Politicians and media from some countries have strongly condemned the recent violent disruption of the Olympic torch relay and the attempts to boycott the Beijing Olympic Games.
Speaker of the Russian State Duma, lower house of the parliament, Boris Gryzlov said Tuesday that political issues should be solved by other means and any attempt to boycott the Olympics would greatly harm sports.
"The Olympic event should be held by all means and it is unpleasant when it is marred by such developments," he said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov also described a boycott of the Beijing Olympics as "unacceptable."
"We don't welcome attempts at boycotting the Olympics that are a most important world event," he said.
Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura Tuesday condemned some protesters for violently disrupting the Beijing Olympic torch relay, which is expected to reach the central Japanese city of Nagano on April 26.
"In any case, one cannot approve of the use of violence to block the Olympic torch relay, no matter what reason there is behind such behavior," Komura told reporters.
Necessary measures have to be taken to prevent such illegal acts, he said.
Gabor Elbert, Hungary's state secretary of sport, told reporters Tuesday that no matter what happens, Hungary is going to send its athletes delegation to the Beijing Olympic Games.
The European Times, a Chinese newspaper based in France, said Tuesday in a commentary that the recent violent disruptions of the Olympic torch run gravely violated the Olympic spirit which is beyond the differences between political systems, ideologies, cultures, as well as races and skin colors.
Mounting evidence has shown that the recent rioting in Tibet and the following disruptions of the torch relay are targeted at the Beijing Olympics Games, said the paper.
To allow these illegal acts is a "blasphemy" of the Olympic spirit, it said.
Before the Olympic flame arrived in San Francisco Tuesday, the sixth leg of its global travel, a handful of Tibet separatists and their supporters have repeatedly tried to grab the torch or block the relay route in Paris.
In its previous stop in London, "pro-Tibet independence" activists also used violence to disrupt the Olympic torch relay.
(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2008)