A Fianna Fáil TD has called for Ireland to withdraw from the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics over the Chinese government’s clampdown on protests in Tibet.
Dublin South East TD Chris Andrews said non-participation in the opening ceremony would send a strong political message "without sacrificing the years of very hard work put in by our athletes".
Mr Andrews did not call for Irish athletes to boycott the games.
"Ideally sports - all sports - should be apolitical," he said. "However, there comes a time when nations use sports to market themselves and at the same time flagrantly abuse human rights."
"China is clearly hell bent on using the Olympic Games to project a positive image of itself to the world, particularly economically."
