Jowell rejects call for Olympics boycott

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Thursday February 14 2008. It was last updated at 11:35 on February 14 2008.

Tessa Jowell. Photograph: Nils Jorgensen

Boycotting the Olympics would not help the human rights situation in Darfur, the Olympics minister Tessa Jowell said today.

She said that although aspects of Chinese policy were "wholly unacceptable", a boycott was not the right way to exert pressure on Beijing.

She was speaking in response to calls from Sudanese rebels for the international community to boycott the Olympics because of China's support for the Sudanese government and its role in Darfur.

"The world has known for the last seven years that Beijing would host the Olympics," Ms Jowell told the Times.

"Most progressive governments accept that there are wholly unacceptable aspects of Chinese policy, but that did not stop the International Olympic Committee awarding them the games.

"A call for a boycott doesn't serve any purpose and it would be a great pity. This doesn't mean, however, we should be distracted from the urgency of Darfur."