Australian PM calls for free, clean Olympics

By Michael Perry

SYDNEY, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat who seems to have the ear of Chinese President Hu Jintao, called on Wednesday for Beijing to stage a free and clean Olympics.

Rudd's ability to speak fluent Mandarin has won him praise in China and access to the top leadership on several occasions, even before he became prime minister in November 2007.

Rudd, due to fly to Beijing on Thursday for the Games opening ceremony on Aug. 8, is scheduled to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday and then President Hu Jintao on Saturday.

"We will always raise our human right concerns with them," Rudd said in Canberra. "I've done it in the past, I've done it privately, I've done it publicly, I'll be doing it again."

China is Australia's biggest trade partner and seeks to strengthen ties with Canberra and lock-in access to Australian resources for its booming economy.

Rudd's remarks follow criticism that heavy security for the Games has been used to crack down on dissenting voices in China.

Foreign protesters displaying a "Free Tibet" banner in Beijing were detained by police on Wednesday morning, state media reported, as the Olympic torch made its way through the capital.

The torch relay was a lightning rod for protests in Paris, London and other cities over China's rule of the Himalayan territory Tibet.

Rudd also said the International Olympic Committee needed to ensure a drug free Olympics. About 20 people have been kicked off Olympic teams in recent weeks after drug tests.

"The International Olympic Committee has a responsibility to ensure we have a fair Games and that means a proper and rigorous approach to testing so that everyone has a fair chance," he said.

Australia's swim team is one of the favourites at the Games.

TIBET PROTEST

Australian "Free Tibet" activist groups will screen a television advertisement on Friday urging Rudd to speak to the Chinese leadership about finding a solution for Tibet.

"Tibetans have always believed there is a time and place for silence. The 2008 Beijing Olympics is not one of them," an Australian-Tibetan woman, sitting in a meditation pose in front of an altar, says in the advertisement.

The Australia Tibet Council and "Get Up" group will air the advertisement on Channel Seven, the Australian Olympic broadcaster, before and after the opening ceremony.

"Nothing's changed in Tibet, in fact it's worse," said the Australia Tibet Council's Paul Bourke.

"If Mr Rudd and other world leaders attending the opening ceremony remain silent, the Chinese government will interpret this as acceptance of the current situation in Tibet."

Deadly anti-government riots erupted in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in March, prompting Beijing to send in troops.

Heavy security in Beijing underscores official concerns about safety after militants killed 16 border police in China's northwest Xinjiang province on Monday.