There are clear lines separating political debates and the Olympics which must be kept, the heads of the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement agreed in a general meeting in Beijing yesterday.

"Trying to ask athletes to solve the problems of the world is wrong," Peter Ueberroth, president of the United States National Olympic Committee (NOC), told China Daily on the sidelines of the three-day 16th General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) that started yesterday.

The NOCs are responsible for organizing their respective countries' roles in the Games.

Members voicing their objections against any boycott of the sporting event for political purposes.

The NOC members also condemned any form of violence against the Olympics and called for the respect for all athletes who prepared hard for the Games.

The group said they respected their athletes' freedom of expression, provided the acts are within the Olympic Charter and not used for demonstrations and propaganda for any political purposes.

The Olympic Charter, developed to promote and protect the Olympic Movement, also prohibits demonstrations and propaganda in Olympic territory.

The NOCs' calls come amid attempts by Tibetan separatists to disrupt the ongoing Olympic Torch Relay, with British police arresting about two dozen demonstrators in London on Sunday.

Many residents expressed indignation at the attempt.

"Violence for whatever reason is not compatible with the values of the torch relay or the Olympic Games," International Olympics Committee President Jacques Rogge said at the assembly yesterday.

Former IOC chairman Juan Antonio Samaranch had earlier said that the Tibetan conflict is a political issue, not related to sports and that the IOC is a sports organization which cannot settle all things.

"Every country has its problems," said HH Sheikh Issa Bin Rashid Al-Khalifa, president of Bahrain NOC.

"We must stay out of politics. Sport is sport. We have to play together, to join each other, to help each other, not to protest and find a reason to shout," he said.

"We don't believe that sports should be involved in any of those activities," said Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, vice-president of the Olympic Council of Asia.

"We have to secure our movement, we have to secure our Games, not to be involved in such lobbying, otherwise everybody will have lots of problems, and we could return to the kind of thing that happened in Moscow or Los Angeles," he said.

"Asia will stand strongly behind Beijing."

When greeting the arrival of the Beijing Olympic torch at Heathrow Airport on Saturday, British Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell also said that the British government would not boycott the Beijing Olympics and she herself would not support any boycott.

"The torch relay passes on people's friendships, world peace and wishes for a better future. Those who attempted to upend it affected not any individual but the good wishes of humankind," said IOC member He Zhenliang.

"The IOC granted Beijing the responsibility to host the Games, so the Games not only belongs to Beijing, but belongs to the whole world," he said.

"The Olympics is the only global event that transcends political, ideological, racial and religious backgrounds. We should work together to treasure it. Anyone who hurts the Beijing Games actually hurts the good wishes of the world," he said.

NOC officials told China Daily they were impressed with China's run-up to the Olympics, and they looked forward to the report of the Beijing Games organizers at the general assembly today on preparations for the event.

"Beijing has been working very hard to prepare for the Games," Gunilla Lindberg, secretary-general of the ANOC, told general assembly representatives.

"As far as the organization is concerned, I will be very happy if they continue what they are doing right now, because it's going very well," said Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the IOC's Coordination Commission. The official from the Netherlands has worked closely with Beijing Games organizers for six years.

"We are pretty sure that the Games will be a big success for the athletes, and that is the most important thing," he said.

(China Daily April 8, 2008)