Orange not the only colour for subtle Olympic protests (Feature)

Beijing - Political artist Jens Galschiot on Wednesday admitted he was a little disappointed that the many human rights groups hoping literally to show their colours in Beijing were not all using orange. 'I had hoped everyone could use the colour orange,' Galschiot told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by telephone from his home in Denmark. The hanging by foreign 'Free Tibet' activists of a huge banner from a lighting post not far from Beijing's iconic Bird's Nest Olympic stadium made headlines worldwide on Wednesday, but other groups plan more subtle forms of protest. Black, yellow, green, blue and orange are among the colours of planned silent protests during the Olympics. The Colour Orange is a campaign to encourage China's ruling Communist Party to improve the nation's human rights climate. 'Wearing something orange will signal both the recognition of China's progress and a criticism of China's massive human rights violations,' said the campaign's official website, www.thecolourorange.net. 'We agree with the Dalai Lama, Amnesty International and many other human rights groups that you should not boycott China, but participate in a critical dialogue,' it said. Galschiot calls his art workshop 'Art in defence of humanism'. He is the creator of political sculptures that have served as the rallying points for anti-globalisation protests and he made the Pillar of Shame sculpture in Hong Kong in 1997, which honours the victims of China's crackdown on the 1989 democracy movement. The Pillar of Shame was painted orange earlier this year, but not by Galschiot, since he was prevented from entering Hong Kong. Because of this, he is not optimistic about being allowed to stage an orange stunt in one of the three Beijing parks designated for protests approved by the government. But he is still trying to gain permission. 'We have asked the (Chinese) embassy two days ago if it's possible for me to go there, to wear my orange clothes,' he said. 'But I don't think it's possible.' The Australian Tibet Council is another group that planned to test the regulations for allowing Olympic protests in the three parks, which are all far from the main venues. The council has distributed green and yellow T-shirts, which bear the Chinese and English message 'I support human rights', to some Australian athletes and tourists. 'It was quite carefully chosen to be non-political,' Simon Bradshaw, the council's campaign coordinator, told dpa. Bradshaw said 'about a dozen' Australian athletes and some 40 other visitors had requested Olympic protest packs. 'We're absolutely not calling on anyone to make any gesture,' he said. 'We've made it clear that it had to be the athlete's individual decision.' The International Olympic Committee and national committees have reminded athletes that participation in the games precludes any form of political protest, while spectators and other visitors who stage unapproved protests face rapid expulsion from China. 'The Australian Olympic Committee has left some scope in terms of allowing athletes to speak freely,' Bradshaw said. Several groups have responded to the special pressures in China, where all forms of unsanctioned protest are normally illegal, by finding other less obvious forms of expressing support for improved human rights, independence for Tibetans and other causes. The London-based Free Tibet Campaign has urged athletes to make 'T' signs with their hands to show their support for Tibet. 'Athletes competing at the Olympics have been told they must not mention human rights or Tibet, but no one can stop them making a simple signal that they care,' the group said. 'The T for Tibet hand signal is a quick, easy way to send a clear message: It's time to free Tibet!' it said. Some critics of China's support for the Sudanese government, which has allowed widespread ethnic violence and severe rights violations in its Darfur region, are promoting black wristbands, while a German athletes' group is distributing green and blue bands for Beijing. Galschiot said his colour could be displayed on anything from bags, T-shirts and hats to ties, pens and paper. 'Even peeling an orange will be considered a poignant statement,' he said. The choice of orange angered some Dutch people, whose accused him of 'stealing our colour', but most were supportive, Galschiot said. He recently wrote to 30,000 politicians around the world, including US President George W Bush, urging them to wear orange in Beijing. 'We have tried to find some politicians who will do wear orange and make a statement to China,' Galschiot said. 'But nobody has said they will do that.' Galshciot has noticed a lot of orange in China's Olympic publicity material and on the shirts of some Olympic staff, suggesting a faint possibility that the government could have tried to subvert his campaign. 'Of course it's possible,' he said, 'But I'm not sure.' The fact that many ordinary Chinese people are also wearing orange shirts this summer, which may or may not be to support the human rights campaign, is 'part of the game', he said. Galschiot's basic premise is that 'no authority will be able to ban the colour orange'.