Green Nobel laureate Maathai pulls out of Olympic torch relay

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai of Kenya said Thursday that she would not run as planned in the Olympic torch relay in Tanzania this weekend, to protest abuses of human rights and destruction of the environment in China.

Maathai, who was awarded the Nobel in 2004 for her environmental and political activism, said she had notified organizers of the torch run that she would give up her spot in the relay Sunday, joining in the growing international protest against China.

She also echoed Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu's call for world leaders to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in August.

"As the torch is going around the world, it is producing greater division than unity," Maathai said by telephone from Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian capital. "For the heads of state not to attend is the best way to demonstrate they support the global public opinion that is emerging and join in sending this very strong message to China."

Maathai is a former member of Kenya's parliament and the founder of the Green Belt Movement, which has inspired tree planting across Africa.

She urged China to use its economic influence to halt the destruction of African forests, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) and Tanzania, as it buys up natural resources around the world.

"As a country that is so powerful, China can afford to push for the protection of the forests," she said. "China has a moral and ethical duty to protect some of these countries that are unable to protect their forests from illegal logging."

Maathai also called on China to protect human rights within its borders and in other parts of the world where it has strong economic ties, including Myanmar and Sudan.

Chinese officials have rejected international criticism of their record on human rights and the environment and have blamed Tibetan activists for inciting international protests tied to the Olympics.

Maathai urged the Chinese government to respect Tibetans' desire to maintain their cultural identity and to begin a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader who also is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Maathai said China, which gets oil from Sudan, should stop using its veto threat at the United Nations to block attempts by the international community to put pressure on Sudan to stop the slaughter of civilians in the country's Darfur region. She said she believes that many of the guns being used in the conflict are of Chinese origin.

Maathai said it would have been an "extraordinary honor" to run in the torch relay but that given the large demonstrations in London, Paris and San Francisco this week, she concluded that she must add her voice to the protests.

"I originally felt that one can support the Games, the athletes and the whole spirit of the Games that promotes peace, harmony and unity," she said. "I am troubled that these Olympics, rather than being a unifying movement, have become most divisive."