Lithuanian Prime Minister to boycott Olympics

  • 2008-04-11
  • In cooperation with BNS
Vilnius - In the ongoing drama of the Olympics and the situation in Tibet, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas has decided he will not attend the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing, butwill allow the nation to participate in the Olympics.

"Possiblyas a sign of solidarity with Tibet, state leaders should not attend theopening of the Olympic Games," BNS quoted Kirkilas assaying Thursday.

"I believe that the Olympic Games should takeplace, and politics should not be mixed with sports. The idea of theOlympic Games is to preserve world peace. They are attended by variouscountries of various regimes," Kirkilas said.

Human rights watch groups urged worldleaders not to attend the opening ceremony in protest against theChinese government's actions in Tibet.