India launches last-minute diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics over Chinese solider
CNN
India on Thursday announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing after a commander involved in 2020 border clashes between the two countries appeared as an Olympic torchbearer in the customary torch relay leading up to the Games.
The last-minute boycott, which will see India's top envoy in Beijing sit out Friday's Opening Ceremony, adds the world's most populous democracy to a list of Western nations who already have launched their own diplomatic no-shows, citing China's human rights record -- setting the tone for a controversial Olympic Games.
"It is indeed regrettable that the Chinese side has chosen to politicize an event like the Olympics," Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs, said in a televised speech on Thursday, where he announced the top diplomat at the Embassy of Indian in Beijing will not be attending the Opening or the Closing Ceremony.