U.N. chief will miss Beijing Olympic ceremony

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed China that he will not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in August due to a scheduling conflict, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Thursday.

China will host the Summer Olympics and world leaders are facing pressure from human rights activists to boycott the opening ceremony in Beijing. The U.N. spokeswoman said Ban told China some months ago he might not be able to accept the invitation because of scheduling matters.

"The secretary-general has conveyed to the government (of China) some months ago that he may not be in a position to accept the invitation to attend this important event due to scheduling issues," U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe told a regular news conference.

She later explained that he would definitely not attend the ceremony, but would make an official visit to China at another time.

She declined to give any details about the scheduling conflict.

China has come under harsh criticism from Western governments for a bloody crackdown in Tibet and has been accused by human rights groups of not doing enough to pressure Sudan's government to end the bloodshed in its Darfur region.

U.S. President George W. Bush is facing pressure from the three presidential candidates to boycott the ceremony. Bush said this week he plans to attend the opening ceremony and to speak out on religious freedoms.

Separately, the European Parliament urged European Union leaders on Thursday to boycott the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics unless China starts talks with the Dalai Lama over the situation in Tibet.