Washington: A resolution has been introduced in the US House of Representatives asking China to end human rights abuses and its support for tainted governments in Sudan and Myanmar in line with "Olympic traditions of freedom and openness."
The resolution, proposed by the Democratic head of the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee, Howard Berman, is to be discussed and possibly voted today before it is sent to the House floor.
It called on Beijing "to immediately end abuses of the human rights of its citizens, to cease repression of Tibetan and Uighur citizens, and to end its support for the governments of Sudan and Burma (Myanmar)."
This, it added, was "to ensure that the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games take place in an atmosphere that honours the Olympic traditions of freedom and openness."
The 12-point resolution also called on President George W Bush, who is to attend the games opening ceremony, to make a "strong public statement" in Beijing on China s human rights situation and meet with families of jailed "prisoners of conscience."
