LAUSANNE, Switzerland — The International Olympic Committee has rejected an attempt by Tibet to field a team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
More than 100 Tibet supporters — including Buddhist monks — waved banners and Tibetan flags outside the IOC headquarters Monday, as delegates from the unofficial Tibetan National Olympic Committee met with IOC officials.
“The IOC is not in a position to accept our application,” said Wangpo Tethong, a president of the Tibetan group.
Michel Filliau, a senior IOC official, said a rule change in 1996 meant only national committees from countries recognized by the international community can take part in the Olympics. A special exemption is granted to those territories whose national committees were recognized before 1996. The Palestinian territories, Hong Kong and Taiwan — which competes as “Chinese Taipei” — are among those exempt.
The possibility of a Tibetan as an “independent Olympic athlete” also won’t happen, an IOC spokeswoman said. “In this particular case, athletes from the region would fall under the National Olympic Committee of China,” Giselle Davies said. Beijing dismissed the request from Tibet, which has been controlled by China since 1951.
