Olympics: Coni slams ceremony boycott call

The head of Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI), Gianni Petrucci, on Wednesday said it was the duty of Italian athletes to take part in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
Petrucci's comments came a day after two Italian government figures called on athletes to boycott Friday's inauguration in protest at China's human rights record.
''(Italian canoeing champion) Antonio Rossi and the other Italian athletes have received the flag from President Giorgio Napoletano: for them and for us it is their duty to parade in the opening ceremony,'' Petrucci said.
''Why should sport substitute politics? Why aren't the industrialists being asked to desert China?'' he asked.
On Tuesday Foreign Minister Franco Frattini was forced to defend the government's official position on the Games after Youth Policy Minister Giorgia Meloni and the People of Freedom party's Senate whip Maurizio Gasparri asked athletes to skip the ceremony.
''It's clear that the Olympics are a great sporting event that nobody can, wants to, or should politicise,'' said Frattini, who will attend the inauguration with Sports Undersecretary Rocco Crimi.
''Human rights are something the Italian government has always fought for and will continue to do so after the Olympics, but the Games are a sporting occasion in which our athletes are competing to win, and we will go and support them,'' he added.
Opposition politicians meanwhile hit out at Meloni and Gasparri for passing political responsibility to Italian competitors rather than dealing with the issue at a government level.
Italian athletes have so far said they refuse to boycott the ceremony, in which canoer Rossi will carry the flag.