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| April 10, 2008 |
Nobel laureate Maathai withdraws from Olympic torch relayNAIROBI (AFP) -- Kenya's Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai told AFP Thursday she had pulled out from the Olympic torch relay in which she was due to take part over the weekend in Tanzania, citing concerns for worldwide human rights.
"Yes, I have pulled out," Maathai told AFP by telephone from the Tanzanian commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
"I have decided to show solidarity with other people on the issues of human rights in Sudan's Darfur region, Tibet and Burma."
The torch is scheduled to arrive in Tanzania -- its only stop in Africa -- on Sunday ahead of the August 8-24 Olympic Games in China, which Beijing hopes will be a showpiece for the vast Asian nation.
The torch's relay has been dogged by protests in London and Paris, and in San Francisco where on Wednesday a massive police presence and sudden route change made the torch all but invisible to the public.
The torch on Thursday headed to Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, where pro-Tibet supporters have vowed "surprise actions" but no major disruption.
Maathai, who won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for her tree-planting and pro-democracy campaigns, said China was well placed to pressure for the respect of human right respect in the three troubled countries.
"China has tried to address these issues of human rights. But these issues, especially the situation in Tibet, seem to be escalating even though the Dalai Lama has offered to talk," she said. China has flatly refused to dialogue with Tibet's spiritual leader.
Tibetan leaders in exile say the recent crackdown in the Himalayan region has left more than 150 people dead but China has denied those claims. Beijing, which is facing international outrage, has blamed Tibetan "rioters" and said they killed 20 people.
Copyright 2008 AFP.