite human rights activists’ efforts, “the IOC has refused to face the reality in which Beijing 2008 is to take place” and that the current IOC leadership may be “either too cynical, or too incompetent, or both, to protect the Olympic ideals and take a clear stance on the continuing human rights abuses in China”. Therefore, they “call on National Olympic Committees and individual athletes to start discussing ways how they can protest the conditions under which the 2008 Games are to take place”, with one option being “full, publicly stated boycott of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games”. They also point out that corporate sponsors of the Olympic movement have a special responsibility to prove that “their business philosophy does not condone propaganda abuse of the Games and human rights violations”.
Også norske myndigheter er også påfallende stille om de løftebrudd som skjer, og de brudd på menneskerettigheter som skjer. Dette kunne være en stor mulighet for å påvirke Kina, i stedet ser vi at kapital og stormaktsinteresser også her overstyrer menneskerettighetene og borgerrettighetene til det kinesiske folk. Verdt å merke seg, er at også Kina begrunner mange av bruddene på sentrale menneskerettigheter med “kampen mot terror”, noe som langt på vei også lammer andre stormakter, som selv bruker de samme argumentene for å sette menneskerettigheter til side. Norge er medskyldig, både i forhold til Kina, men også i at Norge gripes av den samme tanken om en terrortrussel som langt fra er dokumentert.
