On July 31, Olympic Watch issued a public appeal calling on Olympic athletes to express themselves in support of people whose rights are being violated by the Chinese government and on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow full access to information at the Beijing Olympics.  A statement endorsing the appeal has also been signed by various international leaders.  The signatories, including writer and former Czech president Václav Havel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu,  Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, European Parliament Vice-President Edward McMillan-Scott, and philosopher André Glucksmann, reject the notion that the peaceful promotion of human rights constitutes political propaganda prohibited by the Olympic Charter.  The signatories call on the IOC to allow Olympic athletes to learn about the real situation in China and to point out human rights violations freely whenever and wherever in line with their conscience.   They also call on all Olympians to use this liberty to support those whose freedoms, even at the time of the Olympics, are being denied by the Chinese government.