No Tibetan flags allowed at Olympic equestrian events: organisers

HONG KONG (AFP) — Spectators and competitors at the Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong will be banned from displaying any political slogans, including pro-Tibet flags, organisers said Friday.

Under the Olympic charter, all forms of political propaganda are banned and tight security at venues in the territory will ensure the rules are complied with, said John Breen co-ordinator of security and support for the equestrian events.

“Tibetan flags are prohibited under the rules,” Breen told reporters, adding that the Tibetan flag was “not representative of a country”.

Security staff deployed at venues hosting the equestrian events from August 8-21 would police the ban, he said.

The equestrian events of jumping, dressage and cross-country are being held in Hong Kong as part of the Beijing 2008 Games because China could not guarantee a disease-free environment for the horses. They are expected to attract around 16,000 spectators.

Announcing “house rules for spectators” at the Olympic events, Breen said the regulations did not carry the weight of law, and no one found in breach would face criminal charges.

Nor would security staff at the venues have power to conduct body searches to ensure ticket holders were not wearing clothing displaying political messages, or carrying contentious flags or posters, he said.

Rather, anyone who did break the rules — by, for instance, holding aloft a Tibetan flag — would “simply be removed from the venue,” Breen said.

China’s communist government is particularly sensitive about the display of pro-Tibetan banners and flags at the Olympics as its rule of the Himalayan region is a popular worldwide political cause.

Since riots broke out in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, and other cities in March, a government crackdown on anti-Chinese sentiment among Tibetans has been criticised by human rights groups and activists for its severity.

While security across China, and especially in Beijing, has been tightened in the lead-up to the Games, Hong Kong remains proud of its tradition of tolerance and protest, and few of the city’s seven million people have much interest in the events to be hosted here.

Benny Lau, senior manager of security and support for the equestrian events, conceded that displays of political propaganda, including those most likely to cause offense to Beijing such as its rule of Tibet and its role in the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur, are not illegal in Hong Kong.

But, he said, “political, religious, racial slogans will be disallowed” at Olympic venues.