Kouchner backtracks on Olympics boycott

PARIS - France's foreign minister backtracked from comments suggesting he is open to a boycott of the Beijing Olympics' opening ceremonies, saying Wednesday that some economic decisions must be made "at the expense of human rights."

Bernard Kouchner on Tuesday said the idea of skipping the Aug. 8 opening ceremony to punish China for its crackdown on protests in Tibet was "interesting" and "less negative than a general boycott" of the Olympics. But by Tuesday evening, he told France-2 television: "We're not in favor of it."

On Wednesday, Kouchner told RMC radio and BFM television that the boycott was not a bad idea. But "it seems unrealistic," he said. "There are a lot of good ideas that can't be put into practice."

"When you're dealing in international relations with countries as important as China, obviously when you make economic decisions it's sometimes at the expense of human rights," he added. "That's elementary realism."

Violent protests in Tibet, the most serious challenge in almost two decades to China's rule in the region, are forcing human rights campaigners to re-examine their approach to the Aug. 8-24 games.

Kouchner's original comments helped propel the idea. The president of the EU Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, also said politicians should consider staying away from the ceremony if violence continues in Tibet.

In Wednesday's radio interview, Kouchner, the former leader of aid group Doctors Without Borders, said he hoped the situation would ease. But he said human rights could not always be the main consideration in international relations.

"Honestly it's very nice to talk about human rights, I've spoken about them all my life and I will continue to speak about them," Kouchner said. "But there are two sides to the coin."

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