By JEFF SCHULTZ [1]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/09/08

U.S. Rep. John Lewis, no stranger to protests and boycotts during his career, has joined the growing list of those seeking at least a partial boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

"I'm not saying right now there should be a total boycott of the Olympics," the Georgia Democrat said by phone. "I just think we should not attend the Opening Ceremonies. At the same time, even if we attend, we should find a way to make it clear to the government of China that we are standing with the people of Tibet. Their civil rights and basic human rights shouldn't be trampled on."

Lewis was among 15 House members who last week signed a letter by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), urging President Bush to not attend the Olympics. Waters also introduced a House resolution last year asking Bush to boycott the Games unless the Chinese government "condemns the genocide taking place" in Darfur.

Lewis said he was in favor of the U.S.-led Olympic boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, although he was not in Congress at the time.

Asked if he would favor a total boycott of the Beijing Olympics, should progress not be made in China, Lewis said: "I don't know. I haven't gotten to that point. But what China has been doing of late is pushing more and more people to take radical steps to [bring attention] to the issues."

Lewis, 68, was a central figure in the civil rights movement. He was inspired by the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955 as a youth and helped organize sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nasvhville, among other causes.