Click to play videoNew Delhi: In a rare criticism, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has asked China to honour its pledge to improve human rights ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games.
IOC president Jacques Rogge reminded China that it had promised to improve its record on human rights if it won the bid to host the Olympics.
But though he asked China to respect what he described as ''the moral engagement'' that pro-Tibetan protests had caused, he remained clear that the Olympic torch relay will not be cut short.
He, however, admitted that the disruptions witnessed during the torch run poses a crisis for the Olympic movement.
"It is a crisis, there is no doubt about that but the IOC has weathered many bigger storms. Something that I will never forget is Munich 1972. I was an athlete at that time, this is definitely the biggest crisis ever, that the International Olympic Committee has had.. This scenario is definitely not on the agenda, we are studying together with BOCOG measures to improve the torch relay. But there is no scenario of either interrupting or bringing back directly to Beijing," Rogge said at a joint meeting between the Association of National Olympic Committees and the IOC Executive Board in Beijing.
Meanwhile, the guest list for the Olympics opening ceremony may get shorter.
After British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon too will not attend the ceremony.
"And a response to another question about the Secretary General's plans to, travel plans regarding the Olympics in Beijing, the opening ceremony, the Secretary General had conveyed to the government some months ago that he may not be in a position to accept the invitation to attend this event due to schedule issues," Marie Mukabe, spokeswoman for the UN Secretary General, said.
And the Olympic torch has now reached Argentina.
It was brought to the Buenos Aires International Airport amid tight security on Thursday. The torch run there too, was preceded by pro-Tibet protests. Hundreds of policemen will be deployed during the torch run as well.
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