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PARIS - Condemnation of China for its bloody crackdown in Tibet is becoming louder in Europe, but those demanding a boycott of the Beijing Olympics remain voices clamouring in the desert.
More European leaders are becoming openly critical of the suppression as they also urge dialogue between China and Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
But - and with an eye apparently trained on the impact for trade - none has announced a snub of China's showcase event.
Those who mull any boycott focus on the opening ceremony itself, and not on the sporting competition.
"If there continue to be no signs of compromise, I consider boycott measures to be justified ... we want a successful Games, but not at the price of the Tibetans' cultural genocide," the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, said in an interview published by the German weekly Bild am Sonntag.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday said that, when it came to a ceremony boycott, "all the options are open" but also appealed to Chinese leaders' "sense of responsibility".
In Britain, Prince Charles - a friend of the Dalai Lama - made clear several weeks ago that he would not attend the Games' opening extravaganza. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he will attend the closing ceremony, though.
Germany last week suspended talks with China on providing credits to finance clean-energy projects to reflect its concern, but has ruled out an Olympics boycott.
Pressure on European Governments will ratchet up, though, when the Olympic flame passes through London on April 6, followed in Paris on April 7. Both cities have a large pro-Tibet following, and leftwing groups and human-rights organisations are planning to make their voices heard.
In the European sports world, the idea of a boycott gains little traction. European Union sports ministers firmly ruled it out last week.
"A boycott could signify actually losing an opportunity to promote human rights and could, at the same time, cause considerable harm to the population of China as a whole, to sports enthusiasts and, above all, to the athletes themselves," said Slovenia, the current EU President.
Some European athletes have been discussing the idea of boycotting the opening ceremonies or of wearing some token, such as a green ribbon, in a show of support for human rights.
But they also say they have not spent years in training to have their chance of glory wrecked by walking out of the competition.
They note that the 1980 boycott of the Moscow Olympics did nothing to ease the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. And they ask how effective a similar protest would be this time around, when politicians, businesses and European consumers show no willingness to follow suit.
"Before you condemn athletes ... first, boycott your own computer, because chances are it was made in China. Then take a look in your own wardrobe and remove all the T-shirts, trousers, suits etc. that were made in China," the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza said in an editorial.
"If you're one of the hundreds of millions of opportunists living in this world who are not prepared to do this, then forget boycotting the Beijing Olympic Games."
That argument jabs the finger at a dilemma that Europe already has with Saudi Arabia and China: how far will Europe let human rights interfere with a relationship vital for its prosperous, comfortable lifestyle?
China provides European shop shelves with cheap toys, clothes and electronics and in return gives European exporters access to the world's fastest-growing major economy.
In 2006, Europe imported ¬191 billion ($371 million) worth of goods from China. European sales to China were worth ¬63 billion.
Fredrik Erixon, director of Ecipe, a Brussels thinktank that specialises in trade policy, argues that the widening if lopsided commerce with China works in favour of human rights and openness, and political modernisation, not against.
"By deepening commercial integration, you will push political development in China," Erixon said in an interview with the Herald.
