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Norway continues to debate Olympic ceremony boycott

Other News Materials 4 April 2008 20:01 (UTC +04:00)

( dpa ) - Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenerg Friday said there was no current reason to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, but was less categoric than in previous remarks.

Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Romania, Stoltenberg told broadcaster NRK that "if the situation changes we will have to assess it then."

The premier did not expand on what could trigger such a move, adding that the current situation was not serious enough to warrant a boycott, a view he said was shared by other leaders at the summit.

Stoltenberg told reporters that if the royal family asked for advice about attending now, the government would "not advise against their trip," citing that Norway had a high threshold in terms of boycotts.

On Thursday, Stoltenberg rejected reports that Oslo was considering a boycott of the opening ceremony against the backdrop of a heated debate in Norway where leading politicians signalled there was consensus for a boycott.

Earlier Friday, two former Norwegian prime ministers weighed into the ongoing debate.

"The situation is so serious that I feel that a boycott of the opening ceremony should be considered," Kjell Magne Bondevik, who served as premier 1997-2000 and 2001-2005, told NRK.

Bondevik, a Christian Democrat, said the Olympic Games were an opportunity "to put the spotlight" on China, mentioning recent events in Tibet and China's links with the military rulers of Myanmar.

Parliament speaker Thorbjorn Jagland of the Social Democrats, who has also held the posts of prime minister and foreign minister, said the Olympic Games could not be decoupled from other events, the Aftenposten newspaper said.

Bondevik heads the Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights. He left politics after Social Democrat Jens Stoltenberg won elections 2005 and formed a red-green coalition.

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