Seoul (AsiaNews) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) wants "full respect for human rights" before the 2008 Olympics are held there: this has already been "clearly proved in the past", said IOC chief Jacques Rogge.

This was his opening statement to a meeting of committee members held yesterday, Wednesday 5 April, in South Korea. "The Olympic movement has a proud record of standing up for human rights. We helped end apartheid in South Africa and fought against the military dictatorship here in Korea.

"It is not our job to monitor human rights in China but we are constantly listening to specialized agencies and NGOs who inform us."

Rogge said the games "could help the development of human rights". He added: "It is clear that the staging of the Olympic Games in Beijing will do a lot for the improvement of human rights and social relations in China. And it is not only me saying that. We are sure this is going to be the case because staging the 

Games and having about 20-25,000 press people covering them, will definitely open up the country to the whole world."

The chairman said he had listened carefully to the technical report presented by

Hein Verbruggen, a committee member just back from Beijing. "His report was positive, but we are worried about pollution in the country: we are sure our Chinese friends are doing everything to find solutions."

On the technical front, "the IOC is very pleased with the way things are going forward and with the promises of the Committee of Beijing, which said it wants to finish a large construction project, to transform the capital into a modern Olympic city, on time."

The prospect of Beijing's transformation that Rogge is so enthusiastic about, comes at a price: about 300 villages have been subjected to rapid building expansion. Around 1.5 million people who live there are being ignored by the authorities as their houses are destroyed by government machines building new sports and shopping centres.