'Olympic boycott should not be ruled out'

Berlin/Beijing: The president of the European Union's Parliament said in remarks released on Saturday that European countries should not rule out threatening China with an Olympic boycott if violence continues in Tibet.

"Beijing must decide itself, it should immediately negotiate with the Dalai Lama," Hans-Gert Poettering was quoted as saying by Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

"If there continue to be no signals of compromise, I see boycott measures as justified." Beijing has smothered Tibetan areas with troops, cracking down after March 10 protests marking the anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule turned violent four days later.

Meanwhile, China might bar live television broadcasts from Tiananmen Square during the Beijing Olympics. A ban on live broadcasts would disrupt the plans of NBC and other major international networks, who have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to broadcast the August 8-24 games and are counting on eye-pleasing live shots from the iconic square.

The rethinking of Beijing's earlier promise to broadcasters comes as the government has poured troops into Tibetan areas wracked by anti-government protests.

Open letter

Dissidents urge talks

A group of 29 Chinese dissidents urged Beijing yesterday to open direct dialogue with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in the wake of rioting in the region.

"We appeal to the country's leaders to directly engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama. We hope to eliminate misunderstanding between Han and Tibetans," the group said in an open letter e-mailed to reporters, referring to the majority Han Chinese.

The pro-democracy activists, led by writer Wang Lixiong and dissident Liu Xiaobo, urged the government to invite UN investigators to Tibet to change the international community's distrust of China.

They also suggested allowing credible domestic and foreign journalists to independently report from the predominantly Buddhist region and said those arrested should be given an open and fair trial.

The dissidents said they hoped the government would produce evidence to substantiate accusations that the Dalai Lama premeditated the unrest. The Dalai Lama has denied the charge.

The government should tone down its Cultural Revolution-era invective against the Dalai Lama which was only fanning the flames of "ethnic hatred" and undermining the country's image. "Serious mistakes exist in [government] work on Tibet," the letter said.