Canadian rally: Depoliticize Olympics

OTTAWA, April 14 (UPI) -- A crowd of more than 6,000 people at the Canadian Parliament Building in Ottawa called for keeping the issue of Tibet out of the Beijing Olympic Games.

Carrying banners and placards accusing the media of siding with Tibet and stoking calls for boycotts of the Games, the crowd sang patriotic songs Sunday afternoon, CTV News reported.

Junior We was among the demonstrators who said Tibetans were responsible for staging rallies and politicizing the upcoming Summer Games.

"What better time to tarnish China's image than at a political time like this?" We said.

In response to the rally, Conservative Sen. Consiglio Di Nino, chairman of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet, issued a statement in support of the Tibetan protests.

"China's claim that Tibet is an internal matter, disputed by various authoritative opinions, is no excuse for oppression, denial of freedoms and rights, which are universal values without borders. It is no excuse for denying fair trials for a thousand or more Tibetans who may face summary execution," he said.

Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Canada will not boycott the Games that begin in August.