(TibetanReview.net, Jun12, 2015) – As representatives of the Chinese Government led by Vice-Premier Ms Liu Yandong presented their case on Jun 10 in the Lausanne Palace Hotel, Switzerland, for Beijing to be awarded the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, a group of young Tibetan activists staged a protest outside. They shouted “Free Tibet” and “No More Bloody Games” while waving banners with slogans and bullet holes organized to mimic the Olympic rings, reported gamesbids.com Jun 10.
The report said things became tense when one protester managed to make it into a secure area of the hotel where the Beijing 2022 bid committee was presenting exhibits to members of the media. It said he unfurled a banner with a “No Beijing 2022″ message and started shouting slogans before being tackled to the ground by what was stated to be a bystander and carried out of the room.
The report also said two other protesters unfurled banners in the busy hotel lobby filled with International Olympic Committee (IOC) members but were quickly apprehended by security personnel and police who escorted all three protesters to a holding room in the hotel. It added that they were later released by police.
A press release by the International Tibet Network, a umbrella group representing hundreds of Tibet support groups across the free world, said Liu’s leading of Beijing’s delegation in Lausanne was a strong indication of the high political importance China places on winning the Games.
There are only two candidates for the 2022 Winter Games, the other city being Almaty. Beijing is seen as having advantage over Almaty. The IOC will award the 2022 Games following a vote in Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia, on Jul 31.