IOC head says Beijing was "wise choice"

By Melanie Lee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee has no regrets about its "wise choice" of Beijing to host the Olympics, its president said on Saturday.

Jacques Rogge said the IOC did not see a "real momentum" towards any form of boycott of the Games by governments.

China, which won the right to host the Olympics in 2001, faced a public relations crisis last month after it rigorously clamped down on monk-led marches in Tibet.

Rogge said the opportunity to bring the Games to the world's most populous nation meant the IOC had made the right choice.

"IOC considers that it made a wise choice in awarding the games to Beijing and we have no regrets," Rogge told a news conference in response to a question about China's human rights record.

"We have the tremendous added value of bringing sports and the Olympics to one fifth of mankind."

The Buddhist monk-led marches in Tibet turned into an anti-Chinese riot in Lhasa and touched off a rash of demonstrations throughout the region.

China blames the Dalai Lama, whom it labels a separatist, and his followers for stirring up the Lhasa violence to try to discredit the Olympics. The 72-year-old Buddhist leader has repeatedly expressed support for the Beijing Games.