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BEIJING - CHINA has attacked as 'rude interference' a European Parliament resolution urging EU leaders to boycott the Olympic games opening ceremony, state media reported late on Friday.
The Brussels motion on Thursday hit out at 'the brutal repression by the Chinese security forces against Tibetan demonstrators and all acts of violence from whichever source.' It also called for 'a constructive dialogue without preconditions' with the Dalai Lama, as well as 'the immediate release of all those who protested peacefully, exercising their legitimate right to freedom of expression.'
However, the resolution 'rudely interfered into China's internal affairs and seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,' the official Xinhua news agency quoted foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu as saying.
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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed earlier this week that he will not attend the opening ceremony, but Downing Street insisted that - like German Chancellor Angela Merkel - he had never intended to take part.
Mr Brown is however scheduled to attend the close of the Games, as London hosts the next Olympics in 2012.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is linking his attendance with renewed dialogue between Beijing and Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.
The EU assembly's non-binding resolution - adopted in Brussels by 580 votes to 24, with 45 abstentions - came amid a growing number of rallies in the West since Beijing's crackdown on protests in Tibet began on March 10.
It also follows protests during the Olympic torch relay in Europe and the United States.
Tibet last month saw the biggest protests in years on the anniversary of a 1959 uprising that sent the Dalai Lama fleeing into exile in India.
Exiled Tibetan leaders say more than 150 people have been killed in the unrest in the region.
China insists its security forces have killed no one while trying to quell the protests. However, it says Tibetan 'rioters' have killed 20 people. -- AFP
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