French president Nicolas Sarkozy became the first world leader to suggest a boycott of the Beijing Olympics based on their human rights violations, on March 26. He doesn’t want to boycott the games, though, just the opening ceremony. That will certainly send a message to the brutal Chinese leadership that hasn’t already been sent through so many people criticizing their policies.

The French boycott suggestion came not because of China’s support of the militant Burmese government or because of China’s one-child policy and forced abortions. Not because of their censorship of the media and the web. Not because of their house arrests of Chinese bloggers who have been fighting for human rights.

It wasn’t until Tibetans began protesting Chinese occupation, and China was forced to send in police that France decided to consider boycotting. Granted, there are a lot of reasons to believe that Tibet should gain it’s independence, but killing 10 Chinese civilians shouldn’t be the way you protest injustice.

But, hey, flipping cars over and shattering shop windows at least puts a little bit of fear into the Chinese and might at least have some possibility of influencing change. Telling the Chinese, we fell you have acted unjustly and we won’t be at the opening ceremonies because of that (but we will still compete in the game), won’t. “Alrite, we hate you too.”

Let’s all remember what happened last time there was an Olympic boycott. The year was 1980; the Olympics were in Moscow. The Soviets had invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979. President Carter issued an ultimatum. Withdraw troops by February 20, 1980 or we won’t play with you.

Russia withdrew troops in 1988.

The 1980 boycott, though, was a much larger scale boycott. Five nations, the US, Japan, West Germany, Canada, and, ironically, China, actually boycott the entire Olympics and staged their own set of games in Philadelphia. It only served to punish the athletes.

Sarkozy said in bringing up the boycott, “Our Chinese friends must understand the worldwide concern that there is about the question of Tibet.”’

Right, and you need to understand the underlying realities of the political situation and the remember history that occurred just 28 years ago.

Here we have just another politically expedient move that accomplishes nothing.

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