22ANDUK

British Olympic chiefs are to force athletes to sign a contract promising not to speak out about China's appalling human rights record – or face being banned from travelling to Beijing. The move – which raises the spectre of the order given to the England football team to give a Nazi salute in Berlin in 1938 – immediately provoked a storm of protest.

Britain kow tows to China as athletes are forced to sign no criticism contracts | the Daily Mail

It is contained in a 32-page document that will be presented to all those who reach the qualifying standard and are chosen for the team. From the moment they sign up, the competitors – likely to include the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips and world record holder Paula Radcliffe – will be effectively gagged from commenting on China's politics, human rights abuses or illegal occupation of Tibet.

Where's the Human Rights Act in all this? Surely this is a breach of 'Human Rights' in preventing someone from having 'Freedom of Speech'.

Or is this a case as always as 'as and when it suits'?

mkpdavies

I won't be watching or supporting that Olympics then.

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rjt

The Chinese Government is totally appaling, I am anoyed as hell that we negoiate trade deals with regimes like that and then let murderous thugs like Mugabe get off. Its time this governement actually brought in an ethical foreign policy instead of talking about one.

I also will not be watching.

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steve fowler

the sports player should refuse to go to the games or China if they can not speak their minds but then again i think Labour wants to turn our country into their own version of china?.

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Aardvark

Human Rights Act ss12 and 13 - only apples in UK and only applies to the extent the courts must take notice.

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Phil Sheldon

Article 10 would seem to contradict your post.Freedom of expression is enshrined in this section and I would argue that HMG is contravening the HRA and should be told quite firmly to go hell.

Article 10 – Freedom of expression

1 Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.
2.The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

Athletes should consider whether or not their loyalties are to their chosen sports or to the State.

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Aardvark

Phil, Article 10 doesn't contradict my post. Why when citing the ECHR do people always post the second paragraph, which lays down limits on most of the rights, without asking what is meant? The 'protection of the reputation or rights of others' might mean the right of others to compete in the Olympics without some political prima donna screwing it up for them.

It is the British Olympian Association, the sport's governing body, not HMG that is asking athletes to sign the contract. They may well be a public authority, but we are talking here of a country, China, that is not in Europe and is not subject to the ECHR (although the UN has a Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

The ECHR was agreed in 1950, although it had been adopted earlier by some countries, but does not bind anybody. Most signatories have given some of it the force of law, but we left it until 1998 to pass the Human Rights Act which I cited.

If the BOA has issued a contract that they say abides by Section 51 of the International Olympic Committee charter, which “provides for no kind of demonstration, or political, religious or racial propaganda in the Olympic sites, venues or other areas” then so be it.

I think it is a bit extreme, but we have to be careful that we don't allow the Olympics to be used as a political football as Hitler did, as the Black Power guys did in Mexico and as people did over Afghanistan. It is supposed to be about the athletes getting together to compete free from the politics of the world. I hate Communism and I think the Chinese state apparatus is terrible, but the whole point of the games is to exclude that for a few weeks.

What will happen if people start screwing up the London Olympics to make their political points?

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g hall

Or the games due to be held in London either

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